Android 2.2.1 Available for HTC Magic at Vodafone UK

Although this might be a bit of a shocker to some Android fas out there, the headline is correct. Wireless carrier Vodafone UK has started to roll-out the Android 2.2.1 OS update for its HTC Magic users, offering them all of the improvements the platform version comes with.

The HTC Magic was announced officially in early 2009 with the Android 1.5 Cupcake operating system on board. Compared to some of the latest Android-based devices out there, the handset sports lower hardware capabilities, and no one was expecting it to taste Froyo.

However, it appears that Vodafone and HTC decided the device would handle Android 2.2 pretty well, though without some features, due to the said hardware limitations.

For example, HTC Magic owners won't get Live Wallpapers, Flash video playback and Wi-Fi hotspot capabilities, though they would benefit from all of the other improvements the OS upgrade can offer.

“Android 2.2.1 will give customers a number of improvements including: latest Gmail and Android Market clients; ability to save applications directly onto an SD card; support for USB tethering so the phone can be used as a modem,” a recent post on the carrier's forums reads.

According to the said post, Magic would also receive “improved support for Active Sync Exchange (email, contacts and calendar sync); enhancements to Bluetooth; and enhancements to the camera. The update also includes the latest Google security patches.”

Vodafone says that all HTC Magic users will be informed on the availability of the new update, and that they would have the possibility to download the new OS version over the air through following the on screen prompts.

“Because it is quite a large update, we’d recommend customers carry it out over WiFi, although it is possible to download it over 3G or GPRS,” Vodafone states.

At the same time, the wireless carrier announced that the roll-out will be made in phases, and that not all users would receive notifications on its availability at the same time.

“The update is a two step download which will be triggered by automatic notification to the customer's handset. The first step will change the bootloader. The second step will install FroYo after the phone has rebooted,” the carrier notes.

Additional info on the Android 2.2.1 update for HTC Magic can be found on the company's forums here.