IN DEPTH REVIEW: HTC Desire outguns the iPhone?

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Adam Turner27 April 2010, 9:45 AM

Sorry Apple fanboys, but the HTC Desire is set to bitch-slap the iPhone back to Cupertino.


The phrase iPhone-killer gets thrown around a lot, usually about phones that have a spec sheet as long as your arm but are butt-ugly and horrible to use. Clunky Windows Mobile 6 and Symbian S60 phones might have more bells and whistles than the iPhone but, once you've experienced the touchscreen joy of the iPhone OS it's impossible to tolerate such cumbersome devices. I know, having ditched my bloated i-mate JasJam for an imported iPhone 2G and later upgraded to the iPhone 3G - still my day-to-day phone.



I've been an iPhone fan for a long time and I'm eagerly awaiting the iPhone 4G, but the new Android-powered HTC Desire has thrown down the gauntlet. The iPhone 3G S was merely Apple playing catch up, but Android has been improving in leaps and bounds. The next iPhone must be far more than an incremental upgrade to keep pace with the new crop of Google-powered smartphones.

The iPhone's initial strength was usability, something which it certainly lorded over the HTC Dream, HTC's first Android outing which still felt like a proof of concept. The HTC Magic was a significant improvement, but it wasn't until last year's HTC Hero that we really saw HTC's Android phones come of age. The secret ingredient - HTC's Sense UI interface. Initially designed as lipstick for the pig that is Windows Mobile, HTC ported the Sense UI interface to the HTC Hero running Android 1.5 - giving the smartphone the one-two punch of a beautiful interface combined with a strong feature set. Suddenly Apple had some serious competition on its hands.

So we come to the HTC Desire running Android 2.1-update-1 with the Sense UI interface. HTC comes up with some pretty wanky names for its phones, but whoever named the Desire was spot on the money. It's one of the few smartphones that makes an iPhone feel cumbersome. At 135 grams it's exactly the same weight as the iPhone 3G S, although I swear the Desire feels slightly lighter. It's probably just an illusion due to the fact the Desire is slightly thinner (11.9mm v 12.3mm) and narrower (60mm v 62.1mm). The pronounced chin on the earlier HTC Android phones is all but gone. The dimensions are so close to the iPhone that you can even squeeze the Desire into some iPhone accessories, such as the Navigon iPhone car mount.

In Australia the Desire is available exclusively on Telstra's Next G for the next six months, selling for $0 upfront on a $60 plan or outright for $779. (It's worth noting though, that the $60 plan is not a cap plan, unlike other telcos, so you get minimal calling and data usage allowances.)

The Desire is 3.5mm longer than the iPhone, but HTC has put that extra space to good use. The boffins in the lab have crammed in a big 3.7-inch AMOLED display offering a very impressive 480x800 resolution (compared to the iPhone's 480x320). It's meant sacrificing the Hero's dedicated answer and end buttons, plus the trackball has been replaced with a tiny optical trackpad.

Continue to page 2: Desire's screen test & specs
Page 1 Intro
Page 2 Desire's screen test & specs
Page 3 HTC's remodel of Android
Page 4 Android apps have come of age


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Pauly (User):

Same, regardless of features, im hooked on itunes and the app store.

27 April 2010, 11:47 AM (4 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

agami (New user):

Great review, very enjoyable read.

27 April 2010, 12:58 PM (4 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

todd_h86 (User):

If this was offered by Optus, I would probably think twice about waiting for the next iPhone. But I am never going to Telstra.

27 April 2010, 2:56 PM (4 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Pauly (User):

Quoting todd_h86:
If this was offered by Optus, I would probably think twice about waiting for the next iPhone. But I am never going to Telstra.


You may want to look at the upcoming plans for telstra talked about on whirlpool before dismissing Telstra


27 April 2010, 3:22 PM (4 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Douglas (User):

Quoting Pauly:
You may want to look at the upcoming plans for telstra talked about on whirlpool before dismissing Telstra

Doesn't mean that their service still isn't utter crap.



27 April 2010, 5:37 PM (4 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Phil S (User):

A few things wrong or missing from this article

1) There is a Telstra compatible nexus one available for import from the US. It's the AT&T model and works perfectly on the 850/2100MHz 3G network.

2) Also the "work around" for the 900/2100 nexus one (or any other phone for that matter) is to simply add in the APN settings like you must for any imported phone. Then it works in metro areas. Not exactly rocket science.

3) You mention that sms text doesn't show up immediately on arrival. The solution is to use a different SMS program. Handcent SMS is the most popular and will display the text straight away along with many other features.

Point 3 is probably something that should have been highlighted more. The point of android is that you can replace the SMS application, the on screen keyboard, etc with something better than the stock apps that Google provide. The same can't be said of Apple!

Oh and for those interested in tinkering with the software on their phone, buy the nexus one instead (again there is a telstra compatible model...look it up on whirlpool). You will get updates quicker and if you are game enough, install the HTC desire software (ROM) onto your phone! Plus it works out cheaper :P

27 April 2010, 8:04 PM (4 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

linuxluver (New user):

I can't buy an iPhone for the very simple reason that you can't swap in a fresh battery when the one in use gets low. Worse, when the iPhone's lithium battery finally dies (after about 500 re-charges / 18 months) you effectively have to throw the iPhone away and buy another one. If you're out of warranty, in NZ it can cost between $416 and $1000 for a replacement unit with a new battery. That is so incredibly stupid I can't believe it....premature obselecence combined with daily inconvenience. What a combo!

