Android is a name that conjures up a lot of excitement in the tech circles. Apart from HTC, even LG, Motorola and Samsung have jumped in with their new devices. The Magic a.k.a T-Mobile G2 a.k.a. Google Ion is HTC's first Android phone for the Indian market.

The four major things going for the Magic are it's alluring shape & design, fantastic build, great call quality and high quality capacitive touchscreen. But it all goes downhill from there, especially when you consider the price tag (market prices are currently hovering , but it loses out to the competition even at that price).

For starters, this is a Google Android phone. Not having the Google apps bouquet in an Android phone is just plain stupid. The Android Market, from where you can download and install new applications is missing too, with no easy way to install it. To put this into perspective, what good is built in GPS if you can't have Google Maps? Since all the applications in an Android phone are to be installed using the Android Market, you're only using a fraction of the potential the device has to offer. These problems are oddly present only in the Indian version. Other versions have the Android Market and Google Apps, so flashing the device with another firmware
would help (but also void your warranty).



Newer Android phones that have launched in India have the Android Market and the full Google App suite pre-installed. I wonder why the Magic is being treated as the step child. Other oddities include the missing flash for the camera, missing 3.5mm audio output, missing videocall camera, missing FM radio and crippled Bluetooth functionality (no file transfer via Bluetooth to phores or laptops; the Bluetooth is only for audio). So:should Y0U buy the Magic? No.

Instead, consider the new HTC Hero or the Sar;nsung Galaxy (the Galaxy is, at the time of writing, only available to Tata DoCQMo customers). l:he Hero also has an innovative new user interface called HTC Sense and it available at the same price.