HTC Desire review

Awesome Phone

Been waiting on your review, had my Desire since beginning of the month and it's an amazing device. Was expecting to see the A-List icon, though ;)

By EddyOS_2K9 on 23 Apr 2010

totally agree

Everything "just works". Brilliant gadget.

By brizza4 on 23 Apr 2010

Best Android phone so far

Having come from an iPhone 3G the speed of this phone is amazing. Although the App Store may have over 100,000 apps, many of them are useless, and the ones i do use are on the Android Market place anyway. The only thing that I do miss is the ease of syncing music and podcasts (not missing itunes though) although doubletwist mitigates that somewhat.

By mesha64 on 23 Apr 2010

Camera Correction

The camera on an X10 is 8.1MP, not 10.1MP

By Bassey1976 on 23 Apr 2010

Camera Correction

The camera on an X10 is 8.1MP, not 10.1MP

By Bassey1976 on 23 Apr 2010

RE: brizza4

Download Google Listen, it's great for podcasts.

Much better than the iPod.

By radicalbyte on 23 Apr 2010

reply

Yeah I really like this phone, but lets face it it's not going to knock the iPhone out of 1st place. I like many other people will probably just stick with what we know and something whoch works flawlessly.

By 00lissauers on 23 Apr 2010

Songbird will recognise your Desire, allow you to choose how much space to use for music, and sync it for you - and a lot more besides...

By Noghar on 23 Apr 2010

@00lissauers

The Desire does work flawlessly, does everything the iPhone does and more - only thing is it doesn't have the 'fashion tag' attached to it which I'm thankful for. This isn't just a fad, it's the real deal!

By EddyOS_2K9 on 23 Apr 2010

A List?

'Find out why the HTC Desire has knocked the iPhone 3GS off the PC Pro A List'

So why the 'Recommended' sticker...?

By Flangie on 23 Apr 2010

@Flangie

It is on the A-List, they just haven't put the icon on the review - sort it out!! My phone owns all!! haha

By EddyOS_2K9 on 23 Apr 2010

@ Eddy

That's what I meant!

By Flangie on 23 Apr 2010

@mesha64 and radicalbyte

BeyondPod is better for podcast management and download IMHO :-)

I have have an Android phone and one thing every one forgets to mention is that it is currently terrible for games (doesn't bother me - but to some it might).

Get round a table with a bunch of iphone users touting the latest 3d wonder and you will keep your Android phone firmly in your pocket ;-D

But for everything else - it's great - especially when you think about the cash your keeping in your bank account - well perhaps not so much with the Desire but....

By sipart on 23 Apr 2010

"Until the next-gen iPhone appears, this is the smartphone to own."

Do they do a 3 month contract on the Desire :-D

By sipart on 23 Apr 2010

Memory

What memory card does it come with- I assume that to be considered better value for money than the iphone like-for-like it must be at least 8GB...

Wish my contract was up now rather than September, but maybe the'll have released an even better version by then...!!

By Flangie on 23 Apr 2010

I've had one for ten days now and I love it. I've never owned an iPhone, so I can't compare with it. However, the weaknesses so far for me are as follows:

1. The keypad still requires a lot of care even for my thin fingers.

2. I wish Android Market had a syncing app like Mobyko or Zyb.

3. While it syncs brilliantly with Google Calendar, the subsequent sync from Google Calendar to MS Outlook barely works. (However, technically that's a Google or Microsoft problem, not HTC's. It's just that such a feature would be highly useful for work.)

By davefaulkner on 23 Apr 2010

wait

still plenty of imperfections then. Until this works with the iPlayer I'm prepared to wait. Shouldn't be long

By rdaved on 23 Apr 2010

I've had one for ten days now and I love it. I've never owned an iPhone, so I can't compare with it. However, the weaknesses so far for me are as follows:

1. The keypad still requires a lot of care even for my thin fingers.

2. I wish Android Market had a syncing app like Mobyko or Zyb.

3. While it syncs brilliantly with Google Calendar, the subsequent sync from Google Calendar to MS Outlook barely works. (However, technically that's a Google or Microsoft problem, not HTC's. It's just that such a feature would be highly useful for work.)

By davefaulkner on 23 Apr 2010

"Alas, BBC iPlayer refused to play ball."

beebplayer..

AWESOME phone!

By aron311 on 23 Apr 2010

iPlayer

@rdaved It will still play iPlayer shows via BeebPlayer, which works wonderfully well on my T-Mobile Pulse.

