By Patrick Avenell

SYDNEY: HTC has opened the door for more networks to distribute its new Google Android device, Magic, with HTC sales and marketing director Anthony Petts saying the door was open for wider network coverage.

At the media conference for the Magic, which goes on sale through Vodafone and 3 on 15 June, Petts said that the decision to go with these two networks at launch did not entail permanent exclusivity, and that it “could be” on other networks, such as Telstra and Optus, in the short-to-medium term.

HTC is currently looking to broaden its customer base in an attempt to grow and adapt its market share. The new Magic handset, along with its Android predecessor, the Dream, are both skewed towards the youth segment of the Smartphone market. Vodafone and 3 are perceived to be more funky and youth-oriented service providers than Telstra or Optus. Despite this, the Dream was made available exclusively to Optus, meaning that HTC was narrowing its consumer appeal.

As for Telstra, HTC launched its February release, the Touch HD, exclusively with the monolithic network. This model runs off Windows Mobile, as more astutely fits Telstra’s market perception as a more straightforward carrier for all users, rather than an innovating youth brand.

In other news, Petts said that a 3.5-millimetre jack adaptor was available for the Magic through the handset’s mini-USB port.