The phone is the second upgrade this month to an existing T-Mobile Android handset. The carrier is gearing up to offer the G2 — the successor to the very first Android phone, the G1 — in the next few days. The myTouch and G2 will accompany the Samsung Vibrant, part of Samsung’s Galaxy S line of phones, and the upcoming Motorola Defy, to make up T-Mobile’s high-end Android selection for the next few months.

Hardware-wise, the new myTouch is a drool-worthy device. It sports a 1-gigahertz processor (the G2 only has an 800Mhz CPU), 3.8″ display, 5-megapixel camera, and a front-facing camera for video conferencing. While its screen is slightly smaller than the Vibrant’s 4-inch display, the addition of a front-facing camera is a worthy compromise. The G2 will be shipping with Android 2.2 (which goes by the codename “Froyo”), an 8-gigabyte microSD memory card, and it will be available in white, black, red, and plum.

Like the G2, the myTouch will support T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network, which the carrier claims will offer 4G speeds. Technically, HSPA is just a faster 3G technology — AT&T is currently working to deploy HSPA before it rolls out its 4G LTE network. HSPA will effectively double download speeds to around 7Mbps, which is far from what many would consider “4G.” (Though if we’re getting picky, even current LTE technology isn’t quite 4G — although it does offer better speeds than HSPA.)

T-Mobile says the myTouch will be available “in time for the holidays.” While the carrier still doesn’t have as big an Android selection as Verizon, the myTouch will certainly make up for the lack of variety with speed and its video-conferencing capabilities.

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Tags: Android, G1, G2, myTouch, myTouch 3G, smartphones

Companies: AT&T, Google, T Mobile

ClairMail offers a suite of mobile applications to help consumers stay aware of their account status with each bank. The platform provides a mobile application, text messaging alerts, and the like to update users on new activity regarding their bank accounts. ClairMail also offers mobile payment options and ways for credit card companies to deliver alerts to their customers.

The most recent fundraising round was led by Investor Growth Capital. Existing investors JAFCO Partners, Norwest Venture Partners and Outlook Ventures also participated in the round. The funding is pegged to help improve its mobile infrastructure and for research and development.

Interest in mobile banking has grown lately with each major bank providing its own mobile banking applications. Some financial institutions, like USAA, also offer ways for banking customers to deposit checks simply by taking a picture of the check with an iPhone. Data from comScore indicates that 13.2 million people accessed their bank accounts from their phones in April, which is a 70 percent increase from a year ago. About 41 percent of smartphone users also used mobile banking applications, according to data from comScore.

So far, eight of the top 12 financial institutions in the United States have jumped on board with the mobile banking platform, the company said in a press release. ClairMail has some high-profile banking names like BB&T and Bank of the West as top-tier customers, as well as more than 45 other financial institutions with a reach of 161 million users. ClairMail saw 300 percent growth in its revenue year-over-year in its second quarter of 2010, the company said in a press release.

The San Rafael, Calif.-based company was founded in 2004 and currently has 125 employees. ClairMail declined to disclose its total funding to date.

[Photo: alancleaver_2000]

Tags: banking, mobile banking

Companies: Clairmail, Investor Growth Capital, JAFCO Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, Outlook Ventures