Both Telecom and Vodafone have been angling to release a phone running on Google’s Android operating system.

Today, Vodafone has become the first to at least confirm a handset: the HTC Magic, due for June release.

Also known as the G2, the HTC is the successor to the G1, the world’s first Android phone.

The G1 gained official release through T-Mobile in the US, but also appeared in New Zealand and elsewhere thanks to parallel importers.

Google’s Android operating system continues to gather steam.

Samsung has become the first A-list consumer electronics maker to show off a cellphone running on Google’s Android software.

The Korean company - the world’s number two cellphone seller beyond Nokia - will release the Samsung i7500 in Europe in June, and through the US and Asia during the second half of the year.

New Zealand is poised to get its first official Google phone: HTC’s Android G2-powered Magic, described by one fanboy at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona as “close to perfection”.

Officially known as the “Magic”, but popularly known as the G2, the new HTC handset drops the G1’s clunky, slide-down keyboard in favour of an iPhone-style near all-touchscreen interface.