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Exchange-enabled HTC Magic explained: it's not a "with Google" phone
We've gotten the lowdown on that HTC Magic seen sporting Exchange support over in CNET Asia's capable hands, and as many readers opined, it's indeed a custom solution rolled by HTC without any Google involvement. Of course, HTC is no stranger to customizing OS builds loaded onto its devices; it already does this with every single Windows Mobile phone it sells, so we shouldn't be surprised to see some tweaks on its Android wares, either. Here's where it gets juicy, though: it turns out that Google forbids user of the "with Google" branding (as seen on the back of the G1, for example) when the build is customized, so the particular Magic that was being tested here lacked the Google name. Not all Magics are sold this way -- it's a carrier decision. Vodafone's version is Google-branded, for example, but in order to score the Google name they've got to comply to Google's standards for the software load.Some unlocked Magics (like CNET Asia's) are being sold in this sans-Google configuration, but if you like your Google apps, don't sweat it -- these devices still have GMail, Maps, and the like installed -- it's strictly a marketing and branding issue we're talking about here. In addition to Exchange support, the HTC-customized Magics include a reworked Smart Dialer with better contacts integration, a "much more responsive and full featured" camera app, and additional home screen widgets not found on the Google-ified Magics. We know which version we'd choose.
HTC Magic supports Exchange, Google says Android doesn't
A lack of Exchange ActiveSync support has largely relegated Android to the enterprise sidelines since its commercial launch last year in the G1, and while third-party apps have attempted to come to the rescue, there's nothing quite like a little first-party love to instill confidence in the world's IT managers. Strangely, CNET Asia noticed that its Magic seems to support Exchange -- indeed, it's listed right there in the mail setup and the reviewer reports that it works like a champ -- but a check with Google would have you believing otherwise. CNET's US bureau dropped Google a line to get the straight dope on the current Exchange situation and was greeted with an unhelpful response of "Android does not currently include support for Microsoft Exchange," going on to say that third-party devs are filling in the gap. Yo, Google, Magics in the field would have us believing otherwise, so do you want to clarify what's up here? [Via CNET]
HTC Magic hands-on
Our pals from Engadget Spanish got a HTC Magic in their hands, and we have to admit it's quite a looker. The similarities to the G1 / Dream are obvious (besides the fact it doesn't have a physical keyboard, of course). On the downside, they found that inputting text while on portrait mode is a little complicated due to the size of the keys and the accelerometer seems to be a little slow -- besides those minor issues, though, the Magic has been well received in Spain. In any case, it's better to see these things on video, isn't it? Follow the break for the action.
T-Mobile to release "multiple" Android devices this year
It's no secret that T-Mobile has some grand Android-based plans after the million-selling success of the G1, and although we've heard sketchy reports of future devices to come, it sounds like things are starting to firm up: CTO Cole Brodman told GigaOm yesterday that the carrier is planning to launch "multiple" Android devices from "three partners" later this year. One of those is pretty obviously the HTC Magic / Sapphire / myTouch, but that's just the tip of the potential iceberg here -- we've got a feeling that the Samsung I7500 "Houdini" will be involved, the G1 v2 is certainly interesting, there's that mysterious Huawei set we saw at MWC, and hell, we've even got reports of netbooks, tablets, and home phones in the mix. That's a lot of directions Timmy-O can go, any predictions?
T-Mobile's Magic / Sapphire / myTouch / G2 getting 5 megapixel cam?
It's pretty unusual for a manufacturer to take a global model and swap out a component as significant as a camera for one carrier, but it looks like that might just happen with T-Mobile USA's myTouch -- or G2, or Magic, or Sapphire, or whatever the heck it ends up being called. Boy Genius Report's leaked picture of the back of the carrier-branded handset prominently says "5.0," and since it's safe to assume it's not packing a 5.0-liter V8, this is probably referring to sensor res. That would be a marked upgrade from the 3.2 megapixels launching on the Magic everywhere else -- and interestingly, this kinda falls in line with T-Mobile USA's seemingly active effort to launch high-megapixel devices across the lineup over the past several months. This is more solid evidence than a spec sheet -- since spec sheets have a tendency to be filled with fallacies and typos -- but we'll hold off on saying this is a lock until the phone launches.
