Depending
on your political leanings, T-Mobile is offering an opportunity to
celebrate or forget the results of the mid-term election November 2
by releasing the MyTouch 4G the next day. The news comes via
T-Mobile's Facebook page and confirms not only the launch
date, but the destined-to-be-controversial moniker of the Android
2.2-powered device we
previewed a few weeks ago.
A
quick recap of the MyTouch 4G's specs tells us that it boasts
comparable hardware to other top-tier Android offerings, with a 1 GHz
Snapdragon processor, 3.8" WVGA touchscreen, dual cameras
(front-facing VGA and rear-facing 5-megapixel), and comes pre-loaded
with an 8GB microSD card. What really sets it apart, though, is the
fact that it is the second smartphone (first
being the G2) that supports T-Mobile's high-speed HSPA+ network,
which the carrier claims delivers "4G"-like speeds.
"Designed
specifically to deliver today’s 4G speeds on T-Mobile’s rapidly
expanding HSPA+ network, the myTouch 4G will offer customers blazing
fast access to websites, applications, videos, downloads and more,"
T-Mobile said.
This
claim is sure to infuriate the other carriers, particularly AT&T,
which has had gripes with T-Mobile's "4G" claims in
the past. "I think that companies need to be careful
that they're not misleading customers by labeling HSPA+ as a 4G
technology. We aren't labeling those technologies as 4G," AT&T
Spokesperson Seth Bloom told DT in
May.
In
fact, HSPA+ is generally labeled as something closer to 3.5G,
considering it is an upgrade to existing 3G technology, and not a
true fourth-generation system like LTE, which all the major carriers
plan to eventually utilize. One caveat: In an independent study
conducted by PhoneScoop,
T-Mobile's HSPA+ network held
up against and, in some cases, outperformed Sprint/Clearwire's
WiMax, generally accepted as 4G. The logic follows, then, that if
Sprint can brand
devices as "4G," so can T-Mobile.
The
MyTouch 4G is exclusive to T-Mobile and will retail at $199.99 after
a $50 mail-in-rebate (with a qualifying two-year contract). It will
be available in white, black, red, and plum.
