T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide official: Android 2.1, QWERTY, coming in June (we go hands-on)

Hey, CLIQ, better check that rear-view mirror, because you've got an interesting competitor coming right up on your tail. T-Mobile is launching another midrange Android QWERTY slider -- some might argue the G1's true successor -- christened the myTouch 3G Slide (not quite the "myTouch Slide" we've been hearing for a few months) with a 3.4-inch HVGA display, 5 megapixel camera, and a pretty heavily-customized skin based on Android 2.1. How custom are we talking, exactly? Well, it's not quite like anything we've seen on a production Android device before, featuring a host of custom apps including the "Faves Gallery," a social aggregator for your most dearly beloved contacts; "myModes," a profile manager that can change the phone's themes and settings based on time or location; the Swype keyboard in place of Google's option; and the so-called "Genius Button," which seeks to extend Android's already decent voice command and text-to-speech systems by allowing you to do just about anything on the phone using your voice, hear messages read back to you, and so on. In the myTouch 3G tradition, the Slide will come in a selection of colors when it launches in June -- black, white, or red -- for a to-be-announced price. Check out T-Mobile's full press release along with our impressions of the device after the break

T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide official: Android 2.1, available in June

T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide hands-on

We had a chance to play around with the handset a bit, and there's quite a bit about it that's an improvement over previous T-Mobile Android offerings. For starters, the keyboard is actually quite good, and without having that annoying G1 chin to block your moves, typing seemed pretty natural. The UI is a bit like a mashup of Sense and stock Android, with a little featurephone thrown in for good measure -- it's clear the carrier wanted to make this welcoming to beginners, and it's mostly succeeded. One addition we liked was that your recent applications are now docked in the notification window, which makes getting back to business a little easier. There are also a handful of Sense widgets here (yay), and despite the lower resolution screen (boo), it did feel like a roomier experience than the previous myTouch. One other plus worth noting: the Genius Button and corresponding voice recognition (powered by Dragon Dictation) was some of the best we've played with, nailing complex text message dictation (including the word Engadget) on the first try. Honestly, it put Google's stock voice recognition to shame. On the downside, we're not sold on the styling of this phone -- it's a bit plasticky and over-styled -- and we suspect that the lack of a more modern CPU (the Slide has an older generation Qualcomm chip) is going to spell trouble just around the corner. Still, we're holding final judgment till we have a review unit in hand.

Show full PR text

New T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide Improves Communication through T-Mobile Exclusive Software

The latest Android-powered smartphone marries beautiful form with superior function on a faster 3G network.

BELLEVUE, Wash. - May 4, 2009 - T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced a new addition to its exclusive line of AndroidTM-powered T-Mobile myTouch® 3G smartphones - the T-Mobile® myTouch 3G SlideTM. Anticipated to be available in June, the new myTouch 3G Slide combines a roomy slide-out QWERTY keyboard with an incredibly crisp, high-performance touch screen powered by the latest Android software. The T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide is purpose-built for communication, with unique new features that help customers connect more easily, more quickly and more often to their closest family and friends.

"Many smartphones are increasingly powerful in their features and specifications without continuing to improve the main reason that so many people have mobile phones - the ability to communicate with each other," said Andrew Sherrard, vice president of product development, T-Mobile USA. "The new myTouch 3G Slide is a smart and sleek phone that fits into your pocket, your budget and your family life with exclusive T-Mobile features that put communication with your closest family and friends front and center."

