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HTC Magic is the successor of the first Android phone, HTC Dream. The main difference between the two phones is that HTC Magic does not have a slide QWERTY keyboard, so you only have access to the touch screen if you want to write a text. The advantage is that the new phone is lighter and thinner. The android is a great operating system. I think it is the only operating system that can actually compare to the iPhone OS. We will now take a look at the HTC Magic review.

If you buy a HTC Magic, you do it for its software. The hardware is mediocre. There are many other phones (including HTC) that are better than HTC Magic in terms of hardware. However, if you often use Google applications or mobile internet, then HTC Magic is not going to disappoint you.

The phone is available in two colors, black and white. The phone has an excellent design. HTC paid great attention to details. Even if they used plastic, they used a quality plastic that is solid and feels good when you touch it. The surfaces are shiny, but they are resistant to fingerprints. The shapes are rounded, making the phone look nice.

The front part of the phone is dominated mostly by the 3.2-inch touch screen, and under it we find six buttons and a trackball for navigating the menus. Only few phones use a trackball, this "enhancement" being so far characteristic for BlackBerry phones. BlackBerry users are delighted by how easy the menus can be navigated using the trackball. Even if HTC Magic has a wonderful touchscreen, you will certainly use the trackball for choosing something from a menu. It is fast and accurate. The six buttons below the display are the Call / Reject call keys, home, back, the Search key and the menu key. The reject call key is used for starting and stopping the phone, and for blocking the screen and the keypad.

On the left side, the phone has a long key for volume control. It is easy to use, even during calls. On the bottom side, the phone has the miniUSB port, which has a multitude of functions. Since there is no 3.5 mm audio jack, the headphones must be connected to the miniUSB port. The miniUSB port does not have a rubber cap for dust protection, so it is possible to accumulate dust in it. The miniUSB port is located near the microphone. You even charge your phone using the miniUSB port. On the right side and top side, the phone has no other keys or plugs.

On the backside, the phone has a 3.2 Megapixel Camera, and unfortunately, the phone does not have a flash. Under the back cover, we find a 1340 mAh Li-Ion battery. The performances are very good, even if you use the HTC Magic intensively. The producer's official data say that the phone's battery must resist 420 hours in standby mode and 7 hours and 30 minutes in talk time. I am convinced that these numerals are not far from the truth, but you will definitely use your HTC Magic to surf the Internet, and this activity consumes the most.

HTC Magic uses the Android operating system from Google, and to be more specifically, it is version 1.5. Google G1 has Android version 1.0, but 1.5 comes with several improvements. The android looks very well, and you fall in love with him as easy as you fall in love with the iPhone Operating System. The menus are intuitive, and you get used to them very quick.

The Android version 1.5, nicknamed Cupcake, brings more improvements to the virtual QWERTY keyboard. The virtual keyboard is distributed better on the screen and it responds immediately to commands. The Android comes with a feature called Live Folders. This function resembles Gmail mechanism to not create real folders but labels. A Live Folder does not contain common elements (files), but certain categories of content. For example, you can have a Live Folder with RSS feeds or a list of restaurants. HTC Magic comes already with two Live Folders, one for all your address book contacts and one for contacts marked with an asterisk (as in Gmail). Maybe the function should be explained and promoted better, it is interesting, but the concept may seem difficult for someone used to standard folders.

The phone has a 3.2 inch screen and offers a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels, and 65,000 colors. Even if it is not the largest touch screen and does not have the best resolution, it does not mean it is weak. The brightness and the contrast are very good, even when the light is strong. In terms of touching sensitivity, it provides an immediate response to your commands.

HTC Magic has an address book, which allows you to add any contacts. You can add many details for each contact, such as phone numbers, address or email. To find a person in the address book, the easiest way is to press the search button and write the first characters of the name.

HTC Magic knows how to work with all types of messages: SMS, MMS and email. You can use the virtual QWERTY keyboard, both in portrait mode, and in landscape mode. Obviously, the landscape mode is much more than perfect if you have a lot to write. Copy & paste function is implemented by the phone's software, so you can send by SMS or email, links or a text copied from other applications (for example the web browser). The SMS and MMS editor is the same, to send an MMS just add a media file in the message.

HTC Magic is a suitable phone for multimedia, and it managed to raise himself to the iPhone level. The photo and video galleries are integrated in one application. Browsing pictures and videos is easy and fun. Obviously, you can see them both in portrait mode, and landscape.

The Music Player recognizes AAC audio files, AAC +, AMR-NB, MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC-LC, MIDI, OGG, meaning all popular formats. The sound is good, but the big disadvantage is that you have to use the standard headphones. You do not have a 3.5 mm jack, so you cannot connect any types of headphones. Converters from miniUSB to 3.5mm plugs can be found, but I do not know how many have the patience to search and buy them.

The camera has 3.2 megapixels and autofocus. It captures images at a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels. As Google's G1, HTC Magic does not have a flash. That means you cannot take photos in the dark. In the bottom side of the camera's application you have shortcuts to five camera settings: contrast, brightness etc. The camera does not have geotagging, though the phone has GPS. Photos are very good for a 3.2 megapixel camera. They have pleasant colors and sharp details.

HTC Magic is a phone made for long Internet connections. Whether you need WiFi or you need GPRS, EDGE, 3G or HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, the phone provides you with them. HTC Magic has almost all Google applications preinstalled. I already said about Gmail. In addition, it has Google Talk, YouTube, Google Maps, Google Calendar and Google Search. The GPS is also present, along with a digital compass and preinstalled application for GPS, Google Maps.

HTC Magic is a phone with a nice design, and it is very suitable for those who use the Internet a lot or use Google applications. Unfortunately, it does not rise to our expectations in terms of multimedia. It is possible that some problems will be solved with software updates, because the Android site is still in its early days.

I hope this HTC Magic review was useful and you really enjoyed it.