The HTC Magic and Google Android: a Real World test

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

Perhaps I’m a luddite but my mobile phones have tended to be, well, pretty basic since my first, screen-less brick 13 years ago. My priorities had been limited to good signal quality, long battery life, the best possible camera and easy-to-use texting. Occasionally, I’d look up the football or cricket scores on the BBC’s mobile site but that was about the limit of my ambitions.  The BlackBerry passed me by completely (I don’t like phones with QWERTY keyboards) and I’d had little interest in the iPhone due to its long, expensive contract options and umbilical connection to the truly loathsome (on a PC at least) iTunes.

And then I found myself tempted by the Apple beast just because I’d come across some teenagers mucking about with theirs, leaving me feeling jealous and inadequate (shallow, me?). So I nearly gave in. But I just couldn’t justify it. I’d either have to pay the best part of £100 for the phone (pay? for a phone?) or saddle myself with a £45 a month contract for two years: that’s an expensive and long-lived mistake to make. (more…)

Hands on with the HTC Magic, the second Android phone

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

I’ve just come back from the launch of the second Google Android phone to be released, and I must say I’m impressed. Its sleek profile and solid build quality are a world away from the dumpy and disappointing T-Mobile G1, which we reviewed at the back end of last year.

UPDATE: Read the full review here

It’s been manufactured by the same company as the G1 – HTC – the firm also behind the Touch Diamond2 we reviewed last week, and it’s available for free on a £35 per month tariff, which gets you 600 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited data.

And while I’m none too keen on the fact that it’s only going to be available in white, I did warm immediately to the solid and sleek feel of this new Android phone. It weighs 118.5g and its dimensions  - 55mm wide, 113mm tall and just 13.65mm thick – make it extremely pocket friendly. The gloss finish, sculpted lines and oversized trackball all contribute to a sophisticated look that the G1 could only dream of.

Apart from the looks, though, the key difference is the on-screen touch keyboard and I was keen to try this out…

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