HTC Magic is official, bringing Android to Vodafone sans keyboard

Vodafone just scooped planet Earth with the first touchscreen-only Android phone: HTC's Magic. All the specs look to line up with what was rumored, with a 3.2-inch QVGA screen front and center (that resolution might be a typo, HVGA seems more likely), HDSPA, GPS, 3.2 megapixel camera (no flash), and a G1-style trackball. Details on pricing and availability will be unveiled for local Vodafone markets as they see fit, but pricing in Spain will be from 99 to 199 Euro, depending on contract. Initial markets to nab the phone will be UK (due in April), Spain, Germany, France and Italy, with more countries to follow, and the phone will be a timed exclusive with Vodafone. Crazily enough, the phone has a proprietary headphone jack, proving once and for all that HTC doesn't like you, but at least this one will ship with a touchscreen keyboard out of the gate -- it's running Cupcake.

Update: We have confirmation that the device is indeed HVGA like the G1 before it, that's a typo on the original press release. More detailed specifications after the break.

Gallery: HTC Magic

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• Processor: Qualcomm MSM7201a, 528MHz.
• Memory: 512MB ROM, 192MB RAM.
• Dimensions: 4.45 x 2.17 x 0.45-inches.
• Weight: 4.18 ounces with battery.
• Network: HSPA/WCDMA 900 / 2100MHz (no love for the States) with 2Mbps up, 7.2Mbps down; quad-band GSM / GPRS / EDGE 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900MHz.
• Display: 3.2-inch TFT-LCD HVGA 480x320
• Connectivity: Bluetooth, WiFi, mini USB, and GPS
• Input: Trackball with Enter button, Capacitive touchscreen with on-screen keyboard (both portrait and landscape)

[Chris @ Feb 17th 2009 6:25AM]

When' it out in the UK?

[mm1091973 @ Feb 17th 2009 6:35AM]

April
Register Here:
http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/shop/mobile-phone/htc-magic

[Shattered Ice @ Feb 17th 2009 9:02AM]

It said march on monday. They must have changed it.

[Siddharth @ Feb 17th 2009 6:25AM]

I wish HTC brings android on its other handsets like Touch HD and Max 4G in the near future..

[Peter D. Lai @ Feb 17th 2009 6:37AM]

I wish HTC would just put a damn standard headphone jack on their devices.

[Aaron @ Feb 17th 2009 6:52AM]

Totally fucking agreed, Peter

[earl.lewis.1 @ Feb 17th 2009 11:09AM]

Maybe people shouldn't buy the damn thing until it gets the standard jack. It is total bullshit that this company does whatever the hell they want with their technology and people put up with it, i.e. by buying the damn things.

[Ruben @ Feb 17th 2009 9:34PM]

@Peter
They did, on the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1. Manufactured by HTC.

[hamza @ Feb 17th 2009 6:28AM]

QVGA or HVGA?

[OK @ Feb 17th 2009 6:33AM]

I think he means HVGA, as Android does not support QVGA which is why the Kogan Agora never came out.

[Dubb @ Feb 17th 2009 10:39AM]

Incorrect, it works fine on QVGA devices. I run cupcake on my HTC Touch to mess around with and it scales just fine to QVGA now.

[David @ Feb 17th 2009 6:34AM]

It'd be nice to have a keyboard ... perhaps the G3? But HTC really needs to get Android running on its other phones.

[--------- @ Feb 17th 2009 6:50AM]

Most people outside of the tech blog community don't even know what Android is.

HTC's bread is buttered by WinMo.

Headphone jacks are for teenagers.

[Marmite Turkey @ Feb 17th 2009 7:52AM]

Hurrah! I thought I was 32, but I must be 19 at most, and all because I listen to music on the train.

[Mobius_1 @ Feb 17th 2009 10:04AM]

@ ----

Yes, Android gets blank stares. But everyone/dog/lolcat/fish knows Google.

[itoilet9 @ Feb 17th 2009 6:34AM]

Actually going to miss having a physical keyboard, if this is indeed the G2.

