Vodafone to launch HTC Magic May 5

Vodafone will launch the HTC Magic, the Taiwanese company's second handset based on Google's Android platform, May 5--though there is no timeline yet for a U.S. launch date.

The carrier said the phone will be free when customers sign up for a two-year contract with fees of about $51 per month. The plan includes unlimited web use, 700 minutes of calls, 250 text messages and unlimited calls to landlines and other Vodafone customers.

HTC unveiled the HSPA/WCDMA phone at Mobile World Congress in February. The device features a 3.2-inch touchscreen with a full virtual Qwerty keyboard, doing away with the T-Mobile G1's slide-out keyboard. The design also is much sleeker than the G1, which was criticized for its clunky form factor. The Magic has a trackball, WiFi and features Google's various mobile applications.

Interestingly, the Magic has appeared in FCC documents with T-Mobile USA's logo on it, though the carrier has given no indication as to when it will launch the phone in the U.S. The phone is apparenly capable of supporting T-Mobile's 1700 MHz AWS 3G spectrum band.

HTC has promised at least two more Android phones, besides the Magic, before the year is over.

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