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Round Two: T-Mobile Readies Another Google Android Smartphone

CRN Staff

June 17, 2009, 11:45 AM EDT

smartphone Google operating system

The successor to the T-Mobile G1 is slated to be called myTouch 3G, reported The Wall Street Journal , quoting sources familiar with the device.

Like the T-Mobile G1, the long-rumored myTouch 3G will be manufactured by HTC and is expected to hit the U.S. sometime this summer.

The myTouch 3G will join an arsenal of Google Android-powered devices expected on the market this year. Along with HTC, device makers Samsung and Motorola are working on smartphones based on the open-source operating system. It is expected that as many as 18 Google Android devices could be available soon from various manufacturers and carriers.

It was unclear Wednesday whether the T-Mobile myTouch 3G is the same device as the rumored T-Mobile G2 that was also expected this summer.

The Journal reported that T-Mobile will soon share more details on the upcoming Android device, while a Google spokesperson said the company is "pleased to see more Android-powered devices coming to market."

The myTouch 3G is expected to have a similar design to the HTC Magic, an Android smartphone sold via Vodafone in the U.K. The smartphone will feature a touch screen, but no physical keyboard. The myTouch 3G is also expected to be smaller than the iPhone and slightly rounded with a glossy look. The lack of a physical QWERTY keyboard will make the myTouch 3G slimmer than its predecessor, the G1. The smartphone will also feature the same navigation buttons and trackball in the same locations.

In addition, The Journal reported, the software on the new T-Mobile Android device will be familiar but include a few enhancements, including a voice-activated search function that is an upgrade from the G1 and the inclusion of a video recorder, which was recently added to the G1 via the Android Cupcake software update.

Word of a new Google Android device from T-Mobile comes as the summer smartphone season kicks into high gear. It will compete directly against the new touch-screen titans, the Apple iPhone 3G S and the Palm Pre, two long-awaited devices that are expected to shake up the smartphone market.

The myTouch 3G will also go up against a host of new BlackBerry models from Research In Motion, including the just-unveiled BlackBerry Tour, which threw its hat into the summer smartphone showdown earlier this week.