Stylish and techy - yet easy to use (HTC Magic)

Member Name: MrsTinks

Product:	HTC Magic
Date:	14/11/09 (32 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Simple to use, loads of apps available and cheaper than iPhone!

Disadvantages: Slow to boot up, not great enough range of UK apps

I'm not going to go into a long detailed technical review of the specs of this phone - I think if you have looked up reviews for it then you already know what it does and looks like. What I WILL share with you is my views and experiences as a user of the HTC Magic.

I got the HTC Magic instead of an iPhone as I found the reviews and prices for the iPhone weren't putting me at ease looking at the cost and tariffs available. The Magic was recommended by nearly all the people I spoke to in the shops and several had them themselves (and were happy to demonstrate their own personal phones to me).

So I went home with my sparkling new Magic and feeling a little excited about entering a new world of Android OS. Once you get used to the new OS it's actually very easy to use - it does take a while to boot up if you reboot for whatever reason which can be a pain!

One of the major selling points of the phone is the Market Place - where you can get free applications or buy bigger better versions etc. This is an area I feel DOES need a lot of attention - I love applications but anything interactive like finding resturants etc seems primarily aimed at the US and not UK - so totally useless! Ditto a lot of the barcode scanning softwares - not designed for use in the UK. And there is no way of telling most of the time until you have downloaded an app and installed it before you know this which is HUGELY annoying. Also no online way to search for Android Apps so you are restricted to searching on the phone - I like using my phone and laptop in combination and not being able to look up a tool first is of great irritation - an area Android really ought to address IMO!

Second problem I have with this is the signal - I don't know if it's my handset or a general fault or just my network but often I am in an area where I KNOW there should be a good reception and I get no signal at all. If I turn on airplane mode and then turn it off again it will often then get 3 to 4 bars... highly annoying! And something I will be discussing with Vodafone this coming week...

Despite these faults I still like my Magic - yes it has a few flaws but I can forgive them :)

Summary: Good but needs a few areas looking at :)

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