Vodafone To Unleash Second Android Phone in Europe By Barry Levine

The HTC Magic -- the second major Android-based device from a major carrier -- will be released by Vodafone to Europe in May. Vodafone will make the HTC Magic available for free to customers who sign up for a two-year contract. The HTC Magic is exclusive to Vodafone in Europe; other Android phones are expected to be released soon.

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The second major Android phone is soon landing. Next month, Vodafone will release the HTC Magic, the first touchscreen-only device based on the Google-led, open-source operating system. It will be only the second Android device from a major carrier.

The Magic will be available first in Germany on May 5, followed in a matter of days with releases in France, the United Kingdom, Austria, Spain and Italy.

The Magic, exclusive to Vodafone in Europe, will feature a 3.2-inch screen, a 3.2-megapixel camera, high-speed Internet access, and GPS. Vodafone is taking pre-orders in advance of the device's release.

G2 or G3?

The first Android-based phone, the G1, has sold about one million units since its release by T-Mobile about six months ago, according to news reports Relevant Products/Services. The G1, like the Magic, is made by Taiwan-based HTC.

If the Magic is released in the U.S. through T-Mobile, there has been speculation among some observers that the carrier will dub it the G2, or, since the Magic is already out, choose instead the G3 title. But no release plan for the U.S. launch of the Magic has yet been announced, nor has its availability through T-Mobile been confirmed. China Mobile is expected to handle the Magic's release in Asia.

The Magic, which was first announced by HTC at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this past February, has virtual on-screen typing keys, not the G1's slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

For the markets in this initial release wave, Vodafone will make the Magic available for free to customers who sign up for a two-year contract, which includes unlimited data, 700 minutes for phone calls, 250 texts, and unlimited calls to landlines and customers on the Vodafone network.

Not 'Slick'

Avi Greengart, an analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, said that, while HTC is undoubtedly "thrilled" by the one million units sold for the G1, there had been press speculation that by mid-2009, Android would have become a major market force.

"Google is a colossal brand," Greengart noted, and a major competitive shift caused by Android "could still happen." But the one million mark is still minor compared to, say, five million units that Nokia sold for the N series in the last quarter alone, "and that was somewhat of a disappointment for them." And the iPhone, he pointed out, sold 3.8 million devices in the last quarter.

Greengart also said he found "the design language of the Magic and G1 almost 'cartoonish' when compared with, say, HTC designs for Windows Mobile devices." The G1 has been criticized by some observers as being "clunky," and Greengart noted that the Magic is still not what you would call "slick."

While other Android phones are expected to be released in the coming months from other major manufacturers and carriers, the spread of the operating system may also take place through non-phone devices. Earlier this month, for instance, T-Mobile indicated that it was planning to use Android on a variety of consumer devices, including a tablet computer.