Review: T-Mobile myTouch 3G
The myTouch is far, far sexier than the G1, hands down. It is small, smooth, sleek and simple to use. It rests easily in the hand and is very comfortable to hold. It isn't heavy, slips into pockets easily, and the materials feel well crafted. It loses the physical QWERTY keyboard that added bulk to the G1. For some, this may be a deal-breaker, but I think many will appreciate the lack of heft and adjust to the software QWERTY without too much hassle.
The front of the myTouch is dominated by the touch display. Below the display are the controls, which consist of six buttons and the trackball. To the left of the trackball is the home key, menu key and send key. On the right are the back key, search key and end/power key. The home, menu, back and search keys are "squircle" in shape and protrude nicely from the surface of the myTouch. Your thumb won't have any problems locating them. Travel and feedback is good on all of the front keys.
Everyone has their own opinion about trackballs. I happen to like them and think they are way better for on-screen navigation compared to D-pads. In this implementation, HTC has done a good job of integrating the trackball with the touch screen. It will zoom the selector around the screen lickety-split for quick navigation, but veteran touchscreen users will most likely skip it in favor of interacting with the screen directly. Still, having the option is nice. I found the trackball to be responsive.
On the left side of the myTouch the only button users will interact with is the volume toggle. It is long and slim, and is a cinch to find. It has good travel and feedback. There are no other buttons on the myTouch 3G.
The battery cover pops off easily enough, and this is necessary if you want to swap out the microSD card. Thankfully, the card is hot-swappable, meaning you can interchange cards without powering down the phone.
At the bottom of the phone is HTC's miniUSB port. This is perhaps the one major failing of the myTouch hardware. Most mobile phone makers have agreed to switch to microUSB for charging and data transfer. Also, the myTouch lacks a headset jack of any kind, so you have to use a USB adapter for either a headset or stereo headphones. This is just annoying; adapters suck. Thankfully, T-Mobile has agreed to put 3.5mm stereo headset jacks on its phones moving forward, but those designs won't be hitting store shelves until late 2009 or early 2010. In the end, this means the myTouch isn't the best option for media consumption.
That complaint aside, there's a lot to like here. The myTouch has a nice footprint and is enjoyable to interact with.
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HTC myTouch 3G / Magic