By The_Scrote on 23 Apr 2010

The biggest problem is that, being Android, the Desire has no support for Wi-Fi proxies. This makes it about a useful as a chocolate teapot for anyone working / learning in the education system, or working within a large enterprise.

It's a very serious flaw. I covered it in more depth in the Mobile & Wireless column a few months back.

Don't get me wrong, the Desire is a great phone, but the whole proxy issue is becoming a major source of frustration with Android owners (some of whom weren't aware of the problem before buying the phone).

By PaulOckenden on 23 Apr 2010

@ Paul Ockenden

I would imagine a big part of the market for the HTC Desire will be university students as the price is lower than the iPhone. but if there's an issue with proxy connections, it's really going to annoy a lot of owners.

Google has to get this sorted otherwise the android platform will end up cutting itself out of a large chunk of possible market.

By hjlupton on 26 Apr 2010

@sipart

Hi Sipart, for games check out ExXZeus and Thunder 2. Brilliant fun and definitely show off the 1GHz processor well.

By GhillieDhu on 26 Apr 2010

Battery Life

Looks good and I love Android but battery life on my HTC Magic is a problem.

Until we know the full review, and critically the battery test results. I can't see how it can make the A list.

Maybe a provsional A list.

By Tim_Wn on 29 Apr 2010

Why a smaller screen?

One of the thing I loved about the HTC HD2 was the huge (4.3") screen. Why have subsequent phones taken a backward step? 3.7" on the Desire when the actual phone dimensions are only mm smaller than the HD2.

By CeltiKaos on 29 Apr 2010

Has HTC sorted this...?

Our previous smartphones were XDA Serras (HTC Touch Pro) and they were virtually unusable because of these ridiculous 'features':

1. When the phone rings the screen becomes active making it very easy to accidentally answer/reject the call whilst getting it out of my bag/pocket. Actually, I missed more calls than I answered because of this problem. It was supposed to be fixed by the updated ROM, but it wasn't.

2. Once on a call the screen would go blank after 20 seconds requiring a press of the power button to re-activate it, then it would go blank again after another 20 seconds. This made the use of the smartphone functions whilst on a call virtually impossible.

Unbelievably, when I complained about these ludicrous design blunders, both O2 and HTC claimed this behaviour was 'by design'.

We now use iPhones as they'd remained the A List for so long, but they're more of a novelty plaything than a serious business phone.

I spend most of my day at my PC and was used to using apps that allowed me to send/receive SMSs using my desktop keyboard and monitor whilst the phone was in its cradle (or paired via Bluetooth). No app for this on the iPhone and no way to download my SMS and call history, either. Even my Nokia allowed these basic business features.

There's also no way to back up except via iTunes (really appropriate on a business desktop!) and then you only have the ability to revert to the last one - multiple backups are out of the question.

But the one that really left me open-mouthed was the discovery that there's no native support for Outlook tasks on the iPhone! With such a basic and essential organisational element missing, how this ended up on the A List is just beyond me.

In fact there's no mention of tasks in the iPhone user guide at all and given the length of time it took Apple to implement cut/copy/paste, I'm not holding out any hope of seeing this remedied any time soon.

I don't remember Paul Ockenden mentioning these points either. It's oversights like this that led me to cancel my subscription to PC Pro.

By tolqua on 29 Apr 2010

..and another thing.

HTC make beautifully built phones generally speaking, but the seen to be in the habit of putting loads of light-touch buttons all 'round the edge so it's extremely difficult to handle them without inadvertently pressing them. I was forever having to readjust the volume but only because I'd accidentally adjusted it and taking the phone out to find some unfamiliar screen displayed was a regular occurrence.

This isn't rocket science, HTC, you just have to try using the phones for a bit before releasing the final design.

For all its business shortcomings, the iPhone's near-perfect in this respect (and doesn't suffer the flaws I mentioned in my last post, either) so you don't even have to go through this design process yourselves. For heaven's sake you must spend long enough dissecting competitors' products - how do things like this get overlooked?

By tolqua on 29 Apr 2010

But whats it liek as a phone

I had an earlier HTC loved its functions, but had to give up on it as it was useless as a phone (dropped calls, poor voice quality). What do users think of this - cause got to admit I'm very tempted.

By Liberalone on 30 Apr 2010

Best UK deal - surely?!

Thought folk might like to know the Desire is now available on Three for £17 a month including unlimited internet! I don't work for Three - I'm just a happy punter who couldn't believe it's now this cheap! Just ordered mine...

By jonpauldrake on 4 May 2010

I'll second tolqua...

...that any credible business phone needs comprehensive local outlook sync (not through the cloud, and definitely not through Google's cloud). I'm no Outlook fan, but its ubiquity makes compatibility essential.

