HTC Magic mobile phone review

Posted by Gareth Beavis on Fri 1 May 2009

Another incoming Android

After all the excitement of the original G1, we were giddy to find out when the next version would be appearing, and the HTC Magic has filled that void nicely as the next in a long future line of Android phones.

- Watch our video of the HTC Magic

- See our hands-on gallery of the Android's second coming

Based on the same OS as the previous G1 from T-Mobile and HTC (albeit with a few minor tweaks) this time it’s Vodafone that’s bagged the exclusive rights to the new Google phone, and has radically overhauled the hardware in doing so. Gone is the physical QWERTY keyboard and a great deal of weight; in its place is a shiny white device that’s among the lightest around yet still packing the large 3.2-inch touchscreen. It might still have the familiar lip at the bottom (apparently for easier speaking and holding) but this time it doesn’t protrude in an ugly manner, instead blending nicely into the exterior.

There are a whole raft of new buttons on the front too, namely the search key which interacts with most applications on the phone to provide tailored search, be it through your contacts, the internet or the application Market, as well as moving the menu key down to the sit alongside its other button brethren.

Tactile touchscreen

There’s a touchscreen divide in the mobile phone world– on one side the likes of the iPhone and the Palm Pre, which practically react to a whisper, and on the other efforts from the likes of the Samsung Omnia and LG Renoir, which still don’t seem to have got it right in terms of responsiveness. The HTC Magic’s screen is certainly in the former category and is a real pleasure to use, reacting easily to even the lightest touch when swishing up the menu or yanking down the notifications bar at the top.

One of the biggest changes to the Android interface, thanks to the ‘Cupcake’ 1.5 update, is the addition of an on-screen keyboard, which is obviously necessary as the physical version was kicked to the curb. And it works very well, probably one of the best out there among the plethora of touchscreens available on the market. Its word prediction helps you out when you screw up a letter here and there, and haptic feedback is available for those that feel they need the extra boost. The word range could have been greater in predictive mode, but it only served to make us less lazy when we couldn’t be bothered to type properly.

Media mogul

The camera is a fairly standard 3.2MP effort, and pictures are more shrug-worthy than gasp-drawing, but the usual range of options for sharing and uploading goes some way to negating that. A flash would have been nice (as long as it didn’t compromise the lovely chassis) but for general Facebook pics and the like, this is certainly good enough.

Similarly with media, although it’s pretty visually and impressive sonically, with a range of applications available to download to improve the playback and video options, you feel that the decision not to include a 3.5mm headphone jack is a slight opportunity missed, especially when the thinner Samsung i7500 has managed to do so and have a 5MP camera with flash too. This means having to extend our headphones even further, which can lead to all sort of unsavoury situations when commuting on a packed Tube in the morning as you get caught up another person’s bag.

That said, as an overall experience it doesn’t suffer too much because of the fairly lightweight hardware, as the Android system powers this whole thing along in a manner that can make you forgive almost anything. The system does lag a bit at times (especially when using the accelerometer to change the screen orientation, when the phone has to stop and have a bit of a think) but it generally zips along in time with your finger swipes.

An Android to be reckoned with?

Overall, the HTC Magic does exactly what the G1 set out to do but does far more and does it better too. The slim chassis certainly improves the visual appeal of the handset, and the improved Cupcake update adds in the bits and pieces we were all hoping to appear.

The HTC Magic is a bit expensive though, as although it’s free on a £35 a month contract (£5 cheaper if you do it online) you’re locked in for 24 months, which could become a bit of a prison sentence if a raft of better Android phones appear in the next year. But this is an excellent effort from HTC, Google and Vodafone together, and you’ll find it hard not to coo over the touchscreen when you play with it for the first time.

Buy one here: Vodafone

First review: HTC Touch Diamond 2

Is this update going to hammer the iPhone into submission? Find out all you need to know here. Plus watch our interactive 360 video of this WinMo smartie.

- Watch, read and play with the HTC Diamond 2 here