In the growing sea of Android smartphones, how does a carrier differentiate a new handset from all the rest? Upgraded hardware features are one method, but with the exception of radically new handset designs, most upgrades are minor bumps from prior generations. Besides, most phones are designed by handset makers and then rebadged for various markets and carriers. That leaves software as the most potent way to stand out from the crowd — and the one T-Mobile employs with the new myTouch 3G Slide handset.
To be sure, there are the expected hardware upgrades from the prior myTouch 3G model, which is built by HTC. But it’s the software that truly makes this handset different from other Android smartphones. I noticed the tweaks immediately after powering up the device, which I’ve been using for a few weeks.
The user interface immediately brought to mind that of the HTC Sense, which pretties up the stock Android environment. My gut was right — in a phone interview with T-Mobile’s development team, Mike Hendrick, director of mobile software development, explained that the heavily modified myTouch 3G Slide interface utilizes 45 different modified widgets, functions and elements of HTC Sense, from a themed notification bar to home screen shortcuts.
Aside from the customized interface, three main software features bring me a better user experience on the myTouch 3G Slide:
* Faves Gallery — aggregates social status updates, email and instant messaging conversations for favorite contacts.
* MyModes — changes the device theme/home screens based on time or location, something I wish every phone could do.
* Genius button – activates speech-recognition features for message composition, web searches and voice calling.
T-Mobile tells me that its software investment in the myTouch 3G Slide — four times that of the development effort for the prior model — can be leveraged and reused in future devices. Working with HTC on the Sense customizations was one part of that investment, but the carrier’s development team also enlisted a new partner in the form of Nuance Mobile for the Genius button voice features.
http://gigaom.com/2010/06/03/mytouch-3g-slide-proves-software-can-differentiate-android-hardware/
