Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
In the mood for some new hardware? T-Mobile has launched a handful of new smartphones today, most notably the Samsung Galaxy Note. The Galaxy Note is pretty expensive (despite the fact that it’s been available at other carriers for months), so if you need a more budget-friendly handset, T-Mobile has you covered with a pair of new myTouch devices.
Those with a little extra cash to spend should give the Galaxy Note a look. Its larger-than-normal 5.3-inch screen gives it the distinction of being the largest smartphone on the market, but if you can get over the size (or if the size was never an issue in the first place), you’ll find it’s a pretty solid device. Check out our review for more details. It’s worth pointing out that Samsung is expected to reveal the Galaxy Note 2 at IFA 2012 later this month, so if you’re hesitant to drop $249 on the original Galaxy Note – that’s after a $50 mail-in rebate – you may want to wait and see what Samsung has in store for the end of August.
Also available today are the myTouch and the myTouch Q from Huawei, the latest in the long-running line of myTouch handsets. T-Mobile veterans will be familiar with the line, as it’s been featured at T-Mobile for quite some time now. There aren’t too many differences to be found between the myTouch and the myTouch Q – both run Android 2.3 Gingerbread and both come with a 4-inch screen – but one features a slide out keyboard. Both cost only $49 each, after a $50 mail-in rebate, and have a look at our review if you’re considering picking one of these up.
So there you have it – T-Mobile is offering these three new handsets starting today, though one is arriving a bit late and smartphone fanatics will have a hard time getting excited about the other two. It’ll be interesting to see how the Galaxy Note does at T-Mobile, especially if Samsung is planning to unveil Galaxy Note 2 in less than a month. Better late than never, we suppose.
Gone are the days when $50 got you a flip phone that could make calls, send texts and shoot super-low-quality thumbnails. T-Mobile’s myTouch offerings aim to provide all the functionality of a top-tier smartphone, coupled with the kind of hardware and software top-tier handsets were offering a year or two ago.
After letting HTC and LG have a go at the myTouch series, T-Mobile tapped Huawei to design its latest devices, the myTouch and myTouch Q, a garden-variety slab and a full QWERTY slider, respectively. This time around, the carrier chose phones with more expansive 4-inch, 800 x 480 displays, among other improvements to the design and internals. Unfortunately, software wasn’t considered in the upgrade: both of these run the aging Android 2.3 OS. Suffice to say, skinned Gingerbread is likely to turn off some shoppers, but it’s still worth asking if people on a budget might appreciate these devices when they go on sale Wednesday for $50, post-rebate. So are there any redeeming qualities to speak of, if not the software experience? Read on to find out.
This week we’ve gotten our hands on the next generation of myTouch devices for T-Mobile, one with a push-out QWERTY keyboard, the other without. Both of these devices are essentially identical save for the slight difference in hardware with the keyboard, otherwise they’ve both got a 4-inch display at 480 x 800 pixel resolution, a 5 megapixel camera on their backs with a single LED flash, and they’ve got single-core 1.4GHz processor inside as well. With a keyboard you’ve got the myTouch Q, and without a keyboard you’ve got the myTouch, and both of these devices are manufactured by Huawei.
Hardware
These devices are relatively heavy for their size at 6.52 oz (185 g) (for the Q) and 4.94 oz (140 g). They’re a nice size for the palm and do have a nice styling to them since they’re basically the same set of shapes as the HTC versions of the myTouch line that came before them, including the HTC lip at the bottom of the display. They’re not made by HTC, on the other hand, they’re made by Huawei. Check out our myTouch 4G review from 2010, our myTouch 4G Slide review from 2011, and our T-Mobile myTouch 3G unboxing from back in 2009, each of them made by HTC.
You can see when you remove the back of these devices that you’ve got a Huawei battery (at 1500mAh) and room for a microSD card for an additional 32GB of storage space. You’re also using a full-sized SIM card and a the battery cover has a strange feel to it – almost like a very very fine sandpaper. You’ve got a dedicated physical camera button on the lower end of the right side of each of the phones, and your lockscreen can access the camera directly along with messages and your phone dialer.
These devices feel generally good to handle and, if we’d had the chance to use them 2 years ago, we’d certainly be placing them amongst the nicest smartphones on the market. At the moment, they’re certainly much closer to the middle tier. These devices are made for users brand new to Android.
Have a peek at some benchmark results here – and note that results have been essentially identical on both devices, so much so that we’re posting one set of results here that fairly represent both near-identical devices. You’ll see right away that these devices are not made for those looking for a massive amount of power. Instead they’re meant for users looking to play basic games, social networking, and general phone communication activities.
Software
Inside you’ll find a user interface that’s not quite as refined as Samsung’s TouchWiz, quite similar to HTC’s Sense, and almost nothing like LG’s UI. The Qualcomm processor inside this device makes everything move fairly swiftly, but not nearly as swift as the top tier smartphones you’ll find on T-Mobile – this is no Galaxy S III, and it’s not an HTC One S, that’s for sure. Instead is a device whose software was developed closely between T-Mobile and Huawei, a company relatively new to the USA looking to make a name for themselves subtly, not in a big way like its major competitors.
So subtly, in fact, that you might not ever realize who manufactured this device if you didn’t take off the battery cover on the back of the device. The front of the device too only says myTouch for a brand, this being T-Mobile’s line of affordable yet uniquely situated line of devices made up until now by HTC. The styling here is similar, and for the software there is indeed one component that remains the same – the Genius button.
You’ll find this button in the lower right-hand side of the display along with the other light-up buttons mentioned above. It’s green and replaces what you might remember from the past generation of Android devices as the search button. Here this green button with a lower-cased g on it offers you a selection of abilities that range from voice-activated selection of contacts to searching the web.
