HTC Magic gets manhandled, is really quite sexy, I argued, when the T-Mobile G1 was launched, that it wasn’t the perfect phone. You may well remember. The design was a bit… well, not that pretty, and despite the Android operating system, I wasn’t a massive fan of the phone. However, you may also remember that I said the G1 wasn’t a make-or-break device for Google Android, and that it was future phones that were actually the exciting ones to look out for.
Phones like the second HTC Android phone, the HTC Magic.
Well, thanks to Engadget Mobile, we now have some more pictures of it being manhandled, and my incredibly accurate prophecy is coming true, ’cause the HTC Magic is really quite lovely. The main reason for it looking so much better than the G1 has to be the fact it’s keyboard-less, being more akin to the HTC Touch HD in design. And that means it’s thinner. However, they’ve also changed the surface texture, giving it a glossy finish, instead of that ever-so-slightly odd matte finish on the G1.
Overall, the reason I like it so much is because… well, it feels like a modern phone design, whereas the G1 always felt a tiny little bit like an old design they’d taken out of the ‘not used’ bin, and applied to the first Google Android phone.
Oh, and that sliding screen on the G1, the way it used to kind of swing out, not slide in a straight line, always got on my nerves for some reason…
Of course, in terms of software between the two, they’re both functionally identical, except for one big difference, in that the HTC Magic runs a new development called ‘Cupcake’. Or, to us mere mortals, it has an onscreen keyboard, with the makers having realised that a phone without any way to enter text and numbers is a bit rubbish, since the G1 didn’t have a software keyboard, and neither did ‘pre-Cupcake Android’.
All in all, then, I reckon the HTC Magic (and you just know the one in the pic is begging to be called the Black Magic… now that’s a cool name…) is a much more enticing phone than the G1. I’m not quite as excited about it as I am about the Palm Pre, and I’m nowhere near as excited as I am about the Sony Ericsson Idou, but this is definitely one to keep an eye on!
Saturday
HTC Magic gets manhandled
UK Networks to remove Skype
One of the cool features you’ll find on a fair few modern mobile phones is Skype. It’s even had an entire phone named after it (no prizes for guessing it was the 3 Skypephone)! However, it’s not the only phone to have this well-known VoIP service built in, because Nseries phones are getting in on the action, too, most notably the Nokia N97, where Nokia plan to have it linked in to the contacts, so you can Skype someone (snigger, that still sounds rude to me), straight from your phonebook.
There may just be a tiny hiccup in that plan, though, because it doesn’t sound like the UK networks are particularly happy about that, according to IT Pro Portal…
Most vocal in their criticism have been O2 and Orange, and when you think about it, it’s easy to see why they’re kicking up a stink. If you’re making calls through Skype, then you’re not making normal voice calls, and they lose the revenue they’d make from you making normal voice calls. Theoretically, that could lead to them deciding not to sell the Nokia N97, which, let’s remind the world, is already generating massive amounts of buzz before it even goes on sale.
Meanwhile, T-Mobile are being smart, and thinking the same as I would (and this is where I reckon O2 and Orange are missing out on a trick). Sure, you may get a hit on voice calls, but just look at Three: they have the Skypephone range as one of their key products, and what having Skype built in actually seems to do is make for more loyal customers, who spend more through your network!
It’s an interesting battle that’s shaping up, and I can’t wait to see how it plays out. On the one hand, the networks want to maximise the amount of money they can from people, and don’t want Skype screwing their profits. On the other hand… the Nokia N97 is one of the most anticipated phones ever, and surely any network would be daft to not sell it!
Ooh, an interesting Catch 22, there. I’m intrigued how this one’s gonna play out.
Monday
Obama allowed to keep Blackberry
Obama allowed to keep Blackberry, gets a tank for a work phone :
Not long after Barack Obama won the election to become the 44th US President, there was a whole debate going on about whether he’d be allowed to keep his beloved Blackberry, since it seemed unlikely he’d be able to (no previous President had a mobile phone, due to it being a matter of national security). Well, according to Mobile Crunch, we have our answer. President Obama WILL be keeping his Blackberry!
He just won’t be able to use it for official business, which is fair enough, because it’s no different from me using a Sony Ericsson X1 as MY phone, and having a W950 as my work phone.
Ah, except it’s a slightly different situation to me having two mobile phones. Y’see, the reason Obama has to have a dedicated work phone is for security, so that classified info can’t be hacked, and so that he can’t be tracked with it. So, simply giving him another Blackberry won’t cut the mustard.
That rules out a Blackberry Storm, then.
So, what he’s actually going to be using is the Sectera Edge, a phone that’s more secure than any on the planet, that gives him one touch access to his own secure internet, the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet), and that’s been certified by the NSA. Blimey, that’s even more James Bond-ish than James Bond’s phone! Of course, it’s been not just hit but battered to death by the ugly stick, but given that it’s probably more secure than Guantanamo Bay (which, incidentally, Barack Obama has pledged to shut down), I reckon we can forgive it for looking like a tank. Seriously, take a look at this bad boy…
Actually, there’s a reason it looks like that, and this, right here, is why I really, really want to get me a Sectera Edge. Look at the name above the screen; no Nokia or Sony Ericsson badges here. Nope, this is made by General Dynamics, not a name you’ll be familiar with seeing on mobile phones.
But you see it on other things.
Like the Abrams M1A2 main battle tank, for instance.
Or the Stryker armoured combat vehicle.
Or the GAU-17 Minigun. You know the one. It’s the one that fires upwards of 3,000 rounds a minute. You know, that rotary thing, that Arnie used in Predator and Terminator 2. Oh, and it was in The Matrix, as well.
Now do you see why I want one…?
Friday
Criminal ‘not-at-all-a-Mastermind’ steals top secret
Criminal ‘not-at-all-a-Mastermind’ steals top secret prototype phones from Sony Ericsson :
Now here’s a story you don’t come across every day, courtesy of the Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog. Anybody who keeps their ear to the ground knows that you sometimes see leaks of upcoming mobile phones on the net. Well, a man from Sweden has gone one step further, and taken it upon himself to steal a big, hefty load of prototype phones from Sony Ericsson themselves.
Oh, and when I say a big, hefty load, I mean about £61,000-worth!
Quite apart from wondering how the hell big the guy’s overcoat was to fit all those mobile phones underneath, one has to question the thought process that went through the guy’s head. I suspect that if his brain had gone into second gear when he was planning his little caper, it should have, really, come up with this train of thought:
“I know, I’ll nick a load of phones from Sony Ericsson, and get some of their prototypes, that SE fans will go nuts over, but that none of the other manufacturers will want to buy off me, and that I’ll not be able to fence before the police catch me and Sony Ericsson tear me a new one…”
Yes, genius plan there, Mr Swedish Criminal. There’s no report on what mobile phones were nicked, obviously, since Sony Ericsson’ll keep that very close to their chest, but if they were prototypes, logic dictates they’d be of interest. Also, there’s no report on what the police said when they found the haul, but if it didn’t include the words “whoa, look at that, 12 megapixels!” I’ll be severely disappointed.
Of course, while I can’t condone what the thief did, and think that he’s a complete numpty for even contemplating it, I’d have killed to see what mobile phones were in his haul. Next year’s successor to the Sony Ericsson X1, maybe? Or perhaps the 12MP successor to the Sony Ericsson C905 that you just know they’re going to make? Perhaps even the SE Android phone that’s surely on its way?
Tell you what, I’d have killed to be one of the arresting officers, I’d have got to pepper-spray someone, hit them repeatedly with a nightstick, possibly taser them, and see next year’s mobile phones…
