myTouch Q & myTouch.
There are some amazing and affordable smartphones out there that don’t make all the headlines. Two you should seriously consider are T-Mobile’s myTouch and myTouch Q by LG smartphones. Despite their similar names, they’ve got a lot of differences.
The most obvious difference is the pull-out QWERTY keyboard on the myTouch Q — and the larger screen on the myTouch. The screens compare at a 3.5-inch vs. 3.8-inch display (see table below). And the myTouchQ excels in photography, with its camera flash, improved color saturation and exposure controls.
Check out the difference in the two photos I shot, below.
- Photo by T-Mobile’s myTouch Q: Courtesy Todd Ogasawara
- Photo by T-Mobile’s myTouch: Courtesy Todd Ogasawara
Here are some other differences between the two similiarly-named phones:
| myTouch Q | myTouch | |
| Slideout keyboard | Yes | No |
| Thickness | 0.51 inches | 0.385 inches |
| Weight | 5.64 ounces | 3.77 ounces |
| LED Camera Flash | Yes | No |
| Front-facing camera | No | Yes |
| Display resolution | 320-by-480-pixels | 480-by-800-pixels |
| AMOLED, 16M colors | No | Yes |
| Talk time | up to 3.3 hrs | up to 4.02 hrs |
| Standby time | up to 280 hrs | up to 312.5 hrs |
| microUSB cover | No | Yes |
Comparing the Apple iPhone 4 (top), with T-Mobile's myTouch Q (middle), myTouch (bottom): Photo by Todd Ogasawara
Both smartphones have the following in common:
- 5-mp still camera
- 720p video recording (30 frames per second)
- Qualcomm MSM8255 Scorpion 1GHz CPU
- 2GB internal storage
- 32GB expandable storage with microSD card slot
- 512MB of RAM
- Google Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
- 4G (LTE) capable
- Band/frequency: quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), dual-band UMTS (1700/2100 MHz bands 1 & 4)
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
- Bluetooth 3.0 + EDR + A2DP stereo
- Removable rechargeable lithium-ion battery (1500 mAh Li-ion)
The myTouch (it’s the unit with no keyboard) is the better choice if you want to have video chats — it has a front-facing camera. The myTouch Q is better if you want its keyboard, of course. Clearly, the myTouch is better if you want the higher resolution AMOLED display for previewing photos, watching videos, or playing games. It also provides greater battery life for both talk and standby times.
Both devices are reasonably capable, especially for the price of $79.99 plus contract. No information yet as to whether either will be upgradable to Google Android 4.0.1 Ice Cream Sandwich, but the required specs are there.
