I had the opportunity to spend about 30 minutes with the new HTC Magic phone, which runs Google's Android platform. Instant verdict: Much better than the G1.The Magic is an all around better device than the G1...as long as you don't mind the loss of the G1's physical keyboard.

The Magic's hardware was designed more by HTC than by Google, unlike the G1, which Google played a large role in designing. The hardware itself is very comfortable to use. The device is small, the plastics are smooth, and it fits in your hand well. The buttons aren't perfect, but I was told they aren't in their final form yet. The trackball is still there for navigating menus.

The Magic is very light. It isn't the thinnest device ever, but it is thin enough and light enough that it's not going to bother you if you choose to tuck it into your pocket. This display is excellent. It is very bright, and images and icons are razor sharp.

For the most part, Android works just as it does on the G1. The UI was snappy and responsive. What's best are the new features.

First off, as I already reported earlier today, the Magic can record video. That's a huge new feature that I am very happy to see added to the platform. The video camera works well enough. On top of that, the speed of the still image camera as been improved. It is faster to focus, and faster to reset so you can take another picture. That's good. I also like that you can touch the spot on the screen where you want the camera to focus.

Google and HTC have also added a native Picasa application. Since the Magic shoots pictures and videos, this only makes sense. You can now sync your media to Picasa directly from the phone. That's very nice.

And of course, because the Magic no longer has a physical keyboard, a software QWERTY has been added to the user interface. It is very similar to that of the iPhone, and the word prediction helps you compose your messages faster.

The one major drawback to the device, as least from my perspective, is that it doesn't have a standard 3.5mm headset jack for listening to music or other content. HTC has been bad about this on other devices - such as the G1. I can only hope that future designs include a 3.5mm headset jack.

The Magic goes on sale later this year via Vodafone across several of its European markets.