I have a Nexus One with two batteries and I can use all the wonderful features all day long, pausing around 4pm for 2 minutes to shutdown, swap in the fresh battery and power on again.

I swap in different sdcards, too. Very useful for sneaker-net file sharing with anyone...or just loading an alternate range of music or video....as many as I have sdcards. No limit, really.

27 April 2010, 8:12 PM (4 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

todd_h86 (User):

I have replaced a few iPhone batteries for about $80 give or take.... My iPhone has probably had more than 500 charges and still runs as long as the day I got it.

The majority of people get iPhones on plans anyway, so by the time the battery finally dies (if it indeed does), they will be up for contract renewal anyway, in which case they can get the new model...

I'm assuming from your name that you main gripe with the iPhone is that its not open source.... and its Apple....

If your main reason in the battery issue, then just buy a couple expansion battery pack cases. Get one or two of those and you wont have to worry about shutting down for 2 minutes at 4 PM!

Ive often wondered about getting a Nexus One, but something doesn't sit right with me, I love Android and love HTC phones, but the Nexus doesnt feel right. Also, I'm waiting for the guys who put Android on the original iPhone to port it to the 3g!!

27 April 2010, 11:32 PM (4 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

linuxluver (New user):

Quoting todd_h86:
I have replaced a few iPhone batteries for about $80 give or take.... My iPhone has probably had more than 500 charges and still runs as long as the day I got it.

Opening the case of an iPhone by yourself or a non-authorised 3rd party voids your warranty instantly, if it hasn't expired. It's also non-trivial, requiring special tools, great care and some soldering. Not for the faint-hearted. This design failure also steals away from most iPhone owners the resale value of their phones. Sure, they can just get a new one in a 18 months or two years, but the old one is effectively worthless unless they seriously hack it....and that's beyond most users.

It's all so unnecessary. Fortunately, Apple is not the only choice out there.....or anymore even the best.

I have an iPod Touch and I was gung-ho to buy an iPhone.....until the reality of the sealed unit and the walled garden surrounded by iTunes sank in. Add to that the sheer waste of such a design. In a world struggling to cope with mountains of rubbish, Apple wants us to add our $1000 iPhones to the pile every two years. No thanks to both the cost and the waste.

28 April 2010, 6:36 AM (4 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

linuxluver (New user):

Pauly: The "iSyncr" app for Android lets me use iTunes with my Android phone. I can sync songs and playlists to my phone as well as sync song rating info back to iTunes from my Android phone. Or you can use DoubleTwist. It's good, too. There are others.

27 April 2010, 8:15 PM (4 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

dRisu (New user):

Well, if you want synchronization features, you can use Songbird, which itself syncs with your iTunes library and can sync to heaps of different devices.

28 April 2010, 3:33 PM (4 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

IBooth (New user):

But it is still not an Iphone!!!

28 April 2010, 5:08 PM (4 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Douglas (User):

Quoting IBooth :
But it is still not an Iphone!!!

And that's what makes it good. No Apple always there, making ridiculous rules as to what you can and cannot do with your device.


28 April 2010, 5:41 PM (4 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

linuxluver (New user):

Quoting IBooth :
But it is still not an Iphone!!

****

True. You get all the benefits of iPhone and none of the iPhone hassles like unable to swap batteries or sdcards and having to channel everything (Apple allows) through iTunes.




28 April 2010, 5:54 PM (4 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

rogue316 (Advanced member):

Great review. Hopefully this will reduce the numbers of iPhones I see floating around.

04 May 2010, 9:54 PM (4 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

fatalyflawed (New user):

Hey i know this may sound a bit Whale huggy and all. But we really should be able to expect Apple to do something about this, flat battery? Throw away, fiasco they operate. I don't care how good, (or bad ), the product may be. This kind of built in lifespan limit is not acceptable in a finite world of limited resources.
To me Apple seems to have managed to brand itself in my head as some sort of vaguely "green" corporation(oxy-moron?) The deliberate excessive premature obsolescence of its products ,is not something that i had thought about until recently. Doesn't anybody find it at all disturbing? Along with all the other disturbing things we live with?
So another reason to go HTC for me. And yes i do enjoy Apple- bashing, just for the fun of it, but i don't think that entirely detracts from the validity of my point.It shouldn't involve any kind of real skills or tools to change the battery in a product that cost this kind of hard earned.I should probably let you know that i just managed to return a 5800xpress music for a full refund having spent 4 months trying to get this symbian monkey of its backside and do something approximating to what it says on the box!!Good phone terrible software.
Thanks to consumer protection and Dicky Smiths, who had to cough up for Nokias (disconnecting people) indifference to it's dissatisfied customers. I am now phonless. Strange but true, i don't seem to miss it all that much. Surly the cravings will start soon.?

14 May 2010, 1:17 AM (3 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

skyfox (New user):

What if you live in the Google eco system?

"HTC Desire outguns the iPhone?" The title should read more about you than the device as the only negatives you suggest are about your usage of the device. (iTunes etc)

You summed up the comparison, with your opinion; "The Desire's only weakness is that it's not an iPhone". LOL.

04 September 2010, 1:04 PM (1 day ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Peta Grafton (New user):

I would like to know if there is an online manual for the HTC desire. I have one and was amazed how quickly the battery died.

05 September 2010, 11:57 AM (1 day ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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