New features only available on the T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide include the following:

Faves GalleryTM: Life is hectic, so it's easy to miss opportunities to connect with loved ones. Faves Gallery presents up to 20 of your favorite people and the different ways to communicate with them - calls, texts, e-mail, instant messaging, social networking updates - in a dedicated application accessible through a soft button and an easy-to-use widget complete with photos, contact information and one-touch ability to respond. All of your Faves® get special status on your myTouch 3G SlideTM; anytime they communicate with you or update their social network you get a notification in the notification pane. Even if you're not using your phone, a custom green light lets you know you've got a communication waiting from one of your Faves. And you can respond directly from the Faves Gallery, without launching e-mail or other applications, so you connect more quickly and more often with the important people in your life.

myModes: myModes helps you draw the line between work and home by creating different themes with home screen apps, widgets and wallpapers to empower people in the different roles they play each day. You can set myModes to switch at a designated time, by location, or manually with the option to create and store up to 10 customized modes. myModes removes clutter and makes you more efficient both at work and at home. Want to forget about work on the weekend? No need to hide your work phone or switch to another device; just put away your work tools, like e-mail and your calendar by switching modes, and bring forward all the things you love to do on Saturday.

Genius ButtonTM: With the Genius Button, you press one button, talk, and it delivers. The Genius Button, powered by Dragon Dictation from Nuance Communications (Nasdaq: NUAN), is an easy-to- access button on the front of the new T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide allowing the use of voice commands to control the phone and it's features including making calls, composing and sending texts and e-mails, searching the Web or your surroundings. It will even read text messages aloud, and lets you dictate responses naturally as if you were speaking directly to a person.

Powered by the Android 2.1 software, the myTouch 3G Slide offers a rich mobile Web experience and access to thousands of applications on Android Market from games to location-based social networks to on-the-go shopping and more. Similar to the original, the new myTouch 3G Slide was designed to facilitate personalization inside and out. A five-pane home screen, with the option to increase to seven panes, offers plenty of real estate for your favorite widgets, applications and themes.

Designed by HTC exclusively for T-Mobile, the myTouch 3G Slide features a 3.4-inch HVGA touch- screen display with virtual keyboard as well as a roomy, slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Less than 15mm thick, the elegant design slides easily into your pocket proving that Android brains don't have to come in a sci-fi box. The myTouch 3G Slide also features a 5-megapixel camera, a music player with a pre-installed 8GB microSD memory card, and enhanced video capabilities to make it easy for users to record and share pictures and videos, whether via e-mail, MMS or one-click upload to sites such as YouTubeTM and PicasaTM.

The device's powerful mobile data experience is supported by fast data speeds via Wi-Fi and T-Mobile's nationwide 3G network, which is getting even faster this year as T-Mobile upgrades its network with the latest wireless technology.

The myTouch 3G Slide is expected to be available in June, exclusively from T-Mobile USA in three colors - black, white or red. Customers can visit http://mytouch.t-mobile.com for more information.

[max1c Posted May 4th 2010 12:04AM]

That's all great and everything, but for me it's little toooo late :(

[mranthony Posted May 4th 2010 12:20AM]

@max1c yes, its a nice phone and all...it took them too long to come out with it, the Droid replaced my G1...T-Mobile is always late to the Android game even tho they were the first to release one.

[parabola Posted May 4th 2010 12:36AM]

@mranthony I agree. But it does seem to be alright for a midrange handset. Seems a bit dated already with no snapdragon and a pretty meh looking screen.

I like the look of that keyboard though. If they put that keyboard on a higher end model I might consider it.

[Invid Posted May 4th 2010 12:51AM]

@mranthony
Honest question for you Android guys. Aren't you getting a little put out that the only way to get upgrades seems to be purchasing a new handset every six months or so?

I'm an iPhone user, an admission I expect will earn me some downranks, but I bought a second handset, a 3GS based almost entirely on the 2 years of support I had received up until that point. In fact, the 2G I sold last year is only getting EOLed this year.

I would like to check out Android, but only if I can be guaranteed updates to the handset over the long term. Up until now, that meant that I would only consider the Nexus One since it comes straight from Google. Now that it seems that Google is backing away from the direct sales model, I wonder if I'll ever feel comfortable buying an Android handset.

Side note: I loved HTC's hardware back when they made WM PDAs for a bunch of different manufacturers, and Sense UI looks awesome (I even made a Sense theme for my iPhone awhile back), but at this point, there's no way in hell I would buy an HTC device, and that's solely based on what looks like a pretty dismal support history.

