To put a bigger dent in Apple's growing command of the US mobile phone market, T-Mobile USA will start to use weapons ranging from hardware diversity to "usability," improved customer service, and new software applications, according to Cole Brodman, CTO for the mobile carrier.
"IPhones are great, but Apple's vision isn't as wide," Brodman contended, during an interview with Betanews at a New York City press event on Thursday.
The HTC myTouch 3G -- the first of three Android phones eyed by T-Mobile for 2009 -- is a more "powerful device for the mobile Internet" than the iPhone, according to the CTO. In contrast to Apple's iPhone, Android devices will become available in a much larger variety of hardware form factors, he added.
China-based HTC, the maker of the myTouch, already produces several other Android phones, including T-Mobile's first entry into the Android space, the G1, plus the Magic and the new Hero, both of which are already distributed by overseas wireless carriers.
In a presentation at the event, Brodman foresaw a plethora of Android-based phones, netbooks, and CE devices from other manufacturers. But in comparison to other US mobile carriers now eyeing devices built on Google's Android platform, T-Mobile enjoys a "first mover advantage," he maintained.
As previously reported, Eric Lin, HTC's online community manager, told Betanews yesterday that HTC expects to deliver the Hero to the US later this year, but through a different provider than T-Mobile.
Among the four major US mobile carriers, that leaves Sprint and Verizon Wireless as the most likely candidates for the Hero, with AT&T Wireless still enmeshed in an exclusive US contract for the iPhone. Sprint, however, recently rolled out the Palm Pre, another competing smartphone.
Yet T-Mobile, at least, seems to see no problem with supporting smartphones built on rival platforms. "We will also continue to sell Windows Mobile phones, of course," Brodman said during the interview.
With the three new Android phones eyed for 2009, T-Mobile will hone in on the consumer space, rather than the corporate market where Microsoft just so happens to focus.
But T-Mobile's devices will also support some "crossover applications," according to Brodman. As an example, he pointed to a client application for Microsoft's own Exchange mail system. T-Mobile is adding the client to the myTouch to let consumers carry out their "work e-mail" from anywhere.
Moreover, to help T-Mobile broaden its reach against Apple and other players on the consumer side, the myTouch will be "less tech-centric" than the earlier G1," and "far more intuitive," according to Brodman. The myTouch will also be "holdable," more along the lines of the feature phones that consumers are already accustomed to toting around with them.
In a presentation at the event, Brodman and Denny Marie Post, T-Mobile USA's chief marketing officer, sketched out some new customer service policies the carrier will institute to boost the comfort levels of new Android phone users. For one thing, T-Mobile will make sure that every phone is working before it leaves the company's doors, the executives vowed. But if an Android phone does turn out to be a lemon, the consumer will be able to exchange it for a replacement directly at the phone store.
T-Mobile's new emphasis on "usability" will extend across Android software. The myTouch is based on the Hero, but it contains new software applications and features devised by T-Mobile. Like HTC's Hero, the myTouch will be user-customizable. In fact, there will be "boundless possibilities as to how to personalize," according to Post.
For its part, the Hero includes a feature called "scenes," which lets users create custom content profiles for "specific functions or times in your life."
But apparently, customization of the myTouch will be simpler, since it will revolve largely around the user's choice of software applications; "backgrounds," or wallpapers; and "skins," or exterior shells. Some of the shells will come with coordinating accessories such as wrist straps and ear buds.
Brodman cited the army of developers working on Google's Android platform as another tool in T-Mobile's arsenal against the iPod. With the launch of the myTouch, T-Mobile announced Sherpa as one new application that will soon land on Google's online Android Market.
With the "search-less search" application from third-party developer Geodelic, consumers won't even need to type anything into the search bar if they want to scope out the local area for restaurants and other points of interest (although a search bar is there as an option).
Users will be able to view the places pinpointed by Sherpa (and the new phone's GPS mechanism) in a choice of three ways: Google maps, a list, and a graphical "carousel," said representatives of Geodelic at a product showcase during the event. Sherpa is designed to not only know where you are, but to learn your preferences. The app also provides restaurant reviews and other linked information.
Also at the showcase, T-Mobile reps displayed the apps, backgrounds and skins that might be chosen by different categories of end users, such as athletes, musicians, and "news hounds," for instance.
To help undecided new Android users determine which apps they want to download from the Android Market, the myTouch will include a new recommendation engine dubbed the App Pack.
T-Mobile started taking pre-orders yesterday from existing customers for the myTouch, a phone priced at $199.99 with a two-year contract. The pre-ordered phones are slated to ship in late July.
To support its new competitive strategy for Android phones, T-Mobile is now devising a new ad campaign, Post said. The new ads will start in August, and the myTouch is scheduled to enter general availability that same month.
Features of T-Mobile's new Android phone include a 3.2-inch HVGA touch-screen display with enhanced video capabilities and a virtual keyboard; a 3.2-megapixel camera; a music player with a pre-installed 4 GB microSD memory card; built-in wireless communications through Wi-Fi and T-Mobile's 3G network; a Microsoft Exchange client; GoogleTalk, MMS, and Microsoft LiveTalk messaging; and one-click access to a number of different online apps, including Google Maps, YouTube, Picasa, and Yahoo.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2009
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