NTT DoCoMo to get HTC Magic as HT-03A
At a glance, an unassuming little smartphone like the HTC Magic doesn't really seem like it'd stand a chance against the beastly hardware unleashed every season by Japanese carriers, but here's the thing: it's going to be Japan's first released Android phone, which makes it a pretty big deal anyway. A tweaked version of the Magic has just passed the FCC as the HT-03A, falling into line with the classic naming convention employed for HTC handsets on NTT DoCoMo -- and the FCC filing means that it'll have global roaming for frequent flyers. We can't help but feel like the Samsung i7500 is somehow more technologically appropriate to kick off Japan's Android offerings, but hey, we suppose it's a start. [Via Akihabara News and memn0ck]
HTC Magic / Sapphire gets re-named, booze-colored for T-Mobile launch?
Of all the names being bandied about for the T-Mobile launch of HTC's Sapphire, we have to say that "myTouch" was our least favorite nom de guerre. However, it has apparently won the market-testing deathmatch -- at least that's the case according to the above reasonably official looking image of a T-Mobile inventory screen acquired by TmoNews. Perhaps more interesting is the presence of three colors, the predictable black and white met by a classy-sounding merlot that will surely be the talk of your next soiree at the wine bar. Just try to steer clear of the "touch" puns and jokes, yeah?
Marco Tempest's Augmented Reality card trick makes David Copperfield look positively ludditic
Illusionist and augmented reality artiste Marco Tempest has put together a video preview of his newest act, called (aptly enough) "Augmented Reality Magic 1.0," and has been kind enough to share it with us. In the video, Tempest uses AR to demonstrate what's going on in his fertile imagination as he performs a card trick -- cards levitate, Jokers dance, and the birthday cake? Well, you'll just have to see for yourself. The most impressive part is that the whole thing goes down in real time, and utilizes C++ with OpenFrameworks, OpenCV, ARToolkitPlus, MacCam, "and other Open Source goodies." Nothing's done in post-production. Are you prepared to have your mind blown? Video after the break.[Via Make]
Vodafone UK selling HTC Magic on May 1
As Vodafone Spain goes, so goes Vodafone Germany, so goes... well, you see where we're going with this. Voda's UK branch has issued a press release trumpeting the fact that they'll be next to sell HTC's second Android device as of this Friday, May 1 -- and as is all too often the case with these guys, you can get it for precisely zero pounds sterling depending on your plan (the lowest is a £35 deal with 600 minutes, unlimited texts, and unlimited data, though if you preorder before the 1st, you can get it for £30 instead). To commemorate the occasion, they'll be giving away 20 Magics through the month of May, which is 20 more than T-Mobile USA is selling at the moment. We're not bitter or anything.[Via MobileBurn]
HTC Magic now available on Vodafone Germany, too
Vodafone Germany and HTC have risen above some nasty legal spats to get the Android-powered Magic out of the door, following the path forged by the carrier's Spanish cousin by a mere 24 hours. Depending on your plan, you can end up nabbing the thing for as little as a single, solitary euro -- all it takes is a minimum of €44.95 (about $59) on the monthly bill to make it happen. Otherwise, you're looking at paying €59.90 for the phone on a €24.95 plan, which still isn't too shabby as far as we're concerned. Care to get this show on the road, T-Mobile?[Via portable-devices.net]
Vodafone's HTC Magic gets unboxed on video
While white seems to have been the color of choice for most official demos of the HTC Magic, there's also a black version headed to Vodafone (and other carriers, eventually), and the folks at Netbooknews.de got their hands on one of those once mythical handsets for a video unboxing. As you can see above (and in the video after the break), the packaging is a pretty sparse affair, as are the bundled accessories, which includes only a USB cable, a power adapter, a basic wired headset, and a case that apparently "feels a little cheap." And, if by some chance you still haven't seen the Magic in action, you can get a glimpse of that in the video as well.[Via Android Community]
Vodafone Spain first to launch HTC Magic
In a surprise announcement, Vodafone Spain is set to launch Magic, HTC's 2nd Android handset, in just a few hours. The countdown timer appeared early this morning with local sales set to begin at 1700 hours. That gives Vodafone Spain subscribers an 8 day head start on the rest of the world -- an eternity for Android nerds. Unfortunately, while it's free with applicable contract on Vodafone UK, it's gonna cost you in Spain -- rates our Spanish friends describe as "outrageous." Let's see if our Canadian friends agree.[Via Engadget Spanish]
Italy's TIM nabbing HTC Magic
In Europe, HTC's Android devices are fragmented among the big players, which means TIM could end up being the first carrier anywhere to offer both the Dream and the Magic now that they've popped a product page on their official site for the keyboardless device at a stiff €449 (about $595). There's no launch date listed, but Tecnophone says that the phone's are already in TIM's possession -- and they might be looking at a May 4 launch to line up with Vodafone. Unable to decide which version you're going to buy, TIM subscribers? Yeah, it's a pretty awesome problem to have. [Via Tecnophone]
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!]