Froyo looks like it might fix some of the above for accessory programs, but what about core OS updates when your manufacturer or carrier stops caring about your purchase? If you hack it, you lose Sense ;)

[Mike10010100 Posted May 4th 2010 12:56AM]

@Invid

Nope. For the same reason that iPhone users jailbreak their phones when they're tired of playing by Apple's rules, there's always dev support that makes rooting one's phone extremely easy for Android.

I can update to 2.1 whenever. However, I'm pretty satisfied with 1.5, and am waiting for HTC to release the OFFICIAL version of 2.1 for my Hero.

[trentryan Posted May 4th 2010 1:19AM]

You bring up a lot of interesting points. As the owner of a nexus one and g1 that is the one thing that really bothers me about android. I think the best way to ensure that you get updates is to avoid any phone with a custom hi or skin. As far as I can remember most stock android phones have gotten at least a few major OS upgrades. Hopefully Google will address all of this at Google io.

PS thanks for being a logical iPhone user!

[ryn456 Posted May 4th 2010 1:28AM]

@Invid no, i am still on a G1, granted my contract ends in a month. Now to the point, android is a mobile OS that plays a different game, it is still developing still growing and finding its place. I love android, the platform is absoulutly incredible. Both companys behind android (google and primarily HTC) are not looking for world handset domination, and that is so apparent form the first day you spend with a android phone. They just want to win over nerds and the tech savy, and they really have and still are. Its a powerful platform and, yea im sure the growth rate of android will be high for some time to come but thats ok, because google dosn't forget you, and hell being sent reminders that things a bigger and better now makes me proud not jealous. Its a lost better to get plowed over with progress then ignored ( how long did it take iphone to "multi task"?) I love having been part of and still being apart of android growth, its gets the job done and at least i know that when im up for an upgrade there will be some new ideas in the handset im buying. heres the part i love, i was in chicago O'hare a while ago and i was walking around with my G1 and a few people raised there various android phones at me when they noticed i had one. I felt like i was in a secret club of some kind it was incredible, and only something you get with an android handset. Sorry for the novel but to sum it up: no, i love how fast android is advancing, and how much its expanding with out losing that under dog OS feel. WinMo 7 is the only thing that even begins to make me want to switch, but i wont. Im an android guy.

[samkash Posted May 4th 2010 1:55AM]

@Invid

speaking to an average iphone user (assuming they don't know about jailbreaking therefore wouldn't ever root android), i'd say sure it can be annoying that you will feel behind the times, but not to worry most carriers/manufacturers will do their best to try and speed things up and while there are some things u are missing out, android is still android, and it is still an awesome OS (then i'd mention how google is trying to fix the fragmentation prob, etc)

but speaking to you, you said u made a theme for the iphone, which means u've jailbroken, which means u would root, so your whole post is troll bait, and that kind of makes you a tool. because anyone who would jailbreak would root and then would always have the most up to date version of the OS and would never feel any probs with framentation.

[samkash Posted May 4th 2010 1:59AM]

@ryn456

you answered his question a lot better and more politely than i... good work, now i feel kind of toolish...

[iCello Posted May 4th 2010 2:09AM]

@ryn456
While I agree that Android seems better than iPhone OS(all though I personally think WebOS looks even better and WP7 looks much worse then all of the above IMHO), I do just want to mention I used to have the same kind of expereiences vis a vis the secret club feeling for a while after I got my iPhone 3G back in 08, and ive heard online that people get that with their Palm Pre's. So i think it's more of a new exciting phone thing then an android thing.
BTW, how the he'll do you only have 1 month left on your G1 contract? It came out in what October 08? After my 3G anyway, and I got mine a week after launch, which has July, and still have till then for my contract to go up.

