April 18, 2009 by Tap
So Friday the 17th came and went with no sign of Vodafone's HTC Magic. Yet another deadline slips thought I this morning as I prepared to lambast them for leaving us hanging once again.
But wait, what's this email in my inbox - could it be? Yes folks, better late than never, the HTC Magic is now officially available for pre-order and, as previously reported, will be available free on plans from £30. Visit Vodafone to get yours now. (Will only be shipped 1st May.)
April 3, 2009 by Tap
I've been watching, with interest, the news regarding the delay of the HTC Magic which initially surfaced on Mobile Today at the end of March. I actually first got to hear of this delay mid-March via a trusted source but was asked to keep it quiet as it had only been communicated within Vodafone up to that point.
I can now confirm that Vodafone's HTC Magic will be released in the UK on the 1st of May and will be available for pre-order from April 17th. The phone will be available on a £30/month tariff and will include 600 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited Internet and email. Right now I'm assuming that the phone itself will be free although I'm waiting to hear confirmation on that and will update this post if that is not the case.
Update: The HTC Magic is now available here.
March 2, 2009 by Tap
According to a recent post on UK's Mobile Today, T-Mobile is crediting the Google G1 as part of the reason why they incurred minimal losses in 2008. The G1, launched in October last year turned out to be the operator's top selling launch and now accounts for 20% of all contract sales. I think 20% is pretty good when you consider that the G1 is up against phones like the popular Nokia N96 and the Samsung Tocco, both of which are also available free on similarly priced plans, and this kind of uptake can only help to encourage further Android rollouts this year.
No doubt Vodafone is keeping a close eye on the G1's sales, hoping to emulate T-Mobile's success when the HTC Magic is released in April. Now I guess we just have to wait and see if/when Orange and O2 follow suit in the UK. If a post on Basic Thinking is anything to go by, O2 is the next operator to keep an eye on. According to the post, an O2 product manager at O2 Innovation Days 2009 in Munich was quoted as saying, "we want to get out 6 to 8 Android devices this year." If that is the case we really are going to be spoilt for choice.
Via: MobileToday | Basic Thinking
February 17, 2009 by Tap
The Boy Genius Report has a habit of breaking news pretty reliably so I think it's safe to say that rumours regarding the G2 can finally be put to rest with a report that the HTC Magic is actually going to be the next Android phone. A quick search on the Vodafone website revealed a press release which confirms that the HTC Magic will be a Vodafone exclusive and should be available in Europe from this April. According to the press release, specifications are as follows:
- HSPA/UMTS/GPRS/EDGE
- GSM Quad band
- Digital camera (resolution): 3.2 megapixels
- Colour display: 3.2", 320x480 pixels, touchscreen
- Bluetooth/USB interface
- Internal memory: 512 MB Flash, 192 MB RAM
- Memory card slot: microSD (HC)
- Other: GPS, digital compass, motion sensor
Whilst there doesn't seem to be much of a difference in specifications between this and the G1, photos on BoyGeniusReport show the phone to be much sleeker and slimmer, thanks no doubt to the exclusion of a full keyboard. Let's just hope that this phone's touchscreen keyboard is up to the job.
Via: TheBoyGeniusReport | Vodafone