The G1 is about to lose its crown as the only Android device on the market.
Vodafone announced on Tuesday at Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona that it plans to bring out the second smartphone based on the Google platform later this year. The device — made by HTC, the company behind the G1 — will be called Magic.
Vodafone users in France, Germany, Spain and the UK will be able to get their hands on the device from this spring, according to the operator, with the Magic expected to hit other markets in the next few months.
Vodafone will be the only network to carry the Magic in the UK. The device will hit UK shops from April.
The Magic will sport a 3.2-inch touchscreen, 3.2MP camera, GPS and a trackball for navigation; feature all the usual application suspects, including YouTube, Google Maps and Google Talk; and come in black or white.
The announcement follows T-Mobile's own operator-exclusive deal to sell the G1 in the UK last year. An Australian company, Kogan, has also made another Android device, the Agora, but its release has been delayed and the handset has yet to reach the market.
Talkback
I felt quite excited about this until I read that there was no slide out keyboard. HTC seem to have a real success in providing excellent slide out keyboards from the reports that I have read, and I think this is a real opportunity lost. I will wait for the HTC Touchpro 2, which seems to be a much more interesting proposition from a business viewpoint
poor camera and small screen