HTC Magic gets zoom-wheel [Video]

19 March 2009 by Chris Davies

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+12 [18 votes]

In addition to the landscape QWERTY keyboard, HTC have added a new zoom control wheel to the HTC Magic smartphone. Seemingly intended to offer more precise zooming without treading on Apple’s pinch-and-spread patent toes, the wheel is called up with a double-tap.

htc_magic_android_zoom_wheel_1

In the CNET France video below, you can see the zoom-wheel operated in both the HTC Magic’s browser and its photo viewer. Thanks to the compact size of the Magic itself, you could realistically control the wheel and hold the smartphone with a single hand, not something you can say the same about pinch-and-zoom.

No word on whether this new zooming control feature will be offered to existing Android G1 owners, though of course the nature of the Android platform means that what Google/HTC don’t offer officially, the open-source community will liberate themselves. The HTC Magic is expected to arrive in various European countries in April 2009, price to be confirmed.

[via Electricpig]

Join the Discussion (17 comments)

Chotpy

03-19-2009 04:54 AM

lol @ the rap

wow, that's pretty interesting that bouncing on autorotate is interesting, i hope the speed can be changed.

i know a lot of peeps wish that were here now!!!

i guess it's only fair, the USA got the G1 first, so now they get the Magic.
badbob001

03-19-2009 05:06 AM

This is better since pressing the magnifier buttons is awkward with one hand and not always responsive. And it's nice to have a smooth zoom than discrete levels and to have the interface not always show up when scrolling around.

Looks like on the virtual keyboard, the letters pop up above the key instead of 'away' from the key like before. This feels better.
munashii

03-19-2009 05:14 AM

Looks pretty cool. Although a simple horizontal slider probably would've achieved the same effect without your fingers getting in the way of what you're seeing on the screen.
DarKnight

03-19-2009 05:16 AM

Such an awesome phone... but such bs for G1 users. They better have those features on the G1 soon. Look at the video recorder and uploader. Thats awesome. G1 totally has that capability. Come on guys... dont be a bunch of a-holes, release an update please, with those things.
AndroidUser

03-19-2009 05:16 AM

It looks nice. I think the people who plan on getting this phone will be satisfied.
J8888

03-19-2009 05:39 AM

Since when does the Magic have a QWERTY keyboard? The deal killer with this device is the lack of a physical keyboard. Are you implying that a physical slide-out keyboard has been added at this stage? Seems unlikely.
LazyGenius

03-19-2009 05:43 AM

for some reason it kind of reminds me of the pie zoom on steel....

Chris Davies

03-19-2009 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by munashii

Looks pretty cool. Although a simple horizontal slider probably would've achieved the same effect without your fingers getting in the way of what you're seeing on the screen.

Actually, I think the circular setup has distinct advantages over a horizontal scroller. I've been using Opera on an HTC Touch HD, and that has a horizontal scroller control along the bottom of the display; it's pretty tricky to hold the phone and thumb the slider along, all in one hand. Making a rotating motion with your thumb is much easier, IMO. And yes, it looks cooler too

Quote:

Originally Posted by J8888

Since when does the Magic have a QWERTY keyboard? The deal killer with this device is the lack of a physical keyboard. Are you implying that a physical slide-out keyboard has been added at this stage? Seems unlikely.

No, not a hardware keyboard but an on-screen keyboard, which the G1 doesn't have.

Chris

dwang

03-19-2009 05:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J8888

Its all about choices. Now people can choose to have a physical keyboard (g1) while sacrificing size and weight, while others can choose to have a virtual keyboard that has the advantage of being smaller and lighter.

insight spinner

03-19-2009 06:05 AM

I hope that the wheel approach will be active in email. I'm old. I constantly wish I could zoom email with a touch.

notxel21

03-19-2009 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwang

I totally agree with what you're saying, it's all about having a choice unlike the owners of other devices...

That's why I will have to get the G2 so I can have both!
maybe one for work and one for play!

xdavidn88

03-19-2009 07:34 AM

lol 1 phone is enough for me... considering I have my G1 rooted/modded with all this space!

magic looks pretty nice but I love my physical keyboard. On screen is too bleh for me.
munashii

03-19-2009 07:49 AM

As long as the hardware allows it, I don't see why the G1 won't be able to have any of these features. Isn't the Magic essentially the same phone with the exception of the casing and the lack of a QWERTY keyboard?
phantasybm

03-19-2009 12:45 PM

Notice how the battery is low in the video? Man HTC just can't provide a good battery for their damn phones!
Lithium98

03-19-2009 03:10 PM

How about that camera? That's an improvement over the G1.
insight spinner

03-19-2009 04:42 PM

<snip>

Quote:

No, not a hardware keyboard but an on-screen keyboard, which the G1 doesn't have.

Chris

YET!! you must say YET!!!
tonton

03-22-2009 05:00 PM

OMG, Lucky french.

They said that they will sell it with an 8gigs MicroSD card and 99euros (125-130 $)