Hands-on with the HTC Magic and Android 1.5

Video recording on the HTC Magic

(Credit: ZDNet UK)

After months of drought, we're finally seeing the Google Android news trickle in--the debut of the Samsung I7500, the upcoming Android 1.5 (aka Cupcake) release, and the launch of the HTC Magic. Unfortunately, for us here in the States, all the action has been overseas, but we can only hope that we're not far behind in getting in on the Android love.

To tide you over, we thought we'd point you to a photo gallery posted by our friends over at ZDNet UK who got a hands-on look at the Vodafone HTC Magic. The hardware is actually a bit different from what we saw at GSMA 2009, and the smartphone is also running Android 1.5, so you can check out pictures of the landscape keyboard, video recording capabilities, and other new features.

See it all here in the HTC Magic and Android 1.5 photo gallery.

[lo266]

I'm as excited as the next person about 1.5 but it also makes me very upset. The G1 has been out for 6 months now and Google has still not provided a way to save and run apps off an SD card. The phone has too little internal storage and, as a result, both the phone and the Market are suffering.

I tried to take this up with Google (and so have many others) and nothing. Can someone over at CNET please bring this issue to the forefront? Maybe Google will put a little pep in their step that way. Thanks.

[Dalmatian28]

Please add this issue to the list of issues.....it looks that the new Magic will not have physical keyboard. We have seen a lot of phones with virtual keyboards in the past and it has been proven that almost all virtual keyboard suck! The iPone was considered to be among the best phones out there but when it comes to its keyboard.... it is pure junk! (Speaking from years of experience with it) Just it is new tech that doesn't mean it is better! I want the old keyboard back! Unless they come up with some great speech recognition ...everything else seems to be step backwards!

[Dalmatian28]

I have always like this phone's functionality... but that ugly "trunk" on the bottom is got to go! There got to be a better way to design this phone without the bottom part. Other than that....good job!

[dwightschultz]

This phone could be a big hit IMHO. I had the chance to play with the phone yesterday and am very impressed with the build quality and feel of the hardware, and even more impressed with the great Android software that accompanies the phone. Check out this thorough hands on review and comparison with the Blackberry Bold and the iPhone: http://www.yubby.com/channel/player/2657/33830