HTC Magic In Shops Today

[george]

HTC Magic in shops today

HTC Magic Android touch-screen mobile phone handset Got £35 a month for the next two years? Then you could bag yourself a HTC Magic phone, which is released exclusively on the Vodafone network today.

The package includes unlimited mobile internet use (subject to a fair usage policy of 500MB per month), 600 minutes and unlimited texts. The phone will also come with a 2GB memory card.

The white HTC Magic uses Google’s Android software and having had a play with one earlier this week it’s a doddle to get to grips with.

The 3.2-inch QVGA touchscreen is responsive to finger presses (but not our trusty thumbnail) and apps can be installed and moved around very easily to personalise it for your use.

A QWERTY keyboard using predictive text can be popped up onscreen and the phone has the ability to cut and paste.

There are also six hard buttons for navigation, volume control, a call/hang up key, home button, menu button, and quick ‘Search’ key.

It also features stereo Bluetooth for audio and an accelerometer to change from portrait to landscape view.

The HTC Magic includes a variety of email options such as Google Mail, POP3 and IMAP as well as Google Talk for instant messaging.

Other features include:

* Synchronisation with Google Calendar and contacts

* Google Maps with Street View for satellite view, traffic views and Google Latitude making it easier to stay in touch with friends

* 500MB internal memory, with capacity for a 8GB external memory

* Removable battery

* Quad-band GSM, dual-band UMTS, HSDPA/HSUPA, Wi-fi, GPS

* 3.2-megapixel camera.

-- Absolute Gadget 2009-05-01

[george]

Awesome! I want to have one!!

[matte]

Yep, it seems nice. But the so-so camera suggests that I wait for a while and see if they will upgrade it.

[bkkmick]

Available in Thailand? If so, how much?

[gaipad]

Samsung has a way better phone coming out in Germany in about 2 month. Check engadgetmobile.com

I'm undecided if I should get the Omnia HD or the N97. Both are great devices (and OmniaHD is the best phone you can get in the coming months if you do not want a physical qwerty).

[momosan]

Samsung has a way better phone coming out in Germany in about 2 month. Check engadgetmobile.com

I'm undecided if I should get the Omnia HD or the N97. Both are great devices (and OmniaHD is the best phone you can get in the coming months if you do not want a physical qwerty).

Yea the Samsung I7500 looks like it's going to be an awesome Android platform: 3.2" AMOLED screen, GPS, 5MP camera, Wifi, 8GB onboard mem (with SD to expand), 1500mAh battery

[genesisboon]

does anyone here own it by now? i bought it, faced some problems and called the HTC Thailand Hotline... she put me on hold for 10 MINUTES!! after i said "sorry but can you speak English"...

[nikster]

Hardware looks neat, just too many buttons on the front - this is a touch screen device isn't it? Why does it need 7 buttons on the front?

I don't like to have 3 different ways of doing the same thing, but admittedly I am in this regard burned by the (and this is only a slight exaggeration) traumatic experience with a SE p990i. The P990i had three different input modes, and most - but not all - functions could be reached by either the number pad, the flip out keyboard, the click wheel, or the stylus. It was maddening.

Anyway - would like to see a review of this, Android is going to save all the non-iPhone non-BB smartphones from oblivion, that I am sure of.

[nikster]

Hmm.... after seeing that demo video, I think they still have some work to do. Looks like it's in some regards "nearly as good as" the iPhone (browser) and in others, just much worse (home screen).... they've caught up with the hardware, that looks like a very fast processor and a great touch screen, but the software is quite clearly neither as intuitive nor as efficient to use.

[phazey]

Android is nice, but it's simply not as slick as the iphone OS. That's why it's my backup phone right now due to launch day iphone death :[