Vodafone and HTC Team Up on New Google Phone

[¹²³]

<address class="byline author vcard">By Miguel Helft

</address>

Five months after T-Mobile introduced the first phone powered by Google’s Android operating system, cellphone giant Vodafone is unveiling the second. Like its predecessor, the new device is made by Taiwanese manufacturer HTC. It is called the HTC Magic and has a touchscreen, but not the slide-out keyboard that the T-Mobile G1 has.

Starting this spring, the HTC Magic will be available exclusively to Vodafone customers in Great Britain, Germany, Spain and France and non-exclusively in Italy. Pricing was not disclosed. HTC executives, speaking at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, said they were working on making the device available in the United States.

The T-Mobile G1 received generally good reviews, but its appeal was limited by its exclusive availability on T-Mobile, the fourth-largest carrier in the United States. The size of Vodafone, the largest mobile carrier in the world by revenue, should help Android gain broad distribution in Europe.

Google, however, is not pinning hopes for Android’s success on any one phone, but rather on a multitude of phones from different manufacturers. Several others are expected to unveil Android based phones in 2009.

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[umair]

This shit sucks. I had the G1, one of the most over-rated phones out right now. Dont get it!

 

[¹²³]

This shit sucks. I had the G1, one of the most over-rated phones out right now. Dont get it!

Do you think the major problem with it was hardware or software?

 

[Colonel Ronan]

Looks kind of nasty.

 

[CelticKing]

This shit sucks. I had the G1, one of the most over-rated phones out right now. Dont get it!

Was it really that bad? I was planning on getting it but they didn't offer the internet service where I live.

 

[umair]

To be honest, the phone isn't all that. You have to use the data plan if you have the phone, but there is a way around it to where you can use it without the data plan. I mean, shit, I'm not gonna pay 30 bucks a month just for internet when I can get wi-fi at home and other places. I used wi-fi for this phone mostly, and it was pretty fast like the browser and stuff. You can easily watch youtube videos, go on facebook, myspace, etc. The maps and stuff were sick. But personally, I don't like sidekicks, and this is just a better version of a sidekick. I prefer either a bar phone or a touchscreen texting phone, because I am a big texter. The slideout keyboard got really annoying also. And the size and weight of the phone was a problem also. This phone is kinda big and is pretty heavy. I heard it was good and stuff, but it probabaly is to some with the data plan. People who like to use the street maps and stuff, but other than the maps and browser, there isn't really anything special about the phone.

The hottest phone out right now, is the new Blackberry Javelin (New version of the Curve). I love blackberry's and I must say this has to be one of the best blackberry's out yet. The javelin is sickkkk!

CelticKing, I'd recommend either the Blackberry Bold or the Blackberry Javelin. Personally, I'd choose the Javelin since it's newer and it has better features!

 

[CelticKing]

Alright, thanks for explaining Umair.

I'll check those blackberrys out.

 

[Master Shake]

The Storm or Bold is a good buy.

 

[umair]

Storm sucks. The phone is heavy as shit, touchscreen sucks, and it's really overrated. My dad just recently got a Bold from his work which is pretty sick, but the Javelin (8900) is the best of all.

 

[Anima]

It looks like a silver version of the HTC diamond, which is a REALLY good phone but pretty pricey at $500-700 dollars. Any idea how much the HTC Magic is going to retail for?