Last week at Mobile World Congress (MWC), HTC and Vodafone took the wraps off of the first hardware keyboardless smartphone, the Magic. Magic is powered by Google’s Android operating system and is running the “Cupcake” software build which comes complete with an on screen soft keyboard.
According to the HTC website, the Magic has the following specifications:
- Processor: Qualcomm® MSM7201a™, 528 MHz
- Memory: 512MB ROM, 192MB RAM
- Dimensions: 4.45 x 2.17 x 0.54 inches
- Weight: 4.18 ounces
- Display: 3.2-inch 320×480 HVGA touch-sensitive TFT screen
- Network: HSDPA/WCDMA/GSM/GPRS/EDGE
- Device Control: Trackball with Enter button
- Expansion Slot: microSD
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, 802.11g Wi-Fi, and HTC’s ExtUSB
- Camera: 3.2MP
More details about the Magic can be found on the HTC website.
The Vodafone press release reads:
“The stylish new handset is exclusive to Vodafone in the UK, Spain, Germany and France (SFR) and available on a non-exclusive basis in Italy. Customers can ensure that they are the first to receive information about the HTC Magic’s availability, pricing and pre-ordering by registering their interest via their local Vodafone website from today.
A tablet-style device, with a sleek design and unprecedented compactness for a smartphone featuring the Android platform, the HTC Magic enables a superior mobile internet experience, providing broad flexibility for personalisation via the application-rich Android Market. Available in white in the UK, Spain and France, black in Germany and in both colours in Italy, the HTC Magic will be for sale in several other Vodafone markets over the next few months.
“Delivering an unbeatable mobile internet experience for our customers is a priority for Vodafone, so we are very excited to be introducing our first Android-powered smartphone in the spring,” says Patrick Chomet, Global Director of Terminals, Vodafone Group. “Following our joining of the Open Handset Alliance, we have worked very closely with HTC to bring this cool new phone to the market. Our customers want to access a wide range of the most attractive mobile devices to help them make the most of their time – the HTC Magic helps meet that need.”
The HTC Magic will be available later this spring to Vodafone customers in Europe. The press release did not mention specific pricing based on contract commitments. For more details, visit the Vodafone website.