In the limited time I spent with the G1 in a T-Mo store (as opposed to the iPhone 3G, which I live with), the keyboard was one of the things I actually liked about the phone. The only way it could be better is removing that little chin on the right side.

[Tom @ Feb 17th 2009 6:40AM]

This is not the G2 im sure. The G2 will still be getting release by T-mobile whenever they can be bothered to do it!

[sinaplenty @ Feb 17th 2009 6:35AM]

Looks like April for the UK:
http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/shop/coming-soon/mobile-phones

You can register for updates too. This might just swing me away from the Touch HD come renewal in May.

[TheSpinDoctor @ Feb 17th 2009 6:37AM]

Thanks

[Joaquim @ Feb 17th 2009 6:51AM]

more Info :
http://www.htc.com/www/product/magic/overview.html

[TheSpinDoctor @ Feb 17th 2009 6:35AM]

Any news on date of launch?

[spazz @ Feb 17th 2009 6:39AM]

Offical press release also states QVGA: http://www.vodafone.com/start/media_relations/news/group_press_releases/2009/vodafone_and_htc_unveil.html

[nabil2199 @ Feb 17th 2009 6:39AM]

the screen looks like it's HVGA with that icon proportion.

[gabriel @ Feb 17th 2009 6:41AM]

What???? QVGA and no 3.5 mm headphone jack?
I have the feeling that for all the cellphone makers like htc and samsung etc. android seems to be the cheap plattform where they allow themselves to get sloppy and create medium quality cellphones.
I mean just compare the the touch diamond 2 with this one here.
everything screams cheap when Iook at the magic (even the name) and everything looks expensive when it comes to the diamond
why do these companies think that only the corporate world would pay for a nice design and build quality????
apple sure doesn't think so and they are very successful with that strategy

[Chris @ Feb 17th 2009 6:41AM]

So looking at it the only thing this has over the G1 is that it already has a touch screen keyboard included!!! nothing else????

No physical keyboard
No 3.5mm headphone jack still
No Flash still

So what does it give you? why should I wait for this over getting the G1?

Am i missing something?

[Phoenix @ Feb 17th 2009 9:33AM]

Cost, preferred network. To be fair, the G1 is getting the software keyboard as well.

[hoffman5643 @ Feb 17th 2009 6:48AM]

svenska it registret

[DannyBoyUK @ Feb 17th 2009 6:48AM]

Dammit. Just as I start looking to get a G1, this happens. However, the very reason I want to switch from an iPhone to a G1- to get a physical keyboard- has gone, so I may still get a G1. Who knows...sigh.

[hoffman5643 @ Feb 17th 2009 6:49AM]

svenska it registret ab

it registret

[Boards of Canada @ Feb 17th 2009 6:51AM]

This is beautiful

[hoffman5643 @ Feb 17th 2009 6:53AM]

it registret or svenska it register knows what they are doing!

[Joaquim @ Feb 17th 2009 6:53AM]

Display 3.2-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with 320x480 HVGA resolution

[Hamidxa @ Feb 17th 2009 7:16AM]

3.5 mm jack is redundant.

Everything needs to be switched over to USB.

Besides a tiny USB converter the size of an eraser can resolve the lack of a 3.5mm jack.

[Lazy Genius @ Feb 17th 2009 10:51AM]

how is it resolved when i want to listen to music and charge my phone at the same time? all headphones use 3.5mm headphone jacks...

to try and get all the headphone companies to switch over to usb, instead of just getting HTC to put in a damn headphone jack on their devices is just stupid...

[Hamidxa @ Feb 17th 2009 11:46AM]

Simple.
Have you seen HTC's usb adapters?

http://www.pdaextreme.com/images/adapter_htc_3in1-1.jpg

There you go, there's your answer.
I still say we cut out the middle man, the 3.5 mm jack and just keep it as USB all around.
3.5 mm is still redundant, why use all of these different standards when USB can handle it all?

[Elkin @ Feb 17th 2009 12:29PM]

Have you seen the size of your miracle adapter??
besides show me some good quality usb-headphones and then we can talk!

