HTC Magic

I was in Mid Valley the other day checking on the Che Che New York boutique and there was a concourse promotion at the Centre Court, showcasing the HTC. What caught my eye was one of them was running the Android OS (Operating System), originally developed by Google and later the Open Handset Alliance.

I played around with it for a while and was really intrigued by it. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to stick around to really check it out.

SO...

Succumbing to temptation, I got myself the HTC Magic, the mobile device powered by Android.

According to the sales person, the only color it is available in Malaysia, is in black...

Now we all know I love white, don't we... *grin*

I just couldn't help my self and decided to get a white housing, take it apart and put it together myself...

I've been using this for a couple of days now. I must say, it's a lot smoother than the Symbian OS v9.4, Series 60 rel. 5 on my N97. Physically, the device feels nice, oddly light but comfortable.

Yes! It's also white! *laughs*

Why do I need so many phones! I don't. I'm just a sucker for gadgets and gizmos.

Anyway, the N97 isn't a bad device at all. I am just very uncomfortable with the inconsistency of the it's Symbian OS v9.4, Series 60 rel. 5 OS. Some screens require a double tap, some just single... the list goes on. It's ARM 11 434 MHz processor and 128 MB RAM does make is pretty slow and sluggish quite often. The N97 does pack quite a punch in the memory department with 32GB internal memory. 32GB! So much memory to store crap. Has a pleasant 5mp camera with LED flash to take some decent pictures. The 3.5mm audio jack does come in handy too for plugging in your own headsets. The N97 is not a small phone. It weighs quite a bit as well and you'll definitely feel that bulge from your pocket.

The HTC Magic on the other hand, has a slightly more powerful Qualcomm MSM7200A, 528 MHz processor but I still think it could do with more hardware juice. It has 288 MB RAM and a 3.2mp camera but no flash. No 3.5mm jack so you have to make due with the headset the device came with. In terms of memory, it only has 512 MB of ROM onboard, which is so bloody small! How will I install the many apps available from Android Market?! It came with a 8 GB memory card, but this is mainly used for data storage. So far, I think the Android OS is pretty fun to use, having played with it for the last couple of days. My other gripe besides the onboard memory is Android does not support business cards and beaming files or information from one device to another through bluetooth. That really sucks.

Also, the HTC Magic sold in Malaysia does not come with the applications that come with Magic-GMS (google mobile services) versions. I think the devices sold in Malaysia are the Magic - OHD (open handset distribution) versions, which are mostly available in the South East Asian market. I was utterly disappointed when I discovered this. One of the reasons I picked up this device, was the Android Market, which houses plenty of free apps. So, I did some digging online and managed to flash it onto the device, along with Google maps, Gmail and Google Talk.

Cool huh.