myTouch 4G or G2?

[fredmr85]

Went into my local T-Mobile again today to give the MT4G another run side by side with the G2. My main focus was on whether or not I could get along without a physical keyboard. I think the question really is whether or not I will be completely satisfied without a BLACKBERRY keyboard. Once I realized the G2 could never live up to my BB Bold keyboard, the decision was final for me -- MT4G. I was missing just as many keys with each device. G2 keyboard really pissed me off having the O and 0 (zero) keys side by side in pretty much the same color. Making the numbers smaller or at least red in color would make a huge difference - though you'd obviously get used to the way it's built if you owned it.

On another note.... I'm not sure where I'm buying from yet. $150 from wirefly is attractive not needing to mess with re-bates, etc... Radio Shack will not have any color besides black unless you order online. WalMart is not getting the phone in according to the rep I spoke with (I also didn't see anything online suggesting WalMart would have it right away). T-Mobile wont price match...claim they don't have the "override codes".. We'll see - maybe I'll give wirefly a shot.

 

[anon62607]

I'm probably going to get a myTouch 4G in the morning. This will be my third android phone in a month (and I'm buying them all off contract and keeping them all, I'll have two activated SIMs to swap between the three devices) and despite the rather obnoxious number of phones I will have, I really want to decide on one and stick to it. The problem is that there is no ultimate phone yet:

myTouch 4G
-------
Pro: 1 GHz MSM8255 (++), 768 MB RAM (++), 14.4 mbps HSPA+ (+), Wifi calling (I'm overseas a lot and this is an important feature)
Con: Display (vs. the Vibrant), no Keyboard
Unknown: Camera quality

G2
-------
Pro: 800 MHz MSM7230 (+), 512 MB RAM (+) 14.4 mbps HSPA+ (+), Keyboard (+)
Con: Display (vs. the Vibrant), Camera quality so-so (-)

Vibrant
------
Pro: Display (++), GPU
Con: 256 MB RAM, Stuck on 2.1, very laggy feeling (non-lagfixed), camera so-so and has no flash (--), no keyboard

By way of comparison the iPhone 4's camera is very good for a cellphone camera, the flash is acceptably bright given what it is, I use the HDR feature all the time

The ultimate device given current technology would have:
* a super amoled display like the Vibrant has
* HSPA+ / 14.4 mbit
* a variant with a keyboard and one without a keyboard
* 1 GHz MSM8255, or if possible a device with a 21 mbps (real HSPA+) radio
* 768 MB RAM
* 2.2 + promise of frequent updates as they arrive
* Camera with good flash + HDR mode like the iPhone 4 has

I end up using the Vibrant pretty frequently over the G2 simply because of the display, even though aside from that the G2 is an all round better device. I wish t-mobile would have recognized this and figured out how to provide is with a clear-cut best phone.

 

[Nissan4LIFE]

That sounds like Nexus 2 technology right there and why doesn't Google just put the best of every phone in there as well like an HDMI port plus screen share, tethering, a great car/home dock and anything else someone could think of.

I really think if someone could make a phone like that it prolly wouldn't be passed on to the consumer as it would cause a monopoly in the market as everyone would ditch their old phones for it and never have to buy new technology as it arises. A lot of it prolly stems from the government too regulating the industry and I can give an example - Electric Cars: why on earth would they have a max range of 100 miles when there is battery technology that exists to make them go much farther than that. The reason is simple, it would bankrupt the oil industry which funds everything plain and simple. I'm sure the wireless market does too lol.

 

[Magellan]

Even though the display is better, it isn't by much. You aren't going to sit there and think, "look at this crappy display" on the My Touch or G2. They still have incredible displays.

 

[Magellan]

The government has nothing to do with it. Manufacturers are trying to keep costs down, as well as device size and power usage. Adding all of these little things we like add to the cost of the device, and companies want to seel more faster. That will be hard to do if the phone costs $600, has a 2 hr batterry life and doesn't fit in your pocket.

 

[fredmr85]

Even though the display is better, it isn't by much. You aren't going to sit there and think, "look at this crappy display" on the My Touch or G2. They still have incredible displays.

Agreed. At least you're getting a higher build quality (or at least better looking I think, and feels of stronger construction) with one of these new HTC devices. Plus don't forget iPhone beats out the Vibrant's display. Doesn't seem like the current standard resolution on Android devices will change anytime really soon. Who would have thought an iPhone would have the best display these days. I remember when I bought my BB Bold it had higher resolution in about half the space of the iphone making for a significantly better picture of course.

 

[floepie]

I spoke with a rep at the wireless booth in Costco and she is actually a manager but I may not be going the Costco route anymore because I found out that they will only be selling the phones to new customers and not upgrades so I will be getting mine from TMO.

I'm still looking for evidence that Costco will be selling the MT4G. Does the one out in Temecula have them?

 

[fredmr85]

The government has nothing to do with it. Manufacturers are trying to keep costs down, as well as device size and power usage. Adding all of these little things we like add to the cost of the device, and companies want to seel more faster. That will be hard to do if the phone costs $600, has a 2 hr batterry life and doesn't fit in your pocket.

I don't want to stray from the thread topic, but thousands of people spent $300 on the 32GB iPhone 4. People are willing to pay that much. Plus...carriers selling phones for around $200 are being sold for $150 many other places.... What I'm trying to say is I think there is some wiggle room for carriers to let a higher end device sell for less, and I think consumers are willing to pay more for a high end device.

