Vodafone Starts Selling The Latest Google Phone — For Free

imageVodafone’s first Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Android phone, the HTC Magic, went on pre-sale yesterday on the company’s website — and the smartphone is free. Release.

The fine print requires customers to commit to a two-year contract and a £35 ($51) a month contract. With the pre-order sale, users will be offered £5 off the £35 monthly price plan. The plan includes unlimited mobile internet; 600 voice minutes and unlimited texts. The phone will go on sale in stores starting May 5, according to the UK Telegraph.

The HTC Magic is the second Google Android device to launch, following the T-Mobile G1 last September. The launch of the Magic on Vodafone’s network is important for Google’s Android, which has failed to gain a big enough market to draw a ton of developers to the Android Market. Both devices are being built by HTC, a Taiwanese manufacturer. Both have touchscreens, and a similar style, including a handful of buttons, including home button and menu button. But there’s a couple of obvious differences. The HTC Magic has a “search” key that makes using the phone’s menus or searching the internet faster, and it has Qwerty keyboard on the touchscreen, rather than a slide out Qwerty on the G1.

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