Crygil wants to know what you think of class roles
CM Crygil has posted a very general thread over on the forums asking players what they think of the various class roles out there: "Ranged/Melee/DPS, Tanking and Healing." As you probably have noticed, those three roles make up what are often called the Holy Trinity in role-playing games and MMOs: either you do damage, prevent damage, or recover from damage, and those three roles make up the basics of most roleplaying combat systems, including the battles in World of Warcraft.But as quite a few people in the thread say, they're not quite sure just why Crygil is asking for this information. Sure, there are lots of good and informative answers in here (most people actually spread out "the trinity" to four roles, splitting melee/close combat and ranged/magic combat into two parts), but as there has always been, there's really nothing outside of the kind of thinking that's been done before on the subject -- anytime developers try to break out a new part of the trinity of roles, they either fall right back into the stereotypes (a bard that casts magic damage "songs" is really just a dressed up Mage), or they end up breaking the game (mind control/crowd controller is a new class idea that's been played around with before, but as Blizzard has discovered, it's extremely hard to balance that exactly right).As Crygil later says, these questions are his, not Blizzard's -- he just wants to get some perspective on what the forums dwellers think of how the current roles work. And he promises that CC is "on its way back," so maybe Blizzard will try to do some more experimenting with the different types of roles classes can play.
T-Mobile announces April 21st "private launch event" in NYC
Well well well. Well. What do we have here? Apparently the cats and kittens over at T-Mobile have something special planned on Tuesday, April 21st. We've just gotten a very brief email letting us know that something was going down, but without any other detail. Obviously our gadget-alarms started clanging, and the way we see it we've only got a few things to get excited about. Will we see the launch of Cupcake? Could this be the official US unveiling of the Magic? Or perhaps we'll finally get to see the new Sidekick which just hit the FCC. Look -- anything is possible, but whatever happens, we'll be there. What do you guys think is in store?
T-Mobile market testing terrible names for the HTC Magic / Sapphire
We're not sure why T-Mobile would be market-testing names other than "G2" for its upcoming HTC Sapphire, but it apparently is -- and if these leaked slides are to be believed, it's not doing so well on the ideas front. Seriously: "T-Mobile Genius 3G with Google" and "Prism 3G with Google" both trade in the well-known G-series branding for banal anonymity, and "myTouch 3G with Google" just sounds like a skin disease that's gone from bad to worse. Interestingly, "T-Mobile G3" is also on the list, which makes us wonder if there's a less-drastic G2 model in the works, but that's pure speculation on our part -- what we do know is that we'd take Vodafone's Magic branding over any of these other sad options in a heartbeat.
Starting out in Vana'diel: See no evil, hear no evil, smell... no evil?
Hola mi amigos! Hoy es la dia de Vana'diel! *clears throat* Ahem, sorry about that. Hello adventurers, and welcome to another edition of Starting out in Vana'diel! Today's topic is actually one that I find quite cool about Final Fantasy XI, especially when you compare it to other MMOs. It's the mechanic that puts the fear of Promathia into every adventurer's step.Today's column is all about the different monster aggro types -- yes, there are different types. You want to find out more? Come, follow me, and let's find out more!
HTC Magic (Sapphire) with T-Mobile USA logo hits the FCC
It's been just over a month since HTC's Magic / Sapphire first made its way through the FCC, although without any indication its destiny lied with T-Mobile. Well, it's back for Round Two, and this time the images clearly have the company's logo emblazoned at the top, just as it was at MWC when Google was showcasing its offline Gmail, and 7.2Mbps HSDPA. Yep, it's clearly heading to you-know-who's 3G network. No "G2" in sight, so for now we'll have to wait to see which of the three likely names -- or something else entirely -- T-Mo decides to run with. [Via Cellphone SIgnal]
HTC granted stay of execution in German patent case
The temporary injunction filed against HTC in Germany in its battle with patent holding firm IPCom has been repealed -- at least for now -- by an appellate court, allowing sales of forthcoming 3G devices bearing affected chipsets to continue until the case proceeds in four weeks' time. This should be absolutely splendid news for Germans concerned that the case might affect their ability to get in on the Magic come next month; ultimately, the case could theoretically lead to a sales stoppage, but the way things are lined up now, it seems like there'll be at least a slim window of opportunity for would-be owners to get their Android on without fear of IPCom putting the kibosh on the party. We'll continue to follow this drama as it progresses, but we'll reiterate what we'd said before: in all likelihood, this'll end with HTC shelling out some undisclosed settlement, and seeing how the company has already said that it's investigating alternative chipsets, it'll be a moot point before too long, anyway.
