HTC Magic up for pre-order from Vodafone: due out May 5th, free with monthly plan

While the jury's still out on its US name or release date, the HTC Magic is gearing up for its European debut by way of Vodafone. The pre-order page is now live with an irresistible price of zilch, provided you agree to a monthly plan of £30 or more. The company says it plans to ship out the Cupcake-powered phone by May 5th.

[Via Phandroid; thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

[coolbho3000 @ Apr 17th 2009 7:22PM]

Too bad I'm already running HTC Magic firmware on my G1.

[eriktionary @ Apr 17th 2009 10:29PM]

i hope just as buggy as i have it running... the minor tweaks here and there are well worth it over the g1 firmware

[TheSuburbanWhiteBoy @ Apr 18th 2009 8:44AM]

and I'm running 3.0 on my iphone....which is better than anything on the G1 or G whatever

[yochachi @ Apr 18th 2009 10:07PM]

still trying to figure out what was so bad about the keyobard? seemd like a company finally got it right, big touch screen, and a nice keyboard. I guess that was just too much.

[Shiz @ Apr 17th 2009 7:24PM]

Nice!

Wish the US carriers used similar deals on high end phones.

Don't get me wrong I LOVE my G1 and the $179.99+ taxes was well spent, but a bit cheaper would have been sweet.

[TareX @ Apr 18th 2009 1:19PM]

This is hardly a high-end phone. In fact it's inferior to the G1.

The Huawei Android will be high-end, though.

[schtum @ Apr 17th 2009 7:26PM]

Does this mean cupcake will be pushed out to G1 users on or around May 5th?

[coolbho3000 @ Apr 17th 2009 7:27PM]

Depends on how much HTC loves its customers

[GroovDude @ Apr 17th 2009 11:03PM]

@coolbho3000:

Well we then know our answers from there don't we? XDA-Developers, here I come!

[Jon Speed @ Apr 17th 2009 8:48PM]

Depends on how much T-Mobile loves its customers.

Fixed that for ya.

[iLoveApple @ Apr 17th 2009 7:36PM]

Fuck Vodafone trying to introduce 24month contracts to the UK. Fuck Vodafone!

BOYCOTT VODAFONE! Keep Britain Sane! 18 month contracts are already far too long, tell your family and friends not to accept 24 month contract deals! Don't turn our lovely mobile industry into the same shitpile that is the US mobile industry!

[Ruben @ Apr 17th 2009 7:38PM]

Add 12 to that and say hello to the Canadian system.

[Stevo @ Apr 17th 2009 7:38PM]

uhhh... some american providers now require 36 month contracts...
haha i love the adjectives used in the description: "clever" "brilliant"

[iLoveApple @ Apr 17th 2009 7:45PM]

That's exactly why your industry is a shitpile. And to add insult to injury, not all phones are free even on those evil 3 year contracts... madness.

Seriously, my fellow British countrymen, do not settle for 24 month contracts! These dumbpipes are trying to destroy us!

[dolapo10 @ Apr 17th 2009 7:45PM]

I'm sorry to bust your campaign but you do know that every single mobile carrier provide a 24 month contract as a matter of fact you can get that with the iphone and to add to that i'm on a 24month contract paying 7.50 per month, is there something wrong with that?

[iLoveApple @ Apr 17th 2009 7:51PM]

You used the word 'carrier' instead of network... are you American? I don't care how cheap the contract is, 24 month contracts mean you can only get a free new phone every 20 months. With my 12 month contracts, I get a brand new phone (usually Nokia Nseries N9x) for free every 10 months.

[PeterF @ Apr 17th 2009 8:12PM]

How do the European operators even survive giving free $500 phones every year? Do you even pay $500 a year for your line?

[iLoveApple @ Apr 17th 2009 8:17PM]

All I know is that I pay £35 a month. I'm sure they can get the phones for much cheaper than we do in the shops anyway.

[dodo @ Apr 17th 2009 8:51PM]

Let's face it, Europe rules and America Sucks when it comes to mobile phones/networks.

[mitt @ Apr 17th 2009 8:51PM]

dude this phone is free on a 12 month contract for £45 a month (about $65 although it doesn't have unlimited data, £1 for up to 15MB per day, £2 per MB over that) or for £35 for 18 months with unlimited data. sounds like a pretty generic UK contract to me.

[Viakenny @ Apr 17th 2009 9:05PM]

at least contracts here in Brazil can't be longer than 12 months, by government regulation.

[FuzzyCat @ Apr 18th 2009 2:44AM]

@mitt

Vodafone don't have unlimited internet - they have a fair use data cap of 15mb a day.

"For £1 a day you get unlimited data access in the UK only, subject to a fair use limit of 15MB per day (100s of emails and web pages)."

[steven @ Apr 17th 2009 7:44PM]

i had no idea vodafone did not have free vodafone mobile-to-mobile minutes

[redcard @ Apr 17th 2009 7:50PM]

I apologise the iLoveApple, obviously not on of our brighter ones.

