HTC Magic available for pre-order from Vodafone

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With an expected release of 5th May, fans of the HTC Magic will now be able to pre-order it, and be the first to receive the device when it launches in Europe. The handset will be free for 18 month contracts at £35 per month or greater, and £195.74 or £293.62 for 18 month contracts at £30 per month or lower from Vodafone.

The Magic is the widely anticipated successor to the T-Mobile G1, or the Dream, as it is known to the rest of the world, from handset manufacturer HTC. Although many people believe the Magic is essentially the G1/Dream sans the QWERTY keypad, there are many changes under the hood as well.

The Magic, upon release, will be the second handset to run Google's Android platform. Unlike, the platform on the G1/Dream, the Magic runs on an updated version of Android, codenamed 'cupcake'. Expected are changes to the download manager, the framework, Bluetooth, the system software, radio and telephony, developer tools, the build system and several applications, as well as a number of bug fixes. It also includes a virtual touch sensitive QWERTY keypad due to the Magic's lack of a physical one.

Image courtesy of CNET UK

One difference that you can immediately notice between the prototype models (from the Mobile World Congress) and the final model is the button design on the face of the device. HTC was reportedly unhappy with the responsiveness and tactile feedback of the earlier designs and had therefore revamped the layout and size of the buttons. The rest of the device remains largely unchanged.

Here is the feature list from the Vodafone website:

HSDPA
Built in GPS navigation
3.0 - 4.0 megapixel
3G
GPRS
WiFi
Triband
Bluetooth
Built in GPS navigation
Touch screen
Vodafone Mobile Internet
Email
Games
MP3 player
Camera / Video
Alarm clock
Calendar
Handsfree headset
White
Touch screen

Specifications:

Screen size: 3.2 inches
Dimensions: 113 x 55 x 13.65 mm

Fans around the world, keep your fingers crossed.

Link: Product Page

#1 s0nic69 on 18 Apr 2009 - 05:38

Oh this is cool. i got to play with the G1 from t-mobile. my friend has one. i liked it a lot. i hope this is even better. battery life i heard sucked really bad on it and people were having problems with their 3G network and has to go over to the 2g network, but thats a t-mobile isssue i think. cant wait to see this one. in the picture with the hand is really looks better than the g1, it doesnt have that weird lip as the g1. Anyways, cant wait to see it.

(1 reply) #2 rwx on 18 Apr 2009 - 06:46

So which is the final design, the one on the left or the one on the right (with the hand)? The one with the hand looks better. Anyway, I am not keen at all on touch screen keyboards.

#2.1 Unto Darkness on 18 Apr 2009 - 07:21

The final design is the picture on the left. Not the one in the hand.

It was taken from the product page.

(6 replies) #3 FoxieFoxie on 18 Apr 2009 - 07:02

What's the point of those G1 mobiles?

I'd rather take win mobile, much better looking phones + better os

#3.1 Sam Symons on 18 Apr 2009 - 08:07

FoxieFoxie said,

Much better looking phones and better OS in your opinion, you mean

#3.2 Frank Fontaine on 18 Apr 2009 - 13:37

Have you ever actually used Android? It is a really good OS, and completely open

#3.3 geoken on 18 Apr 2009 - 16:20

I think the point is that everyone in the world doesn't always agree with you. It's the reason cars come in more than one color.

#3.4 FoxieFoxie on 19 Apr 2009 - 10:44

Thanks for great points.

So G1 is better because: my opinion is different. WOW

#3.5 technobeaver on 19 Apr 2009 - 15:20

Reading comprehension ftw - Fail bud..fail..

#3.6 ZombieFly on 20 Apr 2009 - 08:58

i've had winmo devices for the past 5+ years. WinMo is tired in comparison to Android. Simply using an android device illustrates this perfectly. Maybe i'll return to winmo7 in the future, but for now, its an ageing OS that's failed to keep up with hardware developments/requirements.

#4 Faisal Islam on 18 Apr 2009 - 08:46

Android??? lolz....

#5 Shaun_ on 18 Apr 2009 - 12:04

Actually looks quite nice

(3 replies) #6 Airlink on 18 Apr 2009 - 14:34

Anyone else notice that they dropped a button? The prototype had 6 buttons + D-pad, the final device has 5 buttons + D-pad. Apparently, they felt that a "menu" button was unnecessary.

#6.1 Mikeyx11 on 18 Apr 2009 - 14:56

Uhh, both models have a Menu button... the one button missing on the other model is "search".

#6.2 geoken on 18 Apr 2009 - 16:22

Airlink said,

You're getting the pictures confused. The one with more buttons is the final version.

#6.3 Unto Darkness on 18 Apr 2009 - 17:47

geoken said,

That is correct. I should have labeled the picture. Sorry for that.

(1 reply) #7 Trauma on 18 Apr 2009 - 15:51

it's not a d-pad but a knob. like that nipple that some IBM laptops have/had.

#7.1 Unto Darkness on 18 Apr 2009 - 15:57

Its a trackball.

#8 Ksg on 19 Apr 2009 - 02:10

Looks sweet, shame about the price though =/

#9 Shiranui on 20 Apr 2009 - 00:55

Nice, but I hope an HD is planned.

#10 ZombieFly on 20 Apr 2009 - 08:59

hopefully this means the G1 cupcake update will see the light of day. I swear its being held back to get this thing out of the door.

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