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Vodafone snags Android-powered HTC Magic
HTC Magic
(Credit: HTC)To our disappointment, there hasn't been a ton of Google Android news to come out of GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009 so far. Huawei announced on Monday that it plans to start selling Android devices later this year, but other than that we didn't see a T-Mobile G2, and Samsung already said it would not show its Android phone at the show as it has been delayed until the second half of 2009.
However, we did get one device announcement. The bad news is that it's not for the U.S. market. On Tuesday, Vodafone said it will bring the HTC Magic to market this spring--the first Google Android device for the carrier. The Magic will be a Vodafone exclusive in the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, and France and will be available on a nonexclusive basis in Italy.
The HTC Magic features a 3.2-inch HVGA touch screen and trackball navigator, but doesn't have a slide-out QWERTY keyboard like the T-Mobile G1. The quad-band smartphone will offer various e-mail options, including Gmail (of course) and POP3 and IMAP accounts, and will support Google applications like Google Maps and Google Search. Vodafone customers will also have access to the Android Market, from where they can download more applications and games for their smartphones. Other goodies include a Webkit browser, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, HSDPA/WCDMA (900/2100MHz), and a 3.2-megapixel camera.
The HTC Magic will come in multiple colors: white for United Kingdom, Spain, and France; black for Germany; and both colors for Italy. Exact release dates and pricing schemes were not announced at this time, though there was mention that the Magic would be "available for free on various price plans." Vodafone also plans to release the HTC Magic in other markets over the next few months.
Bonnie Cha is a senior editor for CNET, covering smartphones and GPS. When she's not testing the latest gadgets, you can find her chasing after her crazy lab or surfing in the chilly waters of Northern California. E-mail Bonnie.
They make some of the nicest looking phones available (touch hd springs to mind) and they must have some of the most experienced android developers in the world working for them since they're still the only people to actually release an android phone.
Yet they keep releasing their slickest hardware with crud software (ie windows mobile) whilst their android phones just don't do it asthetically for me at all - I'd go so far as to call them ugly. And why only in white??!!! Its all getting a bit frustrating. I have a (fairly old now) Touch Dual and it'd be great if only it didn't run windows mobile.
HTC, I have a simple formula for you
Touch HD + Android = $$$
Try it, please...
but still wats up with all the obsession of WinMO recently ?
when Android is obviously superior in every way possible !
it sounds like some kind of conspiracy or something !
I partially blame the poor choice of brand name: Android? Come on, what's up with that? It's a word normally used by the traditional "nerd" population, and it has seemingly nothing to do with what the product actually is. I just can't see a teenage boy or a soccer mom saying, "Boy, I need to get myself one of those Android devices." Substitute iPhone in for Android, and it sounds more plausible, eh?
People buy phones because of its function, apps, and features. Most do not buy phones because of the underlying OS. If you want proof, go ask someone who doesn't live and breathe computers what OS their phone runs on. Many do not know nor do they care.
Arguments about being an open OS or the ability to write you own software mean absolutely squat to most people. Most people will never write their own phone apps nor ever have the desire to alter the OS. Put more emphasis on the phone and compelling apps, features and functions and less on the OS then maybe more people might care.
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by kimhollingshead
September 5, 2009 8:18 AM PDT
- HTC Magic. I tried to set up Wi-Fi but was unsure whether to leave a space between pairs of digits for the WEP. I decided not to and the result is that WiFi doesn't work. I can't find a way to change the WEP - if I input a new WEP (eg with spaces, hyphens, commas - I've trird them all) but there seems to be no way of saving the new WEP - and it doesn't work anyway!\r
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(14 Comments)Can you help? (plain English for an old codger, please!)