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 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.
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Unlike the Dream, the Magic doesn't feature a keyboard, instead relying on a very responsive touchscreen. It's a lot smaller than the Dream 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 a hold of one to fully test out.
It will be made available on a Vodafone contract in the UK soon, but no exact date has been announced for Australia as yet.
(Credit: CNET UK)
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The Magic is thinner than the Dream, but still has the lip at the bottom, so that it curves against your face.
(Credit: CNET UK)
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To get around the lack of a physical keypad, Google has implemented an on-screen keypad. From our quick time with it, the keypad seemed similar to the iPhone's.
(Credit: CNET UK)
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This is the USB charging port, which doubles up as a headphone port. We can't believe that HTC still hasn't made an Android phone with a 3.5mm headphone jack.
(Credit: CNET UK)
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The top of the phone is curved. It would have been a good location for that 3.5mm headphone jack we're always banging on about. What a shame not to use all this space.
(Credit: CNET UK)
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Without a physical keypad, the Magic is a lot smaller and lighter than the Dream. We prefer the on-screen keypad, but people who value tapping out long messages may miss the physical QWERTY one.
(Credit: CNET UK)
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These buttons aren't the final version, but the trackball is. The trackball's not massively noticeable, but it's larger than the G1's, making it easier to use.
(Credit: CNET UK)
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On the back of the Magic, there's a 3.2-megapixel camera. It doesn't have a flash unfortunately — something we hope to see on the next model.
(Credit: CNET UK)
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The curved bottom part feels good against your face and also means that the mic picks up your voice better.
(Credit: CNET UK)
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Here's the Magic next to the Dream, which is much larger.
(Credit: CNET UK)
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The Magic is also thinner than the Dream and fits much better in a pocket.
(Credit: CNET UK)
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