The T-Mobile myTouch Goes On Sale Today — What You Need To Know

T-Mobile MyTouch

T-Mobile USA celebrates the launch of its second Android phone, the myTouch 3G, today by hosting an aerial show in San Francisco featuring 100 skydivers who will land at the Embarcadero.

But now that it’s officially for sale, here’s what you really need to know: The myTouch costs $199 and is a sleek-looking phone with many of the finishing touches that make it so much easier to recommend than its uglier cousin, the T-Mobile G1. While the two phones look similar and are both built by HTC, the myTouch is smaller, lightweight, has a longer battery life, syncs with Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) Exchange and has a more sensitive accelerometer. The only thing it doesn’t have is a physical Qwerty keyboard, but overall if you considered the G1 a prototype, the myTouch is a fully finished product.

What makes this decision difficult is that T-Mobile will start selling the new the BlackBerry Curve 8520 (with a new optical trackpad) tomorrow and the HTC Touch Pro2 on Aug. 12. Not to mention, there’s always the next Android device, which could be even better (like HTC’s upcoming Sense user interface technology).

Here’s a handful of product reviews:

CNet: There’s a few complaints remaining, but the myTouch offers great performance.

Wired: Surprised that the thing even works, but says it will give other handsets (but maybe not the iPhone) a run for their money.

USA Today: Close attention was paid to the aesthetics, down to the slick packaging and the hard case with a zipper it comes in. It’s likable even with the drawbacks.

BusinessWeek: The myTouch is very Google-y, and while it added the corporate-centric Microsoft Exchange, it’s an afterthought. You can send and receive Exchange e-mail, but unlike the iPhone or Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre, there’s no direct access to Exchange’s contact and calendar features (You have to use Google (NSDQ: GOOG) calendar and contact sync).

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