So much anticipation surrounded its launch that, in hindsight, it was hardly surprising the first Google phone didn't come up to scratch. But it didn't do itself any favours: the Dream lacked the glamour the first Android phone ought to have had, and poor battery life sealed its fate. Now, more than six months later, Android at last has a phone to be proud of. The HTC Magic, available through Vodafone and Three in Australia, may be the second Android phone but it's the first worth considering.
The main reason for this, but by no means the only one, is that it's a much sleeker, slimmer affair. It measures 56 x 113 x 14mm - around half a centimetre narrower and noticeably thicker than an iPhone - and slips in the pocket more easily than the Dream.
It isn't as beautifully engineered as Apple's finest, and annoyingly Vodafone has chosen to make the phone available in only white, but it does feel well put-together.
Touchscreen Interface
The flipside to this smaller size is that there's no hardware keyboard, but with Android version 1.5 on board (the so-called Cupcake update) there's now an onscreen Qwerty keyboard. This can be used in either portrait or landscape mode - it flicks between the two automatically - and it can be set to make an audible click, or vibrate when a key is pressed. As with the iPhone, it isn't comfortable or accurate enough for writing long emails or memos, but the new predictive text facility works well.
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| Android’s new onscreen keyboard and predictive text facility makes the Magic excellent for tapping out email |
Like the iPhone and G1 before it, the Magic has a capacitive touchscreen (3.2in in size, 320 x 480 in resolution), so the merest stroke of a finger is required to activate it. Couple this with Android's straightforward mode of operation and its excellent web browser, and you have one extremely easy-to-use phone. In fact, you hardly need the hardware controls mounted on its chin. These consist of four small buttons for Home, Menu, Back and Search, dedicated pick-up and hang-up keys and an oversized, clickable trackball for navigation.
Android Apps
The Android Market is also beginning to show its worth, and is full of useful applications. One of the first we installed was GDocs - a tool for editing and viewing Google Docs, essential in the absence of any kind of integrated synchronisation, but there's also everything here from a beta Microsoft Exchange app (RoadSync) to games and other phone frippery. It isn't the juggernaut that the iPhone App Store is, but it's an encouraging start. Outside the Market, there are now desktop tools available for synchronising Outlook data.
Video record, Street VieW, GPS
There are other improvements, such as the ability to record video clips and upload them to YouTube (don't expect great quality here), and the ability to play back video via the Gallery application. Converting video for the phone is simple - it plays back the same type of MP4 file as an iPod Touch or iPhone - and playback is smooth and glitch-free.
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| The Magic is around half a centimetre narrower and noticeably thicker than an iPhone |
The integration of Street View into Android's Google Maps app is one of the most wondrous gimmicks we've seen in any handset. Turn on the Magic's digital compass and you can explore locations simply by spinning in a circle - the view follows you as you go, allowing you to look up and down as well. The GPS locks on to satellites quickly too.
Specs
And, needless to say, HTC has left no stone unturned when it comes to core smartphone hardware. You get Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2, up to 7.2Mbits/sec HSDPA and a 3.2-megapixel stills camera, while storage comes in the form of 512MB of ROM, and a microSD slot for expansion.
Battery Life
The critical improvement, however, is battery life. When we tested the Dream, we struggled to get the battery to last past a day, even with the very lightest of workloads. This time, with a larger 1340mAh battery, the Magic lasted more than four days in our real-world test. Under more demanding conditions, with lots of web browsing, application downloads and YouTube video watched, the phone lasted well into day two; an impressive performance by any standards, and the equal of its main competitor - the iPhone.
What's missing, what's wrong
There are, however, some mistakes here, aside from the colour scheme. First up is that there's no 3.5mm headphone jack; headphones must be connected via HTC's proprietary ExtUSB connection (also used to drag files on and off the phone). You do get an adapter in the box that allows you to use your own headphones, but it isn't ideal. Second is that Android's onboard Gmail app still has some infuriating quirks.
Many attachments can only be previewed, not downloaded. There are workarounds: by installing the Download Crutch app you can use the web interface to download files directly, but it isn't an elegant solution. And we couldn't zoom out for an overview of PDF attachments.
Conclusion
But with plenty elsewhere to like we're happy to give this Android handset the thumbs up - after all, it isn't as if Windows Mobile phones or the iPhone don't have their irritations.
The HTC Magic is simple to use, browsing the web on it is a joy, battery life is good and, in the Android Market, there's plenty of potential for expansion and fun. Plus, with Vodafone and Three both offering it for free on a $69 per month, 24-month contract, it's a better deal than the iPhone too.