Google's Android platform for smartphones has generated a great deal of interest but the UK has had just one device to play with until now. T-Mobile launched the platform with its G1 last year, and now Vodafone has followed up with the HTC Magic. A slimmer, sleeker smartphone with an updated version of the Android platform, it has plenty of goodness about it, and one serious annoyance.

The serious annoyance is that it is tied heavily into Google services. Ironically that may also be its greatest appeal. It really depends on what kind of user you are.

If you are already a keen user of Google Mail, Calendar, YouTube, Google Talk, Picasa and so on, you may find the HTC Magic a super device. It gets your Gmail contacts, synchronises your calendar over the air and works with Google Latitude to show where your friends are. All this happens seamlessly. You can use Street View and, thanks to the digital compass and gravity sensor which are built into the HTC Magic, you can pan around a street scene simply by tilting the device in your hand.

If, on the other hand, you are a Microsoft Outlook user, or need to synchronise data with Microsoft Exchange, you are out of luck. Hopefully Google will integrate such capability into the next iteration of the Android platform, because without it we think it is hamstrung.

The HTC Magic is a slim, comfortable device to hold. It lacks the hardware-based keyboard found in the G1 and instead has two on-screen, tappable keyboards. The smaller of the two, available when the device is in portrait mode, is a little tiny for tapping at, but the larger one, which pops up when you flick into landscape mode, is easier to use.

This screen orientation switching is, for some reason, a little slow. When you turn the phone the screen flips into wide or tall format, but is initially out of focus, clicking in after a short wait. The wait isn't interminable, but it is long enough to become annoying after a while.

The user interface is superb. There are three main screens which you get between by sweeping the screen with a finger. You can put shortcuts onto each screen and so could have three themed groups of applications. With a hardware button launching context sensitive menus and another for searching, as well as a miniature trackball, getting around is straightforward.

The 3.2-megapixel camera is not outstanding, but good enough. And with Wi-Fi built in and a vast array of software available for download direct to the handset, there are plenty of ways to use the device.

Verdict
The HTC Magic is a big step forward from the G1. We want more synchronisation options next time around, but we really like what we see here.

Company: HTC

Contact: 08080 408 408

Tags: google android microsoft outlook htc magic youtube google street view microsoft exchange server microsoft exchange