This summer we’re prepared to see a whole lot of action in the T-Mobile smartphone community. With the release of the HTC MyTouch 3G, Touch Pro 2, Dash 3G, Samsung Bigfoot, Samsung Galaxy (i7500), and possibly a new Blackberry device, there is a lot of choices. So how do you know which one to get? By giving an overview of each phone, hopefully we can help you make that decision.

First, we’ll start with the HTC MyTouch 3G. This phone has a rumored June release date, so we should be hearing more about it very soon. The MyTouch is an Android powered phone with a large 3.2’’ HVGA touchscreen, 512 MB ROM, 288 MB RAM, microSD card slot, a 3.2 megapixel camera w/video (no flash), integrated GPS, and a 1340 mAh battery.

Unlike the G1, this phone has no slide out keyboard, which may be a turn off to those who type a lot of texts and emails. The lack of a physical also makes this device much more pocket friendly, and you don’t have to worry about the slider breaking or having dirt get in between the screen and keyboard. The soft keyboard doesn’t work as good as the iPhone keyboard, but you can download an alternative one if you like. In my opinion, this device looks much better than the G1.

It will come in three colors, Black, White and Merlot. Android is a fairly new operating system, but it is quickly becoming one of the top smartphone operating systems available. With its own app store, and a large community of developers and modders working on new programs and applications, we should start to see some awesome things done with Android in the future.

Next is the Touch Pro 2, the phone I’m most excited about. Rumored to be released on July 22nd, this Windows Mobile Professional powered device features a large 3.6’’ WVGA resistive touch screen, 512MB ROM, 288MB RAM, microSD/HC card slot, 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and no flash, video recording, GPS, Wifi, Bluetooth, and a 1500 mAh battery.

I’ll give you the cons first. This device has a massive, high resolution screen which sucks power. The battery will last one day with heavy use (lots of texting, email, watching videos and web surfing). This shouldn’t be much of a problem if you have access to some sort of power source, but if you’re going on a trip you better have a charger, or you’ll just be carrying around a really expensive piece of plastic. The other bad thing about the TP2 is the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack. This might not be a big deal to some people, but it’s annoying when you have to use an adapter, and HTC’s included headphones usually suck.

One great feature of the TP2 is the Touch Flow 3D interface which beautifully covers up the standard Windows Mobile 6.1 interface. If you haven’t seen Touch Flow 3D in action, you should check it out. It runs very smooth, and the large screen of the TP2 makes it easy to navigate. Touch Flow 3D doesn’t cover up everything though, like when you’re navigating the advanced options, which requires a stylus (or freakishly small fingers).

If you’re constantly texting or typing emails, you will appreciate the full QWERTY slide out keyboard, which features nice big buttons. The screen also tilts up to about a 45° angle, which is nice for watching videos. Right now, Android is getting most of the modders and app maker’s attention, but when this phone comes out there will no doubt be a lot of action in the Windows Mobile community. WinMo is still a very strong competitor in the smartphone market.

The HTC Dash 3G doesn’t get as much attention as other phones, but it’s still a strong competitor. Release date is July 15th. Running Windows Mobile 6.1 standard, this phone has a QVGA non-touchscreen 2.4’’ display, 256MB ROM and 192MB RAM, 2.0 megapixel camera with no auto focus or flash, GPS, Wifi, 1500 mAh battery, all that good stuff. That 1500 mAh battery will get you through two days of moderate use, which is pretty good.

Unfortunately the camera on the Dash is not so good, you would expect more than 2.0 megapixels on a device like this, even though it is more business focused. The software on the Dash 3G is pretty basic, just 6.1 with sliding panels. This device is good for someone who doesn’t want to spend a whole lot of money but still get a decent, good looking phone.

We don’t know much about the Samsung “Bigfoot” even though BoyGeniusReport says it will be launching “really soon”. What we do know is that it has a 3.0’’ capacitive amoled touch screen, UMTS/HSDPA, and a 3.0 megapixel camera. Being a smartphone, it should also have GPS, Wifi and all the other bells and whistles you might expect.

This is a good alternative to the G1, it has a full QWERTY slide out keyboard, is powered by Android and if it comes in some other colors it looks much better than the G1. You may want to hold off on buying another phone until the official specs for the Bigfoot are released.

The Samsung i7500 (Galaxy) is an Android powered phone that is similar to the MyTouch 3G. The hardware on the i7500 is better than the MyTouch though, with a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, micro usb port, 5mp camera with autofocus and power LED flash, 1500mAh battery, 8GB built in memory, microSD card slot, 3.2’’ OLED touchscreen display, Bluetooth, Wifi and GPS. This phone is a very good alternative to the MyTouch because it has a better camera with flash, a 3.5mm headphone jack, standard micro usb port, and instead of a trackball, it has a four way directional pad. There is no official U.S release date, but the 1700MHz frequency could mean good news for T-Mobile U.S.A customers. So keep your fingers crossed.

That Blackberry device I was referring to is the Gemini. It has only been rumored to be released for T-Mobile in one of those leaked Walmart roadmaps you may have seen. Also a rumor is the August 5th release date. I’ll let you know right off the bat that this is a very basic phone, that means no 3G, which is a big letdown. If you don’t mind having an EDGE connection though, you might like this phone. It has 256MB internal memory, 1150 mAh battery, and a 2.0 megapixel camera w/out flash.

There is good reason to be excited this summer, with a large selection of phones on multiple operating systems, there is something for everyone. I didn’t mention any prices because there isn’t any yet. Until T-Mobile officially announces the prices, you’ll just have to make an educated guess based on similar phones.

So, what phone will you be getting this summer? Let us know in the comments.




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