HTC Magic up for pre-order from Vodafone: due out May 5th, free with monthly plan
By Ross Miller 
posted Apr 17th 2009 7:17PM
posted Apr 17th 2009 7:17PM
[Via Phandroid; thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Please note: If you're a current Engadget commenter, you do not need to re-register. Simply login and you will be prompted to select a username.
Too bad I'm already running HTC Magic firmware on my G1.
i hope just as buggy as i have it running... the minor tweaks here and there are well worth it over the g1 firmware
and I'm running 3.0 on my iphone....which is better than anything on the G1 or G whatever
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.
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.
This is hardly a high-end phone. In fact it's inferior to the G1.
The Huawei Android will be high-end, though.
Does this mean cupcake will be pushed out to G1 users on or around May 5th?
Depends on how much HTC loves its customers
@coolbho3000:
Well we then know our answers from there don't we? XDA-Developers, here I come!
Depends on how much T-Mobile loves its customers.
Fixed that for ya.
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!
Add 12 to that and say hello to the Canadian system.
uhhh... some american providers now require 36 month contracts...
haha i love the adjectives used in the description: "clever" "brilliant"
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!
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?
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.
How do the European operators even survive giving free $500 phones every year? Do you even pay $500 a year for your line?
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.
Let's face it, Europe rules and America Sucks when it comes to mobile phones/networks.
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.
at least contracts here in Brazil can't be longer than 12 months, by government regulation.
@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)."
i had no idea vodafone did not have free vodafone mobile-to-mobile minutes
I apologise the iLoveApple, obviously not on of our brighter ones.
He wants a 7 day contract and a free phone. What a douchebag
Why? Hes got a point. He generally annoys me but he has got a point.
why does it say 3.0 - 4.0 megapixels?
3 - 4 = -1
Because the megapixels are divided in to groups of 2. 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5
...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)?...
No sign of this coming to Ireland?
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?
Not bad at all
How do we pay similar prices in the US, and still have to pay hundreds for the phones on our 2-3 yr contracts.... :/
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.
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...
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.
Because your enormous country needs a whole load more base sations.
Sexy phone!
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.
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.
when's this coming to the US?
april 21st!
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...
does vodaphone have cell service in us or am i stuck with tmobile, these guys charge half what tmobile does
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.
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.
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.
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.
theres still the tegra android devices...
Is this available anywhere other than the UK?
I'll wait for the N97 in July
This one? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD-elt8MN3I
Looks like a nice phone but the software looks very choppy! Hopefully Nokia is working on making the interface more fluid.
I really don't get the HTC Magic's lack of a physical QWERTY keyboard. I know the G1 didn't have great hardware, but making a "successor" that is missing features that the first device has doesn't seem smart.
-Hayden
Techthots.com
For me, the reliance on a QWERTY keyboard (and therefore two hands) to perform all basic SMS-type functions is a no-no.
Im just jealous of Magic's bigger nipple. G1's nipple is too small to track around with.
teeeeeee-mohbeale!!!! get on this dang it! i'm pulling hairs waiting for a new phone to kerplunk some cash on, and the g1 isn't cutting it for me...
well on the bright side, now their will be two android phones running around