T-Mobile’s Android Announcement – The myTouch 3G

Just a few days ago T-Mobile unveiled the Dash 3G and gave a hint they’d be making a much more interesting announcement, one concerning Android, within a week. Why wait a week when you could announce your new Android phone on…Sunday night?

The oft-rumored HTC myTouch 3G is now official, and coming to T-Mobile on July 29th. Customers can start ordering the new phone as early as July 8th. The phone will start at $199, the same price as the 16GB iPhone 3GS.

The new HTC phone is essentially an upgrade of the G1, though it doesn’t sport the physical keyboard of the G1, relying instead on the Android 1.5 virtual keypad. The phone also has a 3.2 megapixel camera and offers support for 3G networks as well as Wi-Fi.

T-Mobile is pitching the myTouch 3G against the iPhone by selling customization. According to Andrew Sherrard, VP of Product Innovation at T-Mobile, the iPhone has a “beautiful aesthetic, but you can’t change it.” With widgets, custom backgrounds, and the ability to learn user preferences, Sherrard believes the myTouch 3G is more than just a phone. “This is more than a product launch for us,” he said. “We want consumers to view this as an experience that we are creating for them.”

The smartphone market is all about creating a total user experience. iPhone users love the App Store. Palm Pre adopters are in love with the new operating system. Will customization be enough to take people over to T-Mobile?

Maybe not by itself, but it’s difficult to ignore Android, the operating system that sold 1 million HTC G1’s, the first Android phone from T-Mobile. The open source development base continues to grow, which means more features and more apps for an exploding customer base. Android is best positioned as an iPhone contender, and as more apps get developed, and more carriers consider Android devices, I think we’ll see Android continue to grow as the tech-savvy alternative to an iPhone.

If there’s one thing I think T-Mobile could have planned better, it’s timing. They’ve known about this release for a while, so why not tell people, particularly with the iPhone 3GS launch. Plenty of folks have been waiting for that next best thing, and June marks the end of the first iPhone contracts. Why not pick up the folks who were ready to drop AT&T? Why not fight the Palm Pre/3GS in the open field. As I see it, T-Mobile could have snagged more than a few techsumers who weren’t thrilled with the G1 but might give the myTouch 3G a shot. Both the Palm Pre and the 3GS may have had enough features to lure those people into new contracts, contracts they’re unlikely to break so soon.