htc Magic : My own opinion

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FilledVoid

Who stole my Alpaca!
So recently after my Nokia 6681 took its last breath I finally decided to get a good phone. Initially I ha started with a budget of 15k and thought of getting the htc tattoo which was close to my budget and was something like 15-16k. Although after doing a bit more research and taking in consideration a few other folks opinion I decided to get a htc Magic.

*img156.imageshack.us/img156/3194/magicblackfront.jpg

First of all the tech specifications which should be available at any other site .
Specifications

May I say I haven't used alot of phones so my opinion might be a inexperienced one . Here's what i got within the case of the phone.

* A 2GB SD Card (My dealer gave me a 4gb card with it because I kept on hassling him for a better deal)
* A card Adapter for connecting it to your PC
* The Battery
* Charger
* Headphones (I'm not sure if its me but it does seem a bit fragile.)
* Leather Pouch ( Fits nicely for the phone, if you buy the white oen I think you get a white leather pouch too :eek: )
* Data Cable to connect to your PC
* A Small Beginner guide. (The actual user manual can be downloaded online)

Now as far as looks are concerned I loved the appearance of the phone. I think the phone has enough "bling" to it for all those who are into phones for the looks. The phone I purchased was the Black one since I was quite sure the white one was going to probably get dirty much faster. The body of the case does leave some smudges, although they aren't really that noticeable.

As far as usage is concerned the touch screen was a delight to use. I definitely felt much better using it than the demo phones I tried out at the store. Although I'm pretty sure its the difference between resistive and capacitive touch screens. The UI was pleasing enough and operating it was a pleasure, I experienced no hangups or any kind of freezes whatsoever. Turning the phone on does take a bit of time to get all up and loaded though.

Now comes the major part. If you all are into the hone for Android then I would take a very good look at the product if you plan on buying it. The thing about Magic is it can come either in the locked or unlocked form. If you see the Airtel or Vodaphone on the box then you might be in for a surprise. The Indian version of these phones do not contain any of the Google applications. The only thing that comes on it is the Google search widget. The irony is the phone if it is locked down has GPS but no applications which can actually use it. :eek: One could try downloading the applications but you don't have Android Market either which is amazingly strange. Although if you were to buy the unlocked version you should be able to get the original applications and Market etc.

There is an alternative to a locked phone but I'm not sure how the forum goes based on subjects involving unlocking phones so I'll hold my tongue for now. But let me say that a locked phone isn't really locked if you spent about five minutes of your time with it :). Although it does void the warranty I think . So yes this process isn't for the faint of heart. If you do have access to 100% of the functionality then let me say that the Sky is the limit.

I've found no problems with the reception whatsoever and I've noticed that certain reviews have pointed that the Magic somehow lacks in this department but I have yet to see any kind of issues and the sound is quite clear.

Now going to the Media section. If you happen to be a photo buff or audiophile I'd certainly not choose this phone but rather a better one which suits your needs. As far as audio is concerned I do feel that it was a bit lacking but hell I'm really not an audiophile so someone else is going to have to judge that.

Another turn off for some might be the file transfer from bluetooth devices but I rarely transfer anything at all so is really not an issue for me. I haven't tried sync'ing with Microsoft Outlook as of now but will do so and post if I happen to do it at all.

If I happen to crawl across any tips or tricks Ill post it here in this thread and hopefully if ya all know any tips or tricks be free to add to this thread as it would help enw users like me :)

Anyway Ive been happy with my purchase so far except the Android market part which is amazingly stupid. Athough like I said I could bypass it if needed in 5 -10 minutes max. but I think all applications I need can be installed from other sites like slideme etc. If anyone is planning on buying this phone Id recommend waiting on Motorola Droid or another unlocked version before making the purchase unless its urgent though.
 
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kalpik

In Pursuit of "Happyness"
Nice and honest review! Congrats on your buy :)

Btw.. Droid would be 30-35k.. So not exactly in the same league as far as budget goes..

---------- Post added at 06:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:21 PM ----------

Nice and honest review! Congrats on your buy :)

Btw.. Droid would be 30-35k.. So not exactly in the same league as far as budget goes..
 
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FilledVoid

FilledVoid

Who stole my Alpaca!
Nice and honest review! Congrats on your buy
Thanks :)

Btw.. Droid would be 30-35k.. So not exactly in the same league as far as budget goes..
Yes but that's a guesstimate at the moment :). If ya had the time my opinion would eb to wait for the Droid to come out and then compare between existing Android phones.
 

Pathik

Google Bot
Congrats on the buy. How much did you get it for? The Hero is available for 25k sans the bill.
 

amitabhishek

Bad to the bone
The thing about Magic is it can come either in the locked or unlocked form. If you see the Airtel or Vodaphone on the box then you might be in for a surprise. The Indian version of these phones do not contain any of the Google applications. The only thing that comes on it is the Google search widget. The irony is the phone if it is locked down has GPS but no applications which can actually use it. :eek: One could try downloading the applications but you don't have Android Market either which is amazingly strange. Although if you were to buy the unlocked version you should be able to get the original applications and Market etc.

Congrats!!!

IMO In India this phone is available only through Airtel. Whats your make? Mine is from UK's Vodafone and this comes with Android market.

