HTC Magic G2 deals & review

Summary

The update to the HTC G1, the first ever phone to run Google´s Android Operating System, The HTC Magic is a fantastic phone that brings the wonderful world of Google to the palm of your hand. Whether you´re a regular user of Google Search, Google Mail, Google Maps, YouTube or any of the other various offerings, all of them are available in an instant on these handsets. Add to that a sleek exterior and a wealth of other smartphone functions, and you´ve got an impressive showing from the up-and-coming HTC.

Specifications

• Qualcomm 528 MHz processor
• Android OS (v1.5, Cupcake)
• 512MB ROM; 288 MB RAM
• 113 x 55.56 x 13.65 mm ( 4.45 x 2.19 x 0.54 inches)
• 116 grams with battery
• 3.2-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with 320x480 HVGA resolution
• HSDPA/WCDMA: 900/2100 MHz; Up to 2 Mbps up-link and 7.2 Mbps down-link speeds
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• Device Control Trackball with Enter button
• GPS Internal
• GPS antenna
• Digital Compass
• G-sensor
• Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate and A2DP for wireless stereo headsets
• Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 b/g
• HTC ExtUSB (11-pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
• 3.2 megapixel with auto focus
• QVGA video recording @15fps
• supported audio formats - AAC, AAC+, AMR-NB, MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC-LC, MIDI, OGG
• Supported video formats - MP4, 3GP
• HTC Sync system requires Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) or higher or Microsoft Windows Vista + Microsoft Office Outlook 2000/2002/2003/2007, Windows Address Book (Outlook Express), or Windows Contacts
• Microsoft Exchange Server
• Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery, 1340 mAh capacity. Talk time: Up to 400 minutes for WCDMA; up to 450 minutes for GSM. Standby time: up to 660 hours for WCDMA; up to 420 hours for GSM
• MicroSD memory card compatible

Details

Running on the very nippy Qualcomm processor, Google´s Android OS is an absolute dream to use. As you´ll be familiar with from all their industry-leading products, Google know how to do things well, and Android is no exception. Even if you only use a couple of their offerings regularly (Search and Mail, for example) that should be enough to persuade you to choose this phone. And, once you realise how handy it is to access Google´s services using your mobile, you might find yourself migrating over to everything else they offer too.

Thanks to the decision not to have a physical keyboard on the Magic (as was found on the G1), the phone is not only relatively slim at just over 13mm, but is exceptionally light, at just 116 grams, including the battery. That puts it amongst the lightest smartphones available, even with all it has to offer. And everything is housed in a sleek plastic cover that, while not particularly flashy, is a long way from feeling cheap.

Also onboard are an average camera with autofocus, WiFi, GPS and digital compass (essential to tie in to Google´s mapping features), video recording and something called the G-sensor. The G-sensor is the nifty piece of kit that lets the Magic be rotated any which way you want, even upside-down. Just turn the thing on its side and after an instant the screen follows you. This is especially handy when using the keyboard function as turning the phone on its side stretches the keyboard out to fit the wide screen.

Conclusion

Quite simply the best way to get a hold of Google´s Android OS. If you´re a fan of Google and want all their genius products available to you at the touch of a button, then the HTC Magic is going to make you very happy indeed. Have a good hunt around for deals too, as while this is a feature-packed phone, it´s a long way from overpriced.