Published May 15, 2009

No exclusive operator deal for second Google phone

By ONG BOON KIAT

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SINGTEL may have an exclusive hold on the first Google phone, but the second guise of this eye-catching handset will be available for all three operators to sell to consumers here.

HTC Magic: Coming early next month for $1,048 without operator plan

Taiwan smartphone maker HTC Corp yesterday launched the HTC Magic - the second wave of smartphones to run on Google's Android operating system - and announced it will be taking a different tack than its first Google phone offering in Singapore, the HTC Dream.

That phone, launched in February, was sold under an exclusive deal with SingTel.

The HTC Magic will be available from early June for $1,048 without operator plan. HTC officials said Singapore is the second Asian country besides Taiwan to get the much-coveted gadget.

Declaring an interest in the HTC Magic yesterday was StarHub, which announced it will soon sell the handset and will be customising it with a mobile TV client that lets subscribers watch football, news and other mobile TV programmes on the go. StarHub is also dangling a free one-month basic mobile data subscription plan for Magic owners.

Equipped with a touch-screen and featuring powerful Web browsing and multimedia functions, the HTC Magic is expected to compete with Apple's iPhone and the rising tide of touch-screen devices that have crowded the mobile phone market in the past year.

An eye-catching service offered through Android phones is Google's online shopping portal, called Android Market.

It lets users search, buy and download thousands of mobile phone applications and content over the air, to further enhance and customise their phones.

And gadget-loving Singapore consumers can look forward to more HTC Android phones in the coming months.

Jason Juang, HTC executive vice-president of global sales, told BT yesterday that two more Android phone models will be heading here this year.

They are likely to be joined by models from other mobile phone makers. Samsung, for instance, is expected to debut its Android phones in Singapore in the second half of the year.