HTC Magic Review

HTC is obviously hoping to create magic with the second phone to use Google’s Android operating system, and though it’s an improvement on its predecessor, by no stretch of the imagination is it likely to become the hoped-for iPhone killer.

That doesn’t mean it’s a bad phone; it does a lot of things right. The navigation ball is excellent and responsive, while the screen is a pleasure, and very easily configured. It doesn’t come loaded with many apps, but there’s a strong selection in the App store, and unlike Apple, most of them are free.

Physically, the design is very clean, and typical of HTC mobile phones, although white might not be the best colour for something carried and used extensively every day.

The keyboard is onscreen, available in both portrait and landscape modes. However, given screen size, landscape is the only viable option, and some mobile phone reviews have noted that even then keys at the edge need an extra push.

Anyone wanting music on the HTC will need to keep it on a memory card, which isn’t such a great idea, and the listening experience isn’t as good as it could have been since the device lacks a 3.5mm headphone jack. Nor is the camera that great, experiencing unacceptably long shutter lag and no flash, although it does have 3.2 megapixels.

So yes, there are enough problems with the HTC Magic to feel as if the spell hasn’t taken and that it is very much a work in progress. But things will improve.