Techie
1:10 PM | Sunday | 14 March 2010

There's been a lot of confusion as of late regarding whether Smart or Globe will be the first to carry RP's first Google phone, the HTC Magic. Hopefully, this clears the air - sort of.

According to an industry insider who wishes to remain incognito, Globe is indeed bringing in the HTC Magic to the Philippines. The units, however, will not be provided by the official local distributor and will instead come from a different source - possibly imported.

This means that both Globe and Smart will be duking it out yet again, further fueling the fierce competition between the two telcos. Remember when they raced to be the first to introduce 3G?

First or not, Smart seems to have the upper hand for now, as it has cheaper and more attractive packages for the Magic. Globe offers the HTC Magic for free, but the monthly fee for the attached plan is ginormous.

Smart (New connection)

• Plan 500: P27,000
• Plan 800: P24,000
• Plan 1200: P20,000
• Plan 1800: P15,000
• Plan 2500: P9,500
• Plan 3500: P3,000

Smart (Retention)

• Plan 500: P26,500
• Plan 800: P23,500
• Plan 1200: P19,800
• Plan 1800: P14,800
• Plan 2500: P9,300
• Plan 3500: P2,900

Globe

• GPlan/GFlex 7000: Free
• Other Plans: TBA