 

[timbo1083]

Woot for havimg my phome now . Nice to be off bb

 

[fredmr85]

Woot for havimg my phome now . Nice to be off bb

Congrats - and by the spelling, I'm guessing you sent this from the MyTouch. Great, just what I have to look forward to after the BB.

 

[pantlesspenguin]

Congrats - and by the spelling, I'm guessing you sent this from the MyTouch. Great, just what I have to look forward to after the BB.

LOL!!! Don't worry, the touch screen keyboard is easy to get used to coming from a BB. I use the stock Android keyboard & occasionally, Swype.

 

[timbo1083]

Yeah it will take some getting used to. But I love the phone so far. Of course its still in the "omg its new" phase. Can someone direct me on how to close apps easily, i've heard talks of different programs. Also.. check forums easily, maybe a basic what to install first type of programs?

thanks in advance.

 

[NewTreoFan]

myTouch 4G doesn't look too bad!

T-Mobile myTouch 4G Review - Android Phone Reviews by MobileTechReview

Which color?

 

[Lockeskidney]

i went mytouch. I'm not a fan of the keyboard and hinge issues. I called up retentions and complained. They dropped my internet to 20 and messaging to 10 for the 3 lines. They then took my sisters web2go and dropped that down to 5

i bargained on the phone with them and got it for 125 w/ expedited shipping

 

[fredmr85]

i went mytouch. I'm not a fan of the keyboard and hinge issues. I called up retentions and complained. They dropped my internet to 20 and messaging to 10 for the 3 lines. They then took my sisters web2go and dropped that down to 5

i bargained on the phone with them and got it for 125 w/ expedited shipping

I also just officially went MyTouch..waiting on the shipping though. So complaining about the hinge issues got you cheaper data rates for all your lines...and also a $125 price on the MyTouch? You must have gotten a very generous loyalty dept representative. They were very strict about the $199 price point with me. I even mentioned RadioShack pricing and asked if there was anything they could do to come down in price, no luck.

 

[Lockeskidney]

yea i got lucky. plus i had 2 uncontracted lines on my account so she really had to push

 

[fredmr85]

yea i got lucky. plus i had 2 uncontracted lines on my account so she really had to push

Nice work. It's just me on the contract and I've had T-Mobile since the Voicestream days. They give the best deals when they're afraid of losing a contract -- they weren't afraid of me buying the phone somewhere else...in fact, loyalty yesterday TOLD me to shop around for a better deal on the phone since all they were willing to do for me was get rid of the whole rebate thing. Ended up with expedited shipping, waived $18 activation fee (which is a BS fee anyway), and I did have the $20/$10 rates added yesterday.

---

Regarding the contactless charging post (well...contactless is the wrong I suppose) - this is another primary reason I prefer this phone over the G2. Simple car docking/bedisde charging hopefully. Though it probably be a $30-40 price tag.

As more and more reviews are posted, I'm seeing more comments that the G2 has a sharper/better screen overall. I've always been into hi-res screens...so that gives the G2 a bump in my eyes. If the MT4G doesn't work out I may switch...

 

[Nissan4LIFE]

I'm still looking for evidence that Costco will be selling the MT4G. Does the one out in Temecula have them?

Yea I went by there after I picked up my phone and they got nothing lol. The rep (manager) that I spoke too was full of $h!t

 

[pantlesspenguin]

Regarding the contactless charging post (well...contactless is the wrong I suppose) - this is another primary reason I prefer this phone over the G2. Simple car docking/bedisde charging hopefully. Though it probably be a $30-40 price tag.

Just wait til the docks hit Amazon. Last year I got a $30 charger for my blackberry for $10 on Amazon.

 

[anon62607]

I ended up ... not deciding yet.

So now I have three t-mobile phones. My first thoughts:

It immediately annoyed me that the mytouch's built in gallery app didn't link to my picasa albums unlike the G2 and Vibrant. That can be fixed by a trip to the android market though.

WiFi calling wouldn't work while I had the G2's sim in it. I added another line just for the mytouch and now it works fine. (I'm still net ahead in the deal as I'm canceling my AT&T account which cost about as much as the three t-mobile lines put together).

I think generally I do like the stock UI more than the Sense UI.

The G2 feels really heavy and bulky now. The mytouch is closer to the "right size".

I've been using the G2's keyboard more than I thought I was. I'm missing it on the MyTouch.

The MyTouch seems to have a lot of apps preloaded on it. That or somehow google is syncing me with the marketplace or something. Dunno.

The display seems a little more washed out than the G2, and much more than the Vibrant. I still think the Vibrant's display is a huge selling point over the rest of them, a HSPA+, keyboarded Vibrant would be an awesome phone.

HSPA+ is taking a beating here. Speeds for both the G2 and MyTouch are in the 2 mbit range right now (a couple days ago the G2 was in the solid 6+ mbit category).

I want the phones to all communicate with each other and agree that one of them should be the one that notifies me of alerts. When someone tweets it sounds like a pinball arcade in here.

I'm very happy with t-mobile vs AT&T so far. I get the feeling that tmobile wants us to use the network and AT&T wants to do everything it can to keep us from using the network. That's my own feeling though and I'm not really sure what brought it about. Also international roaming on AT&T is painless, I have yet to see how it's going to work on tmo. I am going to miss the iPhone 4's penta-band UMTS - I had 3G in kuwait, egypt and ukraine.