He wants a 7 day contract and a free phone. What a douchebag

[E C S Sucks @ Apr 17th 2009 7:59PM]

Why? Hes got a point. He generally annoys me but he has got a point.

[darkmind @ Apr 17th 2009 7:53PM]

why does it say 3.0 - 4.0 megapixels?

[billcantfart @ Apr 17th 2009 8:02PM]

3 - 4 = -1

[E C S Sucks @ Apr 17th 2009 8:13PM]

Because the megapixels are divided in to groups of 2. 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5

[LondonConsultant @ Apr 17th 2009 8:50PM]

...because 3.2 is between 3.0 and 4.0.

But, more importantly for aesthetes, why is it only available for pre-order in tacky white (not cool black)?...

[pmc84 @ Apr 17th 2009 7:57PM]

No sign of this coming to Ireland?

[OisinT @ Apr 18th 2009 8:48AM]

Someone at Vodafone told me to not expect it until early 2010. Would the UK model not work in Ireland? No unlock of any type or anything?

[somewonone @ Apr 17th 2009 8:29PM]

Not bad at all

[Randomness @ Apr 17th 2009 8:35PM]

How do we pay similar prices in the US, and still have to pay hundreds for the phones on our 2-3 yr contracts.... :/

[robb @ Apr 17th 2009 9:11PM]

That's exactly what i want to know. I guarantee that this same phone will hit TMobile in the states and require a 2 year contract WITH a required data plan -- yet still cost hundreds for the phone.

[Dopefish @ Apr 18th 2009 5:31AM]

I dont know, but maybe I've always assumed that its a lot cheaper to run a mobile network in the UK because of its size.

If it costs them less for your phone calls per month, the more they keep for paying for the phone...

[Aaron @ Apr 18th 2009 5:50AM]

Two things:

- More competition in the UK: We have 5 major carriers all using the same mix of wireless standards and frequencies. It's very easy to move carrier.
- Less minutes: Those £35 per month contracts will probably include about 600-800 anytime, any network minutes. OK, so we don't pay for incoming calls and that £35 includes all taxes and fees, but it's still nowhere near the number of minutes you'd get in the states.

[Joylove @ Apr 24th 2009 8:44AM]

Because your enormous country needs a whole load more base sations.

[dodo @ Apr 17th 2009 8:46PM]

Sexy phone!

[Nelagster @ Apr 17th 2009 8:53PM]

This is good. Broadcast this all over the world so that when it comes to America for ANYTHING more than $0, MAYBE Americans will realize how screwed we are over here.

[CJ @ Apr 17th 2009 9:42PM]

It's not a HUGE suprise, that the Magic is free on a plan.

Sorry, but you guys really get screwed when it comes to mobile phones - I could walk out right now and buy a HTC Dream (G1), or an iPhone, or a touch diamond, or just about any good phone, and get it for free on a plan.

[Victor Stuber @ Apr 17th 2009 9:51PM]

when's this coming to the US?

[andres @ Apr 17th 2009 10:01PM]

april 21st!

[projekt84 @ Apr 18th 2009 12:08AM]

I like how a KEY feature is 3.0-4.0 megapixel camera. Like "hey man, we don't really know".

It's your phone...

[schwiz @ Apr 18th 2009 12:42AM]

does vodaphone have cell service in us or am i stuck with tmobile, these guys charge half what tmobile does

[vansmack @ Apr 18th 2009 5:15PM]

No. Vodaphone owns 45% of Verizon wireless, but since the technologies aren't compatible (CDMA vs GSM), it's mostly a revenue and marketing deal. There is hope that Verizon's switch to LTE may make the two companies more fluid.

[Jon Doe. @ Apr 18th 2009 3:02AM]

T Mob should be giving this to the suckers that purchased the G1...I've had nothing but problems since the last firmware update and I can't downgrade or I loose the ability to purchase programs from the app store. If its true they are releasing the Touch Pro 2 this summer I will gladly spend the half grand + to get my hands on anything other then Android. The potential is there....too bad Google and T Mob have been sitting on their collective asses for the last 6 months since launch in Nov. The cupcake is a lie.

[hett @ Apr 20th 2009 2:06PM]

That sounds like an issue with your phone. I have had no issues since RC33 came out. The G1 has only gotten better with time.

[Jon Doe. @ Apr 18th 2009 3:06AM]

PS- My company just provided a Touch Pro from Sprint and I can say that the quality between the two is so noticeable its not even funny...but then again I got the G1 for a song. the TP would set me back almost double if I dropped money on it...*shrugs* You get hat you pay for, sad that Android isn't on anything more high end at this point. I'm starting to wonder if Google launched a dud or if it has a time delay fuse of say 2 years.

[B3astofthe3ast @ Apr 18th 2009 3:10AM]

theres still the tegra android devices...

[Theli @ Apr 18th 2009 4:33AM]

Is this available anywhere other than the UK?