[Invid Posted May 4th 2010 3:05AM]

@samkash
Hmm. I gotta say that your response pissed me off upon my first reading, but this is Engadget and trolls abound, so I'll just assume you meant no harm:

Yes, I do jailbreak, and yes I've coded themes (not just artwork) and have even dabbled with native development... That doesn't mean I want to be forced to roll my own to keep current though.

I've had multitasking for a long time now, and copy/paste long before Apple rolled it into the official firmware. The jailbreak community does an awesome job and I'm grateful, but time and time again, when Apple finally gets around to rolling in a feature I'm waiting for, they do it better than the solution I had. And that's why long term manufacturer support is important to me.

It was a legitimate concern I have about the platform. This might seem crazy for a guy reading a gadget blog....but I want all of them. I love the iPhone, I want a Pre Plus, I want an Android and probably will want to play with WP7 when it comes out. I've owned several WM devices in the past...

Drop the my team vs your team bullshit. This is a gadget blog...we're supposed to be fans of technology here.

[mantrik00 Posted May 4th 2010 3:20AM]

@Invid go get a nexus one and be more assured of getting the upgrades

[feliciagamboa Posted May 4th 2010 3:40AM]

@max1c Even before the release of its slider version, the mytouch 3g remain remarkable. Remember the ifog sales of november. http://j.mp/mytouch3g-sans-slider-phenomenal

[jordanjay29 Posted May 4th 2010 4:13AM]

@Invid
Personally, I love HTC's products. I've never had any issue with the two phones I've bought from them, nor any need for their support. They make solid devices, and unless you're a phone abuser (intentionally or not), I don't think you'd have a problem.

That said, Samsung or Motorola are making some good Android phones as well. I'd stay away from the Behold 2 and Cliq, but otherwise, they look pretty good. Just stay away from phones that are skinned if you want constant upgrades, think of the poor Hero still on Android 1.5.

[DJ Posted May 4th 2010 5:04AM]

@Invid

I posted something like this earlier, but you're right. I just don't know what Google can do about it without making some major changes to how it licenses Android. Apple gets money from you buying the phone, signing the contract with at&t, buying apps, buying music, etc. So they have incentive to keep all of their phones up to date. Other phone manufacturers only make money on the initial sale of the phone so they only have incentive to make you buy another phone.

I'm really hoping Froyo fixes this, but who knows...

[Oldarney Posted May 4th 2010 5:11AM]

@max1c
Late ya think?, I just bought my self a Touch pro2

[gpmoo7 Posted May 4th 2010 6:43AM]

@Invid buy a Google Phone ;)
As long as Android is open and 'free', we will always see Android devices not updated.
That should be less and less a problem with future Android versions.

[ThatDudeSolo Posted May 4th 2010 10:32AM]

@Invid Totally agree about the my team your team bs people have here. So +1 for that. Also your post were well thought out and clear as to the point you were/are trying to convey. :)

[HoldenMccrotch Posted May 4th 2010 11:22AM]

@Invid
theyll be greatly solving that problem with new versions, android is new, google has had many excellent updates, and not far between each update, so it kind of seeps through, however its up to the phone manufacturer to put it to your phone.
but theyre getting onto stopping this kind of thing happening with, is it gingerbread?, but yeah, the next few versions will help 'stop' the lack of updates some people have

[captnlove Posted May 4th 2010 12:08PM]

@Invid I have a G1, and a friend of mine has a desire. Not even the desire, at the moment almost the most high-end handset of HTC comes even close to the sheer build quality of the iphone. Once again, not a fanboy: I have a G1 and don't give it up solely because of the developing community. The problem for me lies mostly in call quality. For the iPhone, it's pretty good, not as good as motorola, but decent. HTC has a pretty dismal offering of earpiece and back speakers, even on the desire. Don't get me wrong, I love android, but HTC hardware is much lower than apple's offering. The iPhone 4G only looks like it's gonna up that standard.

