The myTouch 4G from T-Mobile has been on the market in the US for awhile now, but I just got some short hands-on time with the device thanks to a friend that came over to visit, who bought one while in his semester overseas. Below is my short hands-on experience with the phone, as well as some observations from the phone's owner.
While the device's specs are widely available online, as the device has been on the market for awhile. Instead of just regurgitating the specs, I'll give my original impressions of what I experienced. Unfortunately, the device is no longer running T-Mobile's flavor of Android, Espresso, so
The phone is running the Iced Glacier ROM running, and according to the owner, one of the annoying things about the ROM is that there some apps from T-Mobile's Espresso ROM that have not yet been removed.
Coming from an HTC Magic, the myTouch 4G was quite a step up for him. My friend really liked the HSPA+ connection that he had back in the States. He didn't have any complaints regarding the hardware. He also mentioned that using Tango for video chat on the HSPA+ network between the myTouch 4G and an iPhone 4 works fine.
I found the picture and video capture abilities of the camera to be more than acceptable. The ROM also supports up to 720p video capture. The phone's four buttons on the front felt a little fragile in my opinion. However, I'm a big fan of capacitative buttons, so that may be part of my feelings.
I never detected any lag or stuttering the entire time with the handset, likely due to the powerful processor HTC built into the phone. In addition, the external speaker of the phone reproduced music loud and clear, with plenty of oomph when it was called for.
I gave the Genius button (replacing the default search button) a thorough examination. Using the button and saying voice commands, the user can call contacts, perform a web search, send a text or email, and find local businesses. Based on my experience, the program has little problems when words are pronounced correctly in a quiet environment, but once you start speaking quicker, more mumbled, and in a noisy environment, the app's ability to correctly understand the voice query drops dramatically. In addition, mixing words from other languages is a big no-no, but that was likely already clear to most users.
For consumers that are looking for a fast candybar Android handsetwith 4G connectivity, the myTouch 4G is definitely a choice not to be looked over.
Michael B
I'm disappointed that AP doesn't seem to cover tablets. I would love to see what you think about the Notion Adam Ink and others.