David Flynn21 May 2009, 12:09 PM
Vodafone and Three are gearing up for next week's launch of HTC’s Android-powered Magic touchscreen smartphone.
Earlier this week APCmag broke the news that HTC’s Magic Android-powered smartphone was set for local release, with the official launch taking place next Thursday morning ahead of a public roll-out in June.
Vodafone and Three, which merged in February this year, are now ramping up for the debut of HTC’s second-gen Google smartphone.
Both carriers have listed the Magic on their respective Web sites (click
here for Vodafone and
here for Three) and are inviting wanna-be Magicians to enter their details to receive an email advisory when the HTC Magic becomes available.
"Ebony and ivory, the Magic will sell through Vodafone and Three..."
The specifics on plans and pricing are not expected to be announced until next Thursday's launch at the earliest.
However, there will be some differences between what each carrier has on offer.
The Vodafone-branded smartphone will stay on its parent carrier’s
network in both the primary 2100MHz and secondary 900MHz regional bands
with HSDPA up to 7.2Mbps.
But because the Magic doesn’t support 3G technology on 850MHz it won’t
rate as one of Three’s network-hoping ‘Mega 3G’ handsets, which can
switch from Three’s limited 2100MHz network to Telstra’s broader
coverage Next G system. Roaming can take place onto onto Telstra’s
creaky old 900MHz GSM Edge network.
Three will sell only the black version of the Magic, while Vodafone
will stock both black and white handsets on the shelves.
And Vodafone
Australia’s Senior PR Manager, Dominic Hilton-Foster, tells APCmag that
“there will be several exclusive features on the Vodafone-only device,
and these will be outlined in detail when we announce our plans (and)
pricing in the near future.”