[webdevmike Posted May 4th 2010 12:11PM]

@Invid

It's quite simple. Buy a Nexus One or a similar device in the future. As an owner of a N1 I haven't felt the desire the "jailbreak" or "root" as I know the next update is right around the corner and I will be the first to get it.

[recharged95 Posted May 4th 2010 12:34PM]

@Invid
"Honest question for you Android guys. Aren't you getting a little put out that the only way to get upgrades seems to be purchasing a new handset every six months or so?"

I dunno, I've been using my G1 since it came out (what nearly 18months ago) and don't notice missing eclair or froyo. Want I would like is a AMOLED screen w/HDMI port, which **no** vendor offers yet.

I think you're referring to the 1% of Android users that switched from the iPhone or Pre thinking they be at the coolest, top of the food chain of technology since they'd be getting updates constantly.

I mean the only real problems are the slow CPU and the app memory limits on my G1, and considering I can do everything that an iPhone 3GS can do, is that's asking much from Android 1.6 on a phone older than a 3GS?

[smith2sc Posted May 4th 2010 12:56PM]

@Invid

I just appreciate a general honest question about all these OS's we have to choose from and not the usual nonsense I read in here; if i could uprank you 4 more times i would, comments that provoke real discussion, who wouldve thought!

[StalkyTheFish Posted May 4th 2010 2:37PM]

@samkash

I jailbroke my iPod Touch and have looked into rooting my N1. From what I can tell, rooting is way more of a pain in the ass than jailbreaking. When I first did my Touch in Nov. '07, it was comparable to rooting, but these days, JB is pretty fire-and-forget. Rooting still has multiple steps and putting things in specific directories on the SD card and running terminal commands to change the bootloader and running install commands...

I can re-jailbreak my Touch on a whim, but I feel like I need a damn good reason to go to the hassle of rooting my N1. Maybe if someone comes out with a rock-solid Sense build for it.

[baizhangg Posted May 4th 2010 4:18PM]

@max1c

is that only me or someone else also thinks that after last several Android phones with 1 GHz, every new Android phone with less power seems obsolete?

[Aphotic Solace Posted May 4th 2010 7:50PM]

@Invid I appreciate your comments about some of the most stated frustrations with Android since inception. I haven't much used an iPhone but have used a G1 since release and have been incredibly happy with the experience. I'm not an average phone user though. I don't talk, text or im all that much. But I can say I second what ryn456 means when you get a nod or wink from someone who knows about Android. I was going through the drive thru at a chinese restaurant and the attendant exclaimed proudly that she had a G1 also, and it was rooted too.

I've had my G1 rooted since a root came out, practically. And in this smart phone arena with so much tooth & nail show off, I can't really say there's been much in the way of iPhones or Pre's running other versions of their OS. I've been running eclair on my G1 practically since it came out, but have also tested Sense UI, Motoblur, Samsung Cube UI all on my G1 and while granted it doesn't have the processing power as the Incredible, I haven't had to pay thousands of dollars to have pretty much the same experience that others had to pay to get.

Gosh, with Android, especially if you're a root user, the community is huge with the end users relationship to the dev's of the roots. When Cyanogen came out with the MUCH anticipated 5.0.7 rom for G1 and MT3g there was an explosion of blogging in practically every Android forum. I don't do much research on the iPhone so I don't know if the community for the iPhone is similar but I don't remember seeing a blog about an upcoming root for the 2g iPhone that made it as good as the 3gs, only how an Apple sponsored bust down of two bloggers doors, stole their computers, after they received their prototype back.

And while I've felt a bit left out in the cold as a G1 user with all the other phones coming out with 2.1 and would like an 'official' update from Google, I can't imagine not having some of the cool features that my rooted phone has enabled that an official version would include, like wired and wireless tethering, and 360' rotation of the home screen which isn't stock on any device that runs Android. But then again, I'm the type of person, since Android has come out, who would want to root my phone, and can't imagine using this My Touch Slide unrooted for very long.

