HTC Magic gets shock Android 2.2 upgrade

The HTC Magic, a phone that was announced nearly two years ago, is getting the (sort of) latest Google Android upgrade.

For some unknown reason, Vodafone has decided this is something of a cult phone and despite being announced in February 2008 on Android 1.5, Froyo is now in the Magic building (that sounds like a very wrong euphemism).

The new update brings a whole host of upgrades, including USB tethering, new Gmail and YouTube clients, Exchange support and copying apps to microSD cards which will make a big difference.

Your wallpapers are static

However, Live Wallpapers, Flash video playback and Wi-Fi hotspot creation aren't included, and that's specifically because of the hardware limitations, according to Vodafone.

"HTC Magic was the first Android device we brought into our range and users still love the handset almost two years later. It's great news for them that they'll be able to update the handset to current version of Android and benefit from a raft of the new features," a spokesperson told TechRadar.

The update has leapfrogged the Android 2.1 update, which is likely due to hardware requirements - it also shows that the hoo-ha with the LG Optimus One update was a little bit over the top too.

The update can't be manually activated, so HTC Magic users will have to wait until the phone auto-discovers the update.

It will come in two parts: the bootloader update to start with, then the phone will reboot and the Android 2.2.1 update will be available, with the wonderful updates part and parcel of the whole experience.

UPDATE: The full message has gone live on the Vodafone Forum - head on over and check it out to see the full range of updates offered.