Just got the Magic today, and I have to say - it owns the iPhone

[hotweiss]

I've had an iPhone for close to a year, and the Magic is better in most respects. Mind you, the iPhone is a great device, but it has become rather stale. Below I will list the pro's and con's of the Magic in comparison to the iPhone.

Pro's

-you can multitask (e.g.-I can surf the web or IM while listening to Shoutcast radio)

-much quicker UI in comparison to the iPhone

-Android is more open, you can install apps outside of the Android Market

-ability to view MS Office apps and PDF files

-push Gmail (priceless)

-trackball is nicer to scroll with than constantly swiping

-better onscreen keyboard

-a more configurable user interface

-better internet browser

-I can sync with Ubuntu!

-better phone book

-syncs everything over the internet to your Gmail account, so you can edit everything on your computer without installing one app

-really easy to unlock the phone

-Youtube videos are HQ, iPhone Youtube videos are standard quality

-OTA updates

-highly hackable with a variety of ROM's (waiting for Haykuro to crack the Rogers version)

Con's

-only 2.5 GB of memory (expandable to 32 GB)

-dragging is not as smooth

-proprietary headphone jack

Wishlist
-support for XVID video

 

[nightzone]

I got an HTC Magic as well from Rogers and I didn't get the adapter either, although I had an HTC S621 (Dash) before the Magic, and the headphones on the magic are way better.

 

[hotweiss]

I got an HTC Magic as well from Rogers and I didn't get the adapter either, although I had an HTC S621 (Dash) before the Magic, and the headphones on the magic are way better.

I ordered a 3.5 mm jack adapter from ebay... I will plug my Magic into my car's AUX port to listen to Shoutcast radio.

 

[dustoff]

I got myself a Sony Bluetooth stereo device - HBH-DS200 - cuts down on those pesky wires and sounds great.

Personally I class the expandable memory as a massive "Pro" for the Magic.

 

[mizunox]

I've just got the magic as well, and while I love the phone I have to disagree with some of your pros and cons. (Not trying to be too negative, just realistic!)

Pro's

-much quicker UI in comparison to the iPhone
Seems much slower than the iPhone to me.. very choppy at times.

-trackball is nicer to scroll with than constantly swiping
Can't adjust the sensitivity of the trackball so I find that it doesn't work very well.
I'm a former blackberry curve user so I know it can be better. Perhaps it'll be updated.

-better onscreen keyboard
Better how? It works pretty well, but due to the size of the screen on the magic the keys are tighter together. I tried typing on my roommate's iPhone and it seems a bit easier (again to me..)

-a more configurable user interface
Agreed, big plus. I wonder how long before Apple adds widgets?

-better internet browser
Again, better how? They're both based on webkit and work about the same. Multiple browser windows are easier to navigate in the iPhone UI IMO.

-I can sync with Ubuntu!
This is the main reason why I got it!

-Youtube videos are HQ, iPhone Youtube videos are standard quality
Mine look terrible over 3G, but pretty good over wifi. Did you have to enable HQ somewhere? If so let me know...


Con's

-only 2.5 GB of memory (expandable to 32 GB)
This is a plus to me. Expandable

-dragging is not as smooth
Which kind of makes it feel like the OS is struggling.. probably not the case, but it feels that way.

-proprietary headphone jack
yep. I've got an adapter ordered from ebay.


The android market in Canada does not yet have paid apps -- I'll add that to your wish list.

 

[TriC]

really I find my youtube videos are fast.. but then its likey becasue we have HSDPA in my area. mine phone always shows H and just at Idle i'm on 3g. but as soon as the phone contact the network its back to HSDPA. 7.2meg love it very fast.

I think the slow youtube is more likey your phone carrier and not the phone.

 

[hotweiss]

I've just got the magic as well, and while I love the phone I have to disagree with some of your pros and cons. (Not trying to be too negative, just realistic!)

Pro's

-much quicker UI in comparison to the iPhone
Seems much slower than the iPhone to me.. very choppy at times.

It's only choppy if you try to drag something, either than that it's quicker.

-trackball is nicer to scroll with than constantly swiping
Can't adjust the sensitivity of the trackball so I find that it doesn't work very well.
I'm a former blackberry curve user so I know it can be better. Perhaps it'll be updated.

I agree.

-better onscreen keyboard
Better how? It works pretty well, but due to the size of the screen on the magic the keys are tighter together. I tried typing on my roommate's iPhone and it seems a bit easier (again to me..)

The keys are taller, giving you more accurate text entry.

-a more configurable user interface
Agreed, big plus. I wonder how long before Apple adds widgets?

-better internet browser
Again, better how? They're both based on webkit and work about the same. Multiple browser windows are easier to navigate in the iPhone UI IMO.

Pages are rendered much quicker and scrolling is much smoother.

-I can sync with Ubuntu!
This is the main reason why I got it!

-Youtube videos are HQ, iPhone Youtube videos are standard quality
Mine look terrible over 3G, but pretty good over wifi. Did you have to enable HQ somewhere? If so let me know...

For sure the videos look better on the Magic than the iPhone.

Con's

-only 2.5 GB of memory (expandable to 32 GB)
This is a plus to me. Expandable

I agree.

-dragging is not as smooth
Which kind of makes it feel like the OS is struggling.. probably not the case, but it feels that way.

Hopefully an upgrade will fix this issue.

-proprietary headphone jack
yep. I've got an adapter ordered from ebay.

