myTouch 3G – A guide to Android

myTouch 3G
Launched: Aug. 5, 2009
Carrier: T-Mobile USA
Vendor: HTC
Price: $149.99 with a two-year contract

Pros: The main upgrades represented by the myTouch 3G--essentially a rebranded and slightly customized HTC Magic--included the software bundle that T-Mobile put in the phone at launch called AppPack. Sherpa, imeem mobile and Movies by Flixster are featured in the pack, plus T-Mobile applications including myAccount, myFaves, HotSpot Locator and Visual Voicemail. Additionally, the phone had a slimmer for factor than the G1.

Cons: "The fact that T-Mobile is launching a marketing campaign with three distinctive celebrities doesn't change the fact that it's plan vanilla Android," Greengart said. "It's a curious approach, in that they're basically advertising for Google. They're not advertising for the unique aspects of the product because the product doesn't have any unique aspects."

Impact: The phone highlights both HTC's increasing investment in Android, as well as the platform's prominence in T-Mobile's smartphone lineup. That the carrier is embarking on an expensive marketing push for the phone signals a potentially long relationship between the nation's fourth largest carrier and Google's software platform.