14 DAY TRIAL // HTC Magic, the second Android-powered mobile phone, was expected to come to Vodafone in April, yet the wireless carrier is set to make the device available in the UK only on May 5. The good news here is that the Magic is already available for pre-order on the company's site, as well as through Vodafone's retail stores and by telesales.
Vodafone's first Android-powered smartphone will come in white, sporting a 3.2-inch QVGA touch screen display, a built-in accelerometer that will allow changing the view from landscape to portrait mode, and stereo Bluetooth, as well as a wide range of email options, including Google Mail, POP3 and IMAP, not to mention Google Talk for instant messaging. It also comes with synchronization with Google Calendar and contacts, as well as Google Maps, with Street View for satellite view, traffic views and Google Latitude.
The touchscreen of the device provides a responsive QWERTY keyboard that features predictive text for speed, as well as cut and paste functionality. In addition, users will also be able to enjoy personalization capabilities for the way they use the Internet on their handset, not to mention the capability to download relevant applications, ringtones and games directly from the Android Market.
When compared to the first Android phone, the HTC Dream, the new HTC Magic includes a new design, sporting six hard buttons for navigation – volume control, a call/hang up key, home button, menu button and quick Search key – meant to provide faster navigation through menus and Internet. There are also a lot of additions, including a fully functional web browser, sporting Google search and Vodafone live! on the home screen and the ability to load images to Picasa Web Albums, or to upload clips to YouTube.
Other specs of the HTC Magic include 500MB of internal memory, coupled with a memory card slot with support for up to 8GB of additional storage space, support for quad-band GSM, dual-band UMTS, HSDPA/HSUPA, Wi-Fi connectivity, GPS capabilities, MMS, and a 3.2-megapixel photo snapper with video recording capabilities.
According to Vodafone, the new Android device will be available for free with a two-year contract at GBP35 per month (which includes unlimited mobile Internet use, 600 minutes and unlimited texts), and a 2GB memory card will also be included in the package. In addition, those who will pre-order the handset will benefit from the GBP35 plan for GBP30. More details on the HTC Magic on Vodafone are available here.