Me too.

The android market in Canada does not yet have paid apps -- I'll add that to your wish list.

I agree.

 

[Hands0n]

Hmmm, you may have to re-run all of that in the light of iPhone firmware 3.0.

And then yet again with the iPhone 3G S.

I have both the HTC Magic and an iPhone in daily use and, in my experience and opinion, the HTC is a very very close second to the iPhone. It is, also, head and shoulders above any other touchscreen handset on the market. HTC have done really well with the Magic.

But I'm not convinced the HTC Magic quite pwns the iPhone. The G3 maybe?

 

[angusg]

Were you not given an adapter to turn the USB jack into 3.5mm? They ship with the G1, I assumed the would ship with the magic. You are probably the first person to wish for divx, but not flash. For the record.

No flash is a good thing imo.. No annoying banner ads, and the sites that do legitimately need it, there's an app for most of them anyway..

I don't see Apple adding widgets to the iPhone anytime soon either...

I'm still tossing up between waiting for the 32gb iPhone 3GS or getting the Magic.. It's a tough call!! I wasn't a big fan of the iPhone 3G, but walked into the 3 store and fell instantly in love with the Magic..

 

[kiwigander]

Hotweiss, how?

My Magic is in the mail to me right now, and I've been Googling madly to try to find out how I'm going to sync it with Ubuntu. I'll be grateful for any guidance. I'm running 8.04 Hardy.

 

[sergey]

I picked a 32GB 3GS over Android, Android is close, very close. Will definetly consider it again in 2yrs.

No flash is a good thing imo.. No annoying banner ads, and the sites that do legitimately need it, there's an app for most of them anyway..

True, but I can't watch hulu, visit company site who are all flash. I tried looking up a restaurant and tried going to their website- all flash and couldn't see anything. Flash is a good thing, You can always implement an option to turn off flash in the browser. Problem solved. In truth, you don't need flash most of the time. But it's nice to have the option when you do need to view a flash page.

I don't see Apple adding widgets to the iPhone anytime soon either...

You'll see Flash before widgets. The current version of iPhone OS is not configurable at all. I like Android's "desktop". I can read PDFs and documents to go is now available.

You still can't install programs on your SD card, from what I know and I don't have that many songs, videos, pics, whatever to fill it up.

From what I know of Youtube- if you're on Wifi, you get the high quality version, and if you're on the network you get the crap version or something like that. It's a network issuue. I've heard both sides complain about it.

Maybe I'm used to it since I had an iPod touch, but like the multitouch over the zoom buttons for internet browsing, other than that I felt like they were the same.

Don't forget about the removable battery to add to the pro side of Android!
Based on reading users experiences- Android battery life can be a nightmare due to programs not shutting down correctly or for whatever reason. My 3GS can last me a day, so I'm fine with it. If I need more juice, there are options out there for the iPhone.

In the US, Android is behind of the game compared to Europe- they get all the cool phones and we get stuck with the G1 and lots of gadget envy. I just like the user experience with the 3GS so I picked it up and I've always wanted one. Hopefully you'll keep us informed what it's like living with Android, I'm sure there are a bunch of us interested in what it's like compared to the iPhone.

 

[netcooler]

@ sergey

I don't know about your version, but on my Magic, I can open the menu while watching on youtube, and pick the "HD" version of it while I am on 3G network. Or may be you are talking about on the iphone? Which I don't have one (yet).

I just got my Magic like 2 weeks ago, and I am loving it That is not to say that it is without its flaws. First, sometime, and I do mean sometime, the OS seems to be lagging. I usually clean up my background app tho, so it doesn't really happen that often, if that is really even the case at all. And then when I sms, sometime the keyboard is reeeeeaaaally slow, like I will type sometime and nothing happens, then all of a sudden everything happens at once. Does anyone have this problem? Or is it just me?

And than there is the market.... o man o man where do I start. The reason most of us even use any Google phones, I am sure the market is 1 of the major deciding factor. But as of right now, it is not even very well implemented. For one, they could have make the apps better organized. And than there are the regional market place thing. I live in Hong Kong right now, and the paid market is not open to me. There are apps that I really love to buy, but I can't. So what should I do? I can easily download them for free, BUT I want to show my support. There are 2 apps that I have to go out of my way to get them from the developer themself, but even that I have to download another app just to install them on my phone.... I don't know why Google is doing this, may be someone can explain to me? Using credit card to set up an account shouldn't be a regional thing to do. Apple has it, so does Paypal.

I understand that this is a very new platform, and the main reason I got my Magic is that it is an open platform. But it really has to get going to catch up to the iphone.

I am going to get the iphone 3gs once I can buy the official version here in Hong Kong, because I need another line for my business use. By the way, they only sell the unlocked version here, and it is interesting to see that if you only buy the 3g 16 gb iphone, it cost ~US$700; but if you get the phone with a 2 year unlimited data plan with like 2000 inter- and 1500 intra-network voice minutes, the TOTAL cost INCLUDING the phone will be around US$1200 at the end of your contract I got my Magic with exactly the same deal. Hopefully, I will be able to compare the 2 phones myself soon and see if the iphone lives up to its hype, but I don't know when we are getting the 3gs yet....... what about you guys, anyone with both phones (lucky bastards ) that can tell me a few things that YOU really like? dislike? Spec. sheet compare need not apply.

I will be heading back to the US in like 2 months, hopefully I will have both phones with me by then.