It's taken years for the likes of Nokia to get this right... and Microsoft still haven't.

Nokia's desktop SMS etc are nice, but not dealbreakers for me.

By ndutton on 6 May 2010

Desire for business

Had a Desire for 4 days now and so far everything is excellent.
This is a business phone replacing a trusty Nokia E71. I was tempted by the iPhone, despite by deep hatred for iTunes, but the Desire seems to do all the iPhone-like things at least as well, plus the business functionality is excellent (and much better than the E71). Exchange integration is a doddle, Office docs open fine and it's a pretty good phone too.

Dislikes:
1. Can only assign 1 Notification tone for all events (I want a differnt one for SMS alerts)
2. Calendar entry and Day view show date but not day of week
3. Battery life is weak (about the same as the iPhone, but slightly less than the Nokia). I've invested in a second battery (try that with an iPhone!)

Think we'll equip the whole team with them...

By gt6man on 11 May 2010

Best Smartphone so far

TyTn II
Omnia
Omnia HD
Now the Desire finally does all I want it to do. Needs a better sync to convert movies to correct format. But it is 95% there for me. Got one on a trial and they will have to prise it from my corpse's dead hands to get it back. Well done HTC now more support for Android please. I am so gald I didn't go for the iPhoney fad. Open source is the way forward.

By djbuk29 on 12 May 2010

Best Smartphone so far

TyTn II
Omnia
Omnia HD
Now the Desire finally does all I want it to do. Needs a better sync to convert movies to correct format. But it is 95% there for me. Got one on a trial and they will have to prise it from my corpse's dead hands to get it back. Well done HTC now more support for Android please. I am so gald I didn't go for the iPhoney fad. Open source is the way forward.

By djbuk29 on 12 May 2010

Seeing double

WTF? Dont hit backspace peeps as it posts again. Pls admin delete this and one above :P

By djbuk29 on 12 May 2010

"No weakness worth quibbling over" ???

I totally agree that this is an amazing phone. In fact I almost bought one a few weeks ago until I discovered that there is, in fact, a major weakness - it is not possible to voice-dial contacts via a bluetooth headset or a built-in car handsfree system. So instead of simply pressing a steering column button and stating "dial home", I would now have to take the phone out of my pocket and take my eyes off the road to see the keypad to unlock it and then press the correct key(s) to switch on voice-dial. Since this is illegal, it is clearly a major weakness. I do, however, fully understand why this was not highlighted in the review as it would have been a 'given' that any modern phone would have this facility. At least HTC have made the iPhone v Desire choice an easy one to resolve. If you value your licence and your safety, forget HTC.

By SnrCJ on 13 May 2010

Jamese

I've been using one for a week now - had to have the initial one replaced after 3 days when it froze up and refused to sync. Still can't get the replacement to sync by Bluetooth though it is doing so by cable. Sync with Outlook is something else. I have tried several options but I cannot get the Contacts data I want on the phone - it seems to decide what it wants to sync. I've found the phone hard to read in bright sunlight - also a problem with other phones. Despite the problems I like it. It has a nice feel and once you get used to it the actual set up is quite good. At least I can import my own choice of ring tone - something I never managed with an iPhone.

By jamesecraig on 6 Jun 2010

Yes but it won't sync!

I've tried HTC Tech Support but they haven't a clue. The Desire won't sync with Outlook on Windows 7 64 bit. I've tried their suggestions but no luck. Ruins a good phone!

By Otrivine on 27 Jul 2010

I think now that the Froyo features for the Desire have been revealed this phone will pull clear of any other smartphone in the market.

By craigio on 30 Jul 2010

I think now that the Froyo features for the Desire have been revealed this phone will pull clear of any other smartphone in the market.

By craigio on 30 Jul 2010

Sunspider

Wow - running 2.2/FroYo the Sunspider benchmark has dropped to 6672ms on the Desire (vs about 10400ms on the iPhone 4) - the new Dalvik engine is definitely working!

By alanjrobertson on 4 Aug 2010

Review Issue 197

HTC Desire supplied by Three (3)

“The software has been upgraded to Android 2.2 on all networks except 3”

WRONG

HTC DESIRE Supplied by 3 on 18th December 2010
Android Version: 2.2
Build No: 2.25.771.1 CL254759 release keys
Software No: 2.25.771.1

By bigluap on 10 Jan 2011

Miss something?

Review Date: 23 Apr 2010

This is especially difficult to update in the printed magazine

By greemble on 10 Jan 2011