HTC Magic announced for Asia
(Credit: Damian Koh)
Ever since the HTC Magic was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in February, we've been waiting for availability and pricing information for Asia. Now we have it. The Magic will be shipping to Singapore early June at S$1,048 (US$842.04) without contract. But unlike the Dream, the Magic will not be exclusive to a particular telco operator. The retail package will also be bundled with a 2GB microSD card.
Following Singapore, the Magic is expected to head to Hong Kong next week and to Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam by end of Q2. For now, check out our hands-on impressions of the Magic to whet your gadget appetite.
(Credit: Damian Koh)
Two colors will be available for the Magic. This is the white version with a silver strip. The other is the black model with maroon strip. Compared with the Dream, the Magic is definitely better-looking with a more compact and lighter chassis. There are six buttons on the front comprising the usual Call/End keys, shortcuts to the Home screen, main menu, Back and a dedicated Search function that works in Contacts, Calendar, Email and the Web browser. In the center is the navigation trackball which was also found on the Dream.
(Credit: Damian Koh)
The Magic uses a mini-USB port for charging and connecting to a headset.
(Credit: Damian Koh)
The bottom edge of the Magic curves up at a slight angle, forming a "lip" that is supposed to cradle the contour of your face ergonomically.
(Credit: Damian Koh)
Here's the 3.2-megapixel camera. There's no built-in flash light, which is a real bummer. The glossy chassis may not be everyone's cup of tea as well, but it certainly looks good.
(Credit: Damian Koh)
One of the new features on the Magic is support for Microsoft Exchange. We managed to get it to sync with our Outlook emails, contacts and calendar entries with nary a hassle.
(Credit: Damian Koh)
The onboard accelerometer kicks in when you rotate the phone sideways, switching the display from portrait to landscape mode.
(Credit: Damian Koh)
You can select between a QWERTY keyboard, alphanumeric keypad or Chinese text input via handwriting, hanyu pinyin and strokes.
(Credit: Damian Koh)
You can also add shortcuts, widgets, folders and wallpapers to the Home screen.
(Credit: Damian Koh)
Here's the main menu. Nothing much has changed on the user interface front. We will have a full evaluation of the Magic once we get our hands on a final release. Meanwhile, you can also check out our First Looks video here.
Be the first to comment
Sign In with Facebook or create an account to post a review.