Though the Genius element here does not have quite as accurate a voice recognition as Google’s new detector in Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and it’s certainly no Samsung S-Voice, you will find it to be pretty entertaining. Other than the Genius button, it’s all pretty standard fare – you’re working with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, which is a system that’s been updated twice over since it was revealed over a year ago, but it’s still perfectly fine for users new to Android.
Camera
Have a peek at some examples of what the 5-megapixel camera on both of these devices can do. As far as we can tell, both devices use exactly the same hardware in the camera department, so no worries about considering which is better than the other. Check out the video below as well – fairly decent.
Battery Life
You’ll be rolling out with a battery that’s certainly not gigantic at 1500mAh, but the phone itself doesn’t require that much power to run with the low-requirements display and processor. Because of this, you’ll have a full day’s charge almost no matter what. Again, as with essentially everything else on these phones, both have used the battery they’ve been given a basically even amount of quickness.
Wrap-Up
Both of these devices will be popping up on T-Mobile very, very soon. Make sure not to mistake them for the myTouch and myTouch Q that are already on T-Mobile as made by LG, for though they may have the same name, they’re definitely different models. You may just want to head into your local T-Mobile store to make sure you’re getting what you want in this case, since we’ve not actually had the chance to grab the LG versions since they were out for so short a time. The Huawei manufactured T-Mobile myTouch and myTouch Q smartphones we’ve reviewed here will be in stores on August 8th.
This week we’ve got our hands on the newest set of myTouch phones from T-Mobile, both of them having essentially the same specifications and being made by Huawei. While there are some LG devices out there that have essentially the same names as these two devices, rest assured: these are made by Huawei and will be popping up at T-Mobile very, very soon. Now that we’re clear on that, let’s have at it: both devices work with Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread with Huawei’s own unique user interface, both have a 4-inch display at 480 x 800 pixel resolution, and both work with 5 megapixel cameras on the back.
These devices are certainly both made for the lower end of the Android-toting universe as they’re both running a version of the software that’s a couple generations old and both have a single-core 1.4Ghz processor from Qualcomm inside. With such a processor and software you’re still certainly going to be able to do a whole lot, of course, as most of your everyday functions like web browsing, interacting with social networks, and emailing all work just great on a single-core processor as they should.
Note: T-Mobile is marketing this duo as a set because they are so extremely similar. The only real difference we can tell from what we’ve seen thus far between the two is the slide-out QWERTY keyboard – and the thickness, of course.
They’re also both rather small at 0.56 x 2.5 x 4.9 inches for the Q and 0.41 x 2.46 x 4.5 inches for the myTouch without the keyboard. They both have a lovely look, just as all myTouch devices have had over the past few years, regardless of manufacturer. Have a peek at our myTouch 4G review from 2010 and our myTouch 4G Slide review from 2011 as well. And if you’re really looking for a thrill, head back to our T-Mobile myTouch 3G unboxing from back in 2009!
Though they make look similar, these devices are not the myTouch phones of old. Their build is significantly lower quality than the past versions of the myTouch lineup – where HTC chose high quality hard plastic and a solid build, here we’ve got what feels like a slightly more flimsy set of details.
That said, we’re giving these devices the benefit of the doubt for now. We’ll give you the full scoop when our full review ramps up for both devices very, very soon. Meanwhile you can check out the rest of our [Phone Review Portal] to see all the other choices you’ve got on the market today – with more from T-Mobile on the way as well!
T-Mobile has some new myTouch products up for grabs, with the two new handsets being made by Huawei. The myTouch and myTouch Q largely have the same specifications, but the Q comes with a slide-out landscape QWERTY keyboard for those of you who are serious texting fiends. Best of all, they’re both pretty affordable at $49.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate.
Both phones come with a 4-inch WVGA screen, 1.4Ghz single-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of storage with a microSD card slot, 5-megapixel camera with 720p video recording, HSPA+, and a 1,500mAh battery. The myTouch comes with a standard design, while the myTouch Q will come with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard that will add some additional thickness. Unfortunately, both phones are running Gingerbread.
T-Mobile is shipping both phones with a Genius Button, powered by Nuance’s Dragon dictation. That gives customers voice control and voice search options, and the company has tweaked the app drawer too, letting you see the most recently downloaded apps. The myTouch will be offered in black or dark red while the myTouch Q will be available in black or white. Both phones should be available in T-Mobile retail stores starting from August 8th.
T-Mobile’s myTouch series is back with a new pair of devices — a slate and a slideout QWERTY, to be precise — and the lucky manufacturer this time around is Huawei, following in the footsteps made by HTC and LG in years past. Of course, we can’t say that this is much of a shocker, considering we’ve seen these midrange handsets go through endless rounds of rumors, FCC certification and even our very own hands-ons when visiting Huawei HQ (where the devices are known more officially as the Ascend G312 and G312 QWERTY). But they’re finally ready for the final production line and will be available August 8th for $50 after a $50 mail-in rebate. The myTouch will come in black and dark red, while the myTouch Q will be offered in black and white.
So what kind of specs can we expect to enjoy (or strongly dislike, depending on your personal preference) on the myTouch and myTouch Q? It’s running Android 2.3 on a special customized UI, for starters, which will be a huge disappointment to many potential buyers. Additionally, both devices will offer a 4-inch WVGA screen, 1,500mAh battery, 4GB of internal storage, microSD expansion, 5MP rear camera capable of taking 720p video, 0.3MP front-facing cam, HSPA+ connectivity and an unspecified 1.4GHz CPU (though we reported earlier that it should be a single-core MSM8255T accompanied by 1GB of RAM). Head below to check out our gallery and hands-on video, and then continue reading after the break to hear our first impressions.
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