[Devin Posted May 4th 2010 12:06AM]

Move over, G1!

[oproski Posted May 4th 2010 12:08AM]

meh :)

[first name Greatest Posted May 4th 2010 12:09AM]

it looks pretty nice, but i think i'll stay faithful to sprint (no rainbow)

[MegaJapan Posted May 4th 2010 12:30AM]

@first name Greatest
No need to make it sound like a disadvantage. There's EVOOOO!

[Mike10010100 Posted May 4th 2010 1:02AM]

@hated one

Considering you can't even finish a complete sentence with any recognizable syntax, it would be very difficult to agree with you on anything.

[MegaJapan Posted May 4th 2010 1:20AM]

@hated one
Can you like, you know, try to fix your grammar and whatnot to AT LEAST make whatever you're saying, understandable?

[first name Greatest Posted May 4th 2010 1:27AM]

@MegaJapan
i didnt to, im still waiting for the EVO :D

@hated one
who the FUCK does all 6 of those thing at the same time!!...without looking like a douchbag lol

[JonnyB Posted May 4th 2010 2:36AM]

@first name Greatest ahaha nice, you are the first guy to make me laugh out loud, you sir should be a comedian;)

[glenskey Posted May 4th 2010 12:09AM]

..and the name just got worse

[Chrinik Posted May 4th 2010 12:49AM]

@glenskey
Oh gawd I know.
I have the original MyTouch and have been loathing the name ever since. It sounds so cheesy, like an iPod Touch and an iPhone 3G mixed together in some horribly toxic combination.

[howardleezy Posted May 4th 2010 4:08AM]

@Chrinik
yeah... can you imagine what a cross between the iPod Touch and iPhone 3g would look like? disgusting

[drange Posted May 4th 2010 5:16AM]

@Chrinik
My brain almost asplodes when I try to think what a cross between an iPod Touch and an iPod 3G would look like. It doesn't matter which way I try: an iPhone that cannot make calls is like what? Or an iPod Touch that does make calls? DOES...NOT...COMPUTE...

[EggoEspada Posted May 4th 2010 10:06PM]

@howardleezy The same?

[RockNStuff Posted May 4th 2010 12:10AM]

Ahh, HTC you were doing so well! What happened?

Did I just fall back into the 90's? Geez.....

[Patlex Posted May 4th 2010 12:11AM]

@RockNStuff How do we know this isn't partially T-Mobiles doing?

[RockNStuff Posted May 4th 2010 12:14AM]

@Patlex Still HTC's product.

[MegaJapan Posted May 4th 2010 12:31AM]

@RockNStuff
HTC probably doesn't care about that.
I'm with Patlex. Chances are this is T-Mo's design.

[Henzapper Posted May 4th 2010 1:26AM]

@RockNStuff It's not like they undid all their other work with this. The Incredible just came out, and the EVO is on its way. HTC is doing fine; still my favorite company.

They do have to diversify though, and I can see middle/high school kids totally loving a device like this. I still prefer the original Sense UI, but I gotta say I wouldn't mind having this Expresso build. And the keyboard looks really good too.

[B3astofthe3ast Posted May 4th 2010 12:10AM]

I still dont consider it the true successor to the G1.

[Valicore Posted May 4th 2010 2:45AM]

@B3astofthe3ast LMAO - I find that truely hilarious, I'm sure it's a coincidence but I still would like to think it's the iPhone feeling jealous.

[n8equalsd Posted May 4th 2010 12:11AM]

Fucking iPhone app won't let me see the damn gallery! Can you guys fix this?

[pogohackykid Posted May 4th 2010 12:20AM]

@n8equalsd Same here. :(

[normanb20 Posted May 4th 2010 1:55AM]

@n8equalsd
Get an android phone.
Boom! Problem solved

[VDubb Posted May 4th 2010 12:12AM]

A nice device, but it'll probably get lost releasing during the period of the Droid Incredible, 4G iPhone, and the EVO 4G.

- VDubb