MWC 2009: Android Phone Finally Appears From HTC

Today Vodafone and HTC held a press conference to announce the world's second Android phone. The Magic, as it is called, features a 3.2-megapixel camera, touch-screen display, and the same tight integration with Google services as seen on the HTC G1.Most attendees here at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona were beginning to worry that Google's Android platform wouldn't make an official, real appearance.

Huawei may have announced a vaporware Android phone (it's a nonworking model sitting in a glass case), but Android pioneer HTC came out and delivered.

The HTC Magic is a touch phone and loses the physical QWERTY keyboard that is present on the G1. It keeps the trackball and other navigation keys to access the phone's systems and applications.

The HTC Magic has a 3.2-inch QVGA display and includes a variety of e-mail options such as GMail, POP3, and IMAP, as well as Google Talk for instant messaging.

It also has the Android-optimized Webkit browser and other Google services, such as Maps, Search, and YouTube. Of course, the Magic also will be able to access the Android Market, where users can download games, applications, and other content.

There was no specific mention of other, new features, but we have to assume that it will have a software QWERTY keyboard, which is something that the G1 lacks.

There is some bad new, however. This phone will only be sold by Vodafone in Europe. It will launch in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the U.K. first, with other unspecified countries to follow. Neither Vodafone nor HTC made any mention of bringing the Magic to the United States.

The Magic goes on sale sometime in the spring.