Tuesday, October 26, 2010

T-Mobile myTouch Slide Android Phone, Red Review



After using this phone for almost a week now, I’m soo excited. This is one piece of device that is the best I’ve ever owned apart from my iPod Touch which I had for over a year. I needed an upgrade from my previous flip-phone that I had for a couple of years. Some of the reasons why I wanted a new phone are that I needed a phone with a good camera, applications to jot down appointments/notes, text messages with a full keyboard, a good sized screen for internet use, and something similar and as fast as my iPod touch. And let to you, this phone has and does all these features just fine. Let me start off with the Pros and Cons:


Pros -


- Customize interface to your liking


- 3.4? screen with trackpad


- Android 2.1 (latest)


- EXCELLENT 5MP camera (with LED flash)


- A full QWERTY keyboard


- Great video


- Many great applications


- Fast internet 3G/wifi


- 8GB memory


- EXCELLENT call quality


- Good speaker


- GPS system


- A total of 7 home/leap screens


- 600MHz processor


- Swype activated


- Genius button (voice commands)


- 3.5mm headphone jack


- Bluetooth 2.1 with stereo bluetooth support


- Slick, clean, beautiful design (solid build quality)


- Cool weather animations **


- Use as a USB Storage


- And much more…


Cons -


- A little expense at $179.99 (through T-Mobile)


- No phone case or screen protector


- Battery is ok but not bad


I came across this phone which came out on June 2 and I had done my research even before it came out. Wasn’t too crazy about at first but when I went to the T-Mobile store few weeks ago just to look at it, I loved it. First off, I was surprised at how small it was compared to looking at it on video and picture reviews online (these things usually happen anyway). I liked that fact that it was surprisingly fast, I did not experience any lags or slow downs AT ALL and still don’t. Also, the display is big, bright at 3.4 inches, and colors are vivid. I wanted a phone just like my iPod Touch mainly in its speed and the screen being in a decent size and actually got something better then what I expected.


There are too many features to cover but I’ll do the important ones that everyone wants to know:


BUILD QUALITY: The phone is made out of a hard plastic with a high gloss finish which makes it look and feel expensive; although, it does attract finger prints. There are metal/aluminum elements such as the myTouch logo, the surfaces around the camera and flash lens on the back, and the camera button on the side of the phone. The phone on a whole, including buttons feel very solid.


SPEAKERPHONE: The speakerphone on this device is not the best I’ve heard compared to Blackberrys, being the best, but it is acceptable.


CALL QUALITY: Call quality is EXCELLENT. Loud, clear, no static, you name it, it’s excellent.


KEYBOARD AND TOUCHPAD: Now, this is my first phone with a full keyboard but from using the Motorola CLIQ’s keyboard in the T-Mobile store I preferred the myTouch 3g Slide’s. The buttons/keys are nice and spaced out, and firm and very easy to press. A touchpad/trackpad is also included (located on the bottom of the screen) that can be used to navigate through the phone in addition to the touch screen. You can press on it for “Enter/Ok” gestures.


CAMERA: I was afraid that the camera quality wasn’t going to be good because the fact that I’d experienced poor quality images off the HTC HD2. But the camera on this baby blows the HTC HD2?s out the water. The picture quality is another EXCELLENT. I had a regular 5MP Canon Camera that took great pictures and I can easily compare this to that. I am really impressed. CNET has this phones camera quality as subpar, when really, it’s excellent. Go try it out for yourself at your nearest T-Mobile store and you’ll see.


BATTERY LIFE: Battery life is good but not best. From using apple products, you get used to long lasting battery life. But this phone does a good job for what it is. It is a phone with a big screen, so if you plan on using this phone with heavy usage – browsing the internet, making a lot of calls, playing games, etc., you need a charger with you on the road. However, this phone can last you all day if you’re just a simple user, such as myself, just making several calls, browsing the internet and texting. It all just comes down to what and how you’ll be using this phone. Another thing is that you can control the screen’s brightness in three levels. I usually have mine on the lowest which reduces the battery life considerably well. The only problem is that when you’re outdoors when the sun is bright, you may want to increase the screens brightness, but if you’re indoors then it’s fine. This would definitely be a great alternative to help you save battery life.


INTERFACES: The interface on this phone basically lets you customize your own phone to your liking. You have many apps on the phone and you can place them anywhere on your screen(s), whether you want them as little icons or as a big viewable icon with animations such as the clock, whether, pictures, message inboxes, etc. and they all look very cool. Icons can even be placed in sections on one screen. In addition, you have the option to add a total of 7 Home/Leap screens and all can be viewed simultaneously. Pretty cool!


INTERNET 3G/WI-FI: Browsing the internet on this phone is awesome, whether it’s 3g or wi-fi, it does an excellent job. Its very sooth, smoother than my iPod Touch which is surprising and it’s very fast browsing from page to page. Rotating the screen to change viewing position is at ease, no lags or cracks. I’m on the internet daily on this phone and can’t get over how fast it is.


APPS: In this phone you have many apps that are included such as genius, GPS, MP3 Store, Peep, PDF Viewer, Quickoffice, and much more. They have the “Market Place” app, where you can purchase any apps and even “Free” apps in any category you desire. Apps are very easy to download. If you’re familiar with apple products, such as iPhone or iPod Touch, you’ll know exactly how to use this.


SPEED/PROCESSOR: The speed on this phone is awesome at 600MHz. It may not have the full 1GHz processor but I guarantee you that this phone will impress you. Their no lags, no slow downs, or freezes like you’ll experience on other phones such as the Motorola CLIQ. This phone is fast just like my iPod Touch.


NEGATIVES: You would think HTC would include either a case or a screen protector for an expensive phone like they do for their other products. So now I have to waste more money for a case and screen protector. Another thing is the price, it’s $[...] after rebate and that’s if you buy it through T-Mobile which is a little expensive if you ask me, but you can get a better deal else where.


ANOTHER GREAT FEATURE: When you press to answer a call and as you place your ear/faces next to the phone, the screen will automatically shut off to avoid misguided touch on the touch screen interface. In addition, the phone will turn on when ear/faces is away from the phone. Pretty cool!


Overall, I think this is an awesome phone, probably is T-Mobile’s best; and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who’s a Student, Business Professional, or anyone who wants a phone with an excellent camera.


I will update this review as I experience more.
Rating: 5 / 5

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