[Hamidxa @ Feb 17th 2009 1:23PM]

Elkin,

How is that in any way large or obtrusive? That thing is barely 3 inches in length, and besides it also has to accommodate the very 3.5 mm jack we are arguing about. Besides, that's just one example, there are smaller ones. For that matter, if we removed the lengthy 3.5 mm jack, then it would be even smaller.

Also, your question is rather moot and irrelevant.

Think about it, if USB was indeed the standard for headphones, then it stands to reason that there would be excellent USB headphones on the market. In other words, if you build it, they will come. However, such is not the case yet, so naturally there will be very few choices at one's disposal.

[HereAndNow @ Feb 17th 2009 7:25AM]

I hope, one day soon, we'll be saying: "Remember when it was so difficult to get Android devices?".

All the WinMo hoopla at MWC reminds me of recent days in the US car industry:
- You want cars as big as a living room!
- You want big gas guzzlers!
- Humvee's are the future!
Ah...no. I want a modern car like the EV1: fast, nice looking, reliable, low/no pollution.

Now the mobile industry seems to be saying:
- You want a desktop OS dressed up like a mobile OS!
- You want an OS from a company that doesn't innovate, unless they have competition!

Ah...no. I want a modern, fast, reliable, mobile OS (iPhone, Android, ...) from a company that is known for continuous innovation.

[Ike Turner @ Feb 17th 2009 7:29AM]

Get laid dude.

[coldwave @ Feb 17th 2009 5:59PM]

Low emissions != low pollution.

[nabil2199 @ Feb 17th 2009 7:37AM]

it has AD2P yaaaaaaaaay!

[Rubix @ Feb 17th 2009 7:48AM]

Dammet, I was really considering the HTC Magic but it has the same outdated hardware like the Dream ie low res and low ram. This way Google Android isn´t going to have very much market penetration unless people are ready to make some sacrifices.

[Mike @ Feb 17th 2009 8:11AM]

Just a bone of contention here, the headphone jack isn't proprietary, it's USB. Proprietary implies that the headphone connector is some non-standard connection of HTC's own that cannot be easily worked around. ANY USB mini headphone adapter will work here. This is a STANDARD USB headphone connection, not an incompatible HTC connection. My guess is that USB headphone connection is going to quickly become a more common standard in the next two years.

[Phoenix @ Feb 17th 2009 9:34AM]

Incorrect. it's ExtUSB, which is HTC's standard.

[shade @ Feb 17th 2009 9:05AM]

I really wanted Android to be successful, and I still really do. But come on, HTC...is this the best you can do for us? You release all of your amazing high-end lust-worthy devices with a piece of shit, ugly, outdated OS and seem to refuse to attract customers who are looking for something (anything) else...*cough* ANDROID. Oh wow, we have a whopping two (!) Android devices to choose from even months and months after its debut--let's not get ahead of ourselves here HTC. Of course, this is also Google's fault, it's clear they aren't working nearly hard enough to get this platform onto more than just a few "beta testing" devices.

Even if this less-than-stellar device does end up in the hands of Americans, it's anyone's guess that it will probably never get 850/1900 just like the G1.

[Down @ Feb 17th 2009 11:08AM]

What is so good about Android? It looks boring.

[AY @ Feb 17th 2009 9:10AM]

YES! No keyboard...this is more exciting to me that the Pre

[hilofi @ Feb 17th 2009 9:15AM]

By releasing this theyve just added a whole world of ambiguity to the G1 and its future iterations

Is this a G1.5?

[Ad-man @ Feb 17th 2009 11:24AM]

I would imagine the G-series will continue with the physical keyboard while other iterations will be soft-only.

Android still has potential to be stripped and reworked a lot more than we've seen already so it's got the potential to be worked onto a variety of handsets, not just the touch-screen-home-button devices we've seen so far. The G1 and this one are fairly early offerings for the platform.

[Albi @ Feb 17th 2009 10:57PM]

Wow. It's so coool!!
I really hope this will launch in USA.