Feel the HTC Magic, a good alternative to the iPhone (HTC Magic)

Member Name: davomrmac

Product:	HTC Magic
Date:	12/10/09 (67 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good battery, plenty of apps, works well

Disadvantages: Slow startup, screen is hard to see in sunlight

This review is coming from an Apple Fanboy. For many years I have only ever used an iPhone. Starting with the first iPhone, right through to the latest 3GS version. It was on this 3GS version that two things happened. I grew tired of being stuck within the same Apple world. Plus, the constant distraction from the games, utilities and gizmos I could download really made me less productive in my working day.

In the search for a phone that just did a few things well, I went for the Magic. Actually, I bought mine from ebay (another story), but although it has the Vodafone logo on it, they all come unlocked. The handset is nice looking, has a nice screen and delivers good audio quality on call.

The good... battery life is around 2 days maximum, so I charge mine every other day. The screen is nice and colourful. The application store (called Market) has loads of stuff available. It has delivered me an app for my Twitter account, plus one for scanning in barcodes to check prices in the shops. The apps already installed allow me to text and get to my email accounts with ease. The camera is only 3.2 megapixel, but that is more than good enough for me.

The bad... it is a bit slow. Startup takes for ever and after a few days use it does slow down a lot. You have to remember to back-out of apps, otherwise it ends up with loads of active stuff running and becomes unusable. The screen is also awful in direct sunlight.

Other than those two things, it is a joy to use. If you don't want the obvious iPhone choice then check out the various Google Android handsets available. There is the HTC Hero, the Samsung Galaxy, T-Mobile Pulse and this wonderful HTC Magic.

Summary: Google Android phones are worthwhile considering

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