HTC

[chrisdibben]

I'm interested to know whether it is living up to the hype, and if it really is worth me upgrading to it. I've been tossing up a move to O2 for the iPhone, but I've held out until the Magic is on the streets to see what real people, rather than tech journalists think of it.

So, if you've already got a Magic what do you think?

[cliche guevara]

I'm interested to know whether it is living up to the hype, and if it really is worth me upgrading to it. I've been tossing up a move to O2 for the iPhone, but I've held out until the Magic is on the streets to see what real people, rather than tech journalists think of it.

So, if you've already got a Magic what do you think?

Overall I'm very impressed.

The lack of a proper headphone jack is a major gripe. I want to make use of the buddy runner app (not that it's currently 1.5 compatible anyway), but having to use those shoddy earbuds means that they'll fall out on every step. The sound quality is pretty ###### too, and I'm sure that's the fault of the headphones rather than the phone. I know you can get converters, but that just adds unwated bulk.

The OS is fantastic, best mobile interface I've ever used by a mile. It's natural and intuitive. The camera looks every bit as good as the 5.0mp snapper on my K850i, and the snapphoto app does it a world of good. The touchscreen is brilliant, really responsive, and I'm already getting used to the on screen keyboard. Very impressed so far, gonna spend the evening filling it with ###### from the market place

[jason1975]

One thing I was going to ask, is it true that the HTC Magic does not have the bluetooth capability to transfer music or picture files?

[Anonymous(anon)]

That's correct

Nice

[chrisdibben]

Thanks for the feedback so far.

So, the sound quality isn't great? And there is also no 3.5mm headphone jack to plug in some decent headphones (adapter looks to be around £12)?
The Magic is Bluetooth enabled and I've read elsewhere that it does support A2DP (Bluetooth stereo headphones), so I'd probably look at that as an option rather than an adapter.

[cliche guevara]

I wasn;t aware it supported bluetooth headphones. Are there many of these about? Are they pricey? Seems like a better option than a converter, even if it does cost a little more.

[discoian]

I've tried it with the converter and a pair of Sennheiser headphones that I use with my iPod and the audio quality is comparable, so no worries.

[chrisdibben]

I wasn;t aware it supported bluetooth headphones. Are there many of these about? Are they pricey? Seems like a better option than a converter, even if it does cost a little more.

Bluetooth stereo headphone cost anything from £25-30 upwards, the Sony Ericsson ones are supposed to have pretty good sound. When you get over £50 you're looking at headsets that include a caller/track display, although I'm not sure how compatible the Magic is with the display, should be OK though.
I think the bluetooth headset is worth the cost to loose the wires and get better sound, but I'll wait until I've got a Magic to test the sound.

[cliche guevara]

Bluetooth stereo headphone cost anything from £25-30 upwards, the Sony Ericsson ones are supposed to have pretty good sound. When you get over £50 you're looking at headsets that include a caller/track display, although I'm not sure how compatible the Magic is with the display, should be OK though.
I think the bluetooth headset is worth the cost to loose the wires and get better sound, but I'll wait until I've got a Magic to test the sound.

Thanks, if they can be picked up for that sort of money then I think I'll be getting myself some.

[discoian]

That's good to hear, shame it ships with such poor quality buds

That's how they keep the price low

[Claire_V]

Hi jason1975

Bluetooth on the HTC Magic will be only for handsfree Voice calling and not for data transfer.

So you wont be able to share pictures or ringtones via Bluetooth I'm afraid.

It doesnt detract from the usability or the attraction of the phone, its a really nice handset with alot of benefits. Automatically storing contacts, pictures and data to your Google account will certainly save me some stress when I next lose my phone!

Claire

eforum Team

[discoian]

I dunno, I find the picture and tones sharing, or lack of, VERY ######. A bit like the iPhone (but not AS ######). Typical American style system though - they don't even grasp the handiness of MMS.

Typical Yank: "Why would you want to bluetooth a picture to someone when you can e-mail it to them?"

Typical Brit: "Umm, because not everyone has e-mail on their phone..."

Typical Yank: "Eeeww, that's so like, so 90's...someone pass me my 9 gallon mcdonalds coke"

[smcgirr]

I dunno, I find the picture and tones sharing, or lack of, VERY ######. A bit like the iPhone (but not AS ######). Typical American style system though - they don't even grasp the handiness of MMS.

Typical Yank: "Why would you want to bluetooth a picture to someone when you can e-mail it to them?"

Typical Brit: "Umm, because not everyone has e-mail on their phone..."

Typical Yank: "Eeeww, that's so like, so 90's...someone pass me my 9 gallon mcdonalds coke"

Sticking with Bluetooth, although it syncs up to my satnav, I also notice it can't share contacts/sms with the satnav - previous phones could. Seems for some crazy reason they don't quite grasp what bluetooth can be used for.

Overall for the phone it's pretty good. Colour is slightly off putting. Some of the basic apps like email/bluetooth are very very basic in functionality and I hate that I have to have tons of 3rd party apps just to offer what I'd class as basic functionality.

It's more a toy phone than a serious email device but hey I guess thats why BlackBerry is the biggest smartphone around.

[Wayne]

Hi smcgirr

Thanks for your post here and thanks for your feedback. It is duely noted

One the Bluetooth subject, At the moment the functionality is purely for Voice but I would not rule out this changing in the future or some clever third party App person may develop a piece of software that helps with this.

I think the idea behind the Android OS is that it provides a Basic ground work for its open sourced code to be changed so that it benefits the more wider range processes that some of ask it to do. In short Google gave us the Foundations and its up to the App Developers to come up with the specific programs for specific tasks. I totally hear what you're saying though and I suppose it's down to personal preference.

As more apps are developed I'm sure you'll be impressed with what the Magic has to offer

Thanks

Wayne

eForum Team

[discoian]

I agree, you may find that the gmail client embedded will be replaced at some point by something more powerful. I remember when Appstore was launched for iPhone, apps were bleak and few, and as you're now using cutting edge latest-release hardware, you should expect the same for at least 3-6 months until more and more people get it. I reckon in 6 months time, the magic will be one of the best touch-handsets on the market.