Photos: Hands-on with the HTC Magic Android phone

By Andrew Lim on 17 February 2009, 1:36pm

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After waiting and waiting for an Android phone to appear at the Mobile World Congress, Vodafone on Tuesday unveiled the HTC Magic, the successor to the T-Mobile G1 (formerly known as the HTC Dream). We were lucky enough to get our hands on a prototype. It features slightly different buttons to the final version, but the rest will be the same.

Unlike the G1, the Magic doesn't feature a keyboard, instead relying on a very responsive touchscreen. It's a lot smaller than the G1 and feels really good in the hand. It also looks much better, in our opinion. The curved edges and shiny finish give it an elegant appearance and feel, and we can't wait to get hold of one for longer time back in the UK.

It will be made available on a Vodafone contract in the UK soon, but no exact date has been announced yet. The Magic will cost around £100 but, depending on what contract you get, that price may go up or down. Vodafone is going to be the exclusive retailer of the Magic in the UK, so, if you want to upgrade from a G1, you'll have to change networks.

Update: Watch our hands-on video with the HTC Magic here.

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anonymous 17 February, 2009 14:32

Tonight is right for love making.

anonymous 17 February, 2009 14:35

Is it multi-touch? Or has the Evil Apple Overlord stopped that too?

DavidRGilson 17 February, 2009 14:40

Shame it doesn't have a physical keyboard.

anonymous 17 February, 2009 14:51

Wow that's hideous, of course so is the G1 in white, so maybe it will look OK in black.

+1 on the shame about the lack of a keyboard, of course it does allow the device to be smaller, and people with small effeminate fingers seem to get by OK on a touch screen keyboard.

WTF is with the continued lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack? I'm sure that HTC wants to sell lots of high margin ExtUSB-3.5mm adapters and headphones but the carriers should insist on a standard audio jack.

anonymous 17 February, 2009 14:56

Headphone jack? It's the 21st Century, ever hear of Bluetooth?

anonymous 17 February, 2009 15:17

Bluetooth? Does the word fidelity mean anything to you? Also, I'm not spending $100 on bluetooth headphones that are going to sound worse than a $20 pair of in-ear headphones so I can listen to music on my phone wireless-style.

anonymous 17 February, 2009 15:22

I don't get it... where's the Apple logo...

anonymous 17 February, 2009 17:39

I think HTC may have a winner there. It's obviously not as flashy as some of their WinMo devices, but it is quite attractive AND, best of all, it's running Android.

anonymous 17 February, 2009 20:01

Ugly! The shiny curved plastic reminds me of the landline phones they used to sell at cheap department stores when I was a kid.

anonymous 18 February, 2009 02:49

those physical buttons are so awkward. why can't they just overload the home button with the menu, the former with a long press and the latter a short one. and again no 3.5mm headphone jack... what the heck is wrong with htc? i guess i'm just gonna wait til somebody in its right mind come up with a regular hardware for android.

minimach 18 February, 2009 03:17

I guess these manufacturers just can't afford to buy licensing to use the standard 3.5mm jacks. Or they're just being cheap!

minimach 18 February, 2009 03:20

Although Bluetooth wireless is the way to go nowadays... pity that there's a lack of well designed sets in the market and the battery life and sound quality is always the problem.

anonymous 19 February, 2009 01:08

Ah, yes. The landscape keypad on the iPhone. The one that only exists in the browser. Might want to mention that next time you write something up, Andy.