Indian users (Airtel) have got a real raw deal. Indian version of HTC magic comes with a special ROM _HBOOT-1.33.0010) called "perfect ROM". It will only accept signed images to flash the firmware, so the ROM images from G1,Hero are not useful with this HTC magic.

In a nutshell not only Indian users are devoid of Google goodies they are also locked out from using custom build ROMs such as CyanogenMod. :(
 
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FilledVoid

FilledVoid

Who stole my Alpaca!
Indian users (Airtel) have got a real raw deal. Indian version of HTC magic comes with a special ROM _HBOOT-1.33.0010) called "perfect ROM".
This is indeed true.
In a nutshell not only Indian users are devoid of Google goodies they are also locked out from using custom build ROMs such as CyanogenMod.
This is technically False.

You can root your phone and install a custom ROM I believe . The procedure probably takes about 5-10 minutes tops.
 
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FilledVoid

FilledVoid

Who stole my Alpaca!
nice review mate and congrats on your purchase.

Thank-you. I'm typing this message from my phone now and I can say that the browsing experience is pleasant enough. I had no problems typing this message or accessing any website at all. If you are a first time touch screen user you might find typing a bit hard but you can change the orientation of the screen to make it easier .
 

Pat

Beyond Smart
Congrats mate..A good buy! I just rooted my G1 last night and the custom builds are sure impressive. Btw, there is a difference between unlocking and rooting. AFAIK, there is no way to unlock a locked phone other than buying an unlock code for $$..
 
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FilledVoid

FilledVoid

Who stole my Alpaca!
Congrats mate..A good buy! I just rooted my G1 last night and the custom builds are sure impressive. Btw, there is a difference between unlocking and rooting. AFAIK, there is no way to unlock a locked phone other than buying an unlock code for $$..

Thanks. Yes my apologies on that. I always tend to use the terms lock and root inappropriately. What you said is right. The phone can only be unlocked by getting unlocking codes but what I forgot to mention is that the phone I got comes with Unlocking Codes right on the box, if I understand this correctly. In other words the phone may be exclusively provided by Airtel but there is no restriction whatsoever and getting it installed on a different carrier. Although as you read above it is limited Software install wise which requires rooting to be able to proceed further. I'm thinking of using one of the Custom Hero ROM's as I just love how they look in the videos. As of now the only problem I can find is not being able to get APNs listed correctly but they can be manually entered.
 
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FilledVoid

FilledVoid

Who stole my Alpaca!
Much appreciated. Although I would advise on checking for updated versions as well. This guide was entered as of August 12 2009. The Unlockr has a one click solution which works for Perfect SPL . The reason I'm waiting on trying this is I would like to do more research on this so I don't hit a possible outcome I'm not prepared for.
 

amitabhishek

Bad to the bone
Yes; you should know what you are doing because there is a very slim chance of bricking device if you are not careful.

BTW you have market on your device?
 
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FilledVoid

FilledVoid

Who stole my Alpaca!
Nope which is why I'm even thinking of doing this in the first place. Although I've now resorted to contacting htc and have explained my situation and also question why place a GPS receiver on a device that has no applications that can use it. First Im going to see if I can get htc to find a fix or some kind of upgrade that would at least give me access to Android Market. If the answer is a No then I'm rooting and then might even consider consumer court if my friend thinks there enough to give them bad publicity.
 

Pat

Beyond Smart
I just rooted my G1 last night following unlockr's guides!
More here:
*theunlockr.com/2009/10/15/how-to-root-a-donut-phone-android-1-6/

Let me know if you need any help!
 

amitabhishek

Bad to the bone
Rooting may not help him much; he needs to flash the ROM. As mentioned earlier his phone sports a "Perfect" ROM so flashing may not be easier either unless xda guys have done something about it.

BTW he can install "andappstore" client (use phone browser).

*andappstore.com/AndroidApplications/apps/AndAppStore_Client
This is a third party app. store. Not remotely as rich as Google app. store but at least he will get a decent app for GPS, file explorer, twitter, facebook etc. for now.
 
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FilledVoid

FilledVoid

Who stole my Alpaca!
Yes, the above is something also Ive been reading about. If I can get equivalent alternatives I really don't care about the rest. Although at the moment I have certain issues going on which demand more of my time. Hence haven;t gotten around to it. I'm thinking of Installing some applications through Slideme , AndAppStore and any others and see if I'm happy, Waiting for htc's reply if they ever send one. Finally if I'm still not pleased then Im going to root it. After taking care of some stuff today I should have enough time to get the above done.

Anyway without the above issue I'm giving the phone a 4/5 just on user experience . I'm quite pleased with the performance. Ive seen quite few complaining about the battery being weak but again Ive only fully recharged the phone once and its still going on. I haven't used any Wi-Fi features though which may explain the above as well.
 
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FilledVoid

FilledVoid

Who stole my Alpaca!
So the ball game has started. Going to check if I cna get further details.

Dear Mr. Mathew,

Thank you for contacting our Customer Support Center. We are dedicated to providing you with the best quality service and answering all of your questions and concerns.

As per your E-mail, We know how frustrating this situation is and we have escalated this to our product design team so that we can deliver the best product possible. They have assured us here that an upgrade will be released publicly in the near future, however to ensure product quality there are still tests we are conducting.

Thank you for your continued understanding and support.


You can also call our Call Center at: 1800 11 33 77
If you have further questions.

Thank you once again for your continued patronage.

Best regards,
Sartaj.
HTC
 
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