HTC Desire
HTC’s recently launched range of phones have certainly set tongues wagging in the mobile phone industry, and a lot of the chatter surrounding the new HTC handset, the HTC Desire, was focussed on just how potential users would respond to a device that on first impressions appears so similar in both design and operation to Google’s Nexus One device. In fact the questions on many peoples’ minds is whether or not it really is worthwhile to get hold of the Desire when it comes out in roughly two months time, and does it have any more to offer than the Nexus One? Some reviewers have jokingly referred to the HTC Desire are the Nexus Two off of initial spec analysis alone, however when examined more closely the Desire significantly outperformed the Nexus One in quite a variety of ways.
Certainly the moniker of Nexus Two is easy to interpret when you first look at the Desire, featuring as it does an almost carbon copy 3.7 inch WVGA AMOLED display in concert with the device’s rounded curves and the power button placed on the top of the device. The internal specs and features of the Desire are also not too distinct to those found in the Nexus as the Desire contains the 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor, a microSD expansion slot through insertion of a memory card allows the memory of the device to be significantly upgraded, GPS and AGPS as well as 256MB of RAM and 512 of flash memory. In concert with the GPS functions there is also an integral compass.
As might be expected by knowledgeable mobile fans the Desire also has immediate Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and HSDPA readiness, along with the almost standard-issue 5-megapixel integral camera with its LED flash. The user can also capture 800?480 video through the camera, and the functions are powered by the latest 2.1 Android operating system which keeps things running at a rate to make even the most cynical of critics happy. Functions can also be readily accessed through shortcut features that can be easily found on the menus and homepage.
Despite the fact that Google’s Nexus One does score some points for active voice cancellation this does not detract from the Desire in any real way. In fact on the Desire HTC have trimmed away the excesses and less functional aspects of the Nexus and have really made some significant improvements, such as getting rid of the crash-prone trackball as well as the on-screen touch-sensitive button, preferring instead to include actual hard shortcut buttons.
The Desire also features HTC Sense UI which was unveiled originally on HTC’s Hero to great acclaim. On the Desire, however, the facility is much improved over the original to offer even more user features and functionality. It is, for instance, much faster in its new setting and has a range of new features and functions that leave the Nexus One far behind – one of the most original features of which is what HTC calls the ‘helicopter view’ from which the user can see all homepage screens that are currently open and can pinch in between to choose the one they want. They can then tap on the screen they wish to go to, a facility that works in much the same way as Expose works on the Mac, and simply pinch back out when they’re ready to leave.
Flash Lite is also included in the Desire through which videos can be watched online straight out of the box. Users can also click on on-screen text and get it instantly translated or looked up on Wikipedia, a great touch. Overall the Android 2.1 keeps things running at a fