HTC Magic, the second Google Android phone, has already made its European debut and will be coming to American shores soon. According to the latest speculation, the American version will feature more or less the same specs with one pretty big exception: it will pack a 5 megapixel camera instead of the 3.2 megapixel module for the current UK release.
While we should know whether there will be that remarkable a difference in hardware soon enough, the real question on everyone’s mind is: how good is this newest Android device?
In the looks department, the Magic totally leaves the G1 behind. Considerably slimmer (because it no longer has the sliding QWERTY), the overall form has been streamlined, with the trademark “chin” reduced a bit. It’s slightly lighter than the iPhone at 116g.
Unlike most touchscreen handsets, the Magic packs a good amount of buttons on the front panel, which should make the chosen tasks (homepage, search, menu, back and calls) considerably easier. It comes with a very useful trackball that, for some reason, has made my hatred for trackballs go away. The 3.2-inch touchscreen has haptics enabled, which means a decent response when you’re typing. Virtual keyboard (both variants), while responsive, is too small, in my opinion. Apart from that, however, interface is simply dandy.
Camera doesn’t offer a lot to write home about. With the lack of a flash, in fact, there’s even less about it to praise. Multimedia has been summarily disabled by the lack of a 3.5 mm jack, considering that the bundled plugs isn’t even all that great. Memory is a decent 512MB, with an expansion card slot.
The handset packs an onboard GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and HSDPA, all of which perform as expected. Browser experience is one thing you will particularly appreciate, especially if you’re coming from a WinMo-based handset.
Overall operation, from the OS to most every app we try is remarkably fast. Anyone that ever doubted Android’s potential to become the biggest mobile OS of the future will have to reconsider their views, considering just how good the thing runs. With the Cupcake update coming, the full experience of working on this thing should turn out even better.
Unlike last year, HTC isn’t going to enjoy sole ownership of the Android market for long. While the Magic is good, a lot of handsets running on the same OS are scheduled to roll out in the next seven months. If you can wait, you might want to hold out and see what else is in store.
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