BARCELONA – The only Googlephone to appear at the Mobile World Congress couldn't even be bothered to turn up in person. HTC and Vodafone made a joint announcement Tuesday of their forthcoming Android-based Magic, formerly known as the G2, but all they provided were tantalizing specs and a few images.

The handset is notable for a few reasons. First, it looks a lot nicer than the G1 from T-Mobile. Second, the Magic will be almost completely exclusive to Vodafone (the Magic will be on Vodafone in the UK, Spain, Germany and France; and non-exclusively on Vodafone in Italy). And third, it's the first Android phone without a keyboard.

The Magic will be touchscreen-only. There is still a little navi-nipple like the G1, but the hard QWERTY keyboard on the T-Mobile G1 is gone, leaving only a 3.2-inch, 320x240-pixel screen. The phone also has a 3.2 MP camera, Wi-Fi and GPS.

Like the G1, it will support a wide range of Google applications, including Gmail, Google Maps, Google Talk and YouTube videos.

The Magic will also support video recording and playback.

At the phone's launch, Vodafone's Patrick Chomet called it the "the thinnest, nicest Android-powered device on the market." This is a somewhat empty claim, seeing as there is only one other Android handset out there. Still, if Vodafone doesn't pump the tariffs here in Spain like Telefónica did with the iPhone, I might just be buying it. If it ever turns up.

Gizmodo's Jesus Diaz got two minutes with a prototype in Barcelona and posted a brief video showing off the Magic's onscreen keyboard and video capabilities. The screenshot above shows how the HTC Magic (right) compares in size to the iPhone (on the left).

Vodafone's official press image, above, is a bland Illustrator job, not a real photo – but it gives you an idea how the thing will eventually look. Note that the buttons on the bottom are slightly different than they are on the prototype in the Gizmodo video above.

Press release [Vodafone]

Press release [HTC]

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