The wait is nearly over. Vodafone has been accepting pre-orders for just over a week, but this Friday the HTC Magic will go on sale – five days earlier than planned. We’ve been toying with it all morning. Read on to see what’s in store for lucky owners this Friday!
The HTC Magic is an astounding phone. In the hand it feels masses slimmer than its predecessor, the T-Mobile G1, and since HTC has lopped off the wobbly slide-out keyboard, it’s much better looking.
Running the latest software from Google means it’s also faster than any Android phone we’ve used before. The so-called ‘Cupcake’ update delivers video recording, more speedy responses to finger-taps and swipes and, of course, an on-screen keyboard.
The latter is a joy to use. While it doesn’t predict words from generalised prods like the iPhone, it does attempt to finish words for you in a much simpler way. Tap a few keys (making sure you hit them correctly) and the HTC Magic will guess what you’re trying to say. Multiple suggestions appear at the top of the keyboard, rather than single options offered by the iPhone, and a quick prod brings them into your sentences.
Copy, cut and paste is included too, with a simple prod at sentences bringing up a text-editing menu. Video recording is also added, and is as swift as you’d expect.
But it’s the redesigned shell of the HTC Magic that has us smitten the most. Gleaming in white plastic, Vodafone has snapped up this gem for lifetime exclusivity, and it’s easy to see why. Easier to hold than the G1, and a million times more stylish, it’s been called an “incremental upgrade” by some, but in the flesh we found it felt like a whole new phone.
Android’s still finding its feet in the mobile world, but with the HTC Magic on Vodafone, it just took a gigantic leap forward.
Out 1 May | Free on tariffs £35 and above | HTC (available from Vodafone)
Looking forward to seeing this in the flesh. Looks great in your gallery.
Wish this wasn’t exclusive to Vodafone.
I’d like to stick with 3 – their internet service is pretty damn good, but they don’t have a decent phone to take advantage of that.
If there’s really gonna be a minor infux of Android phones this year, I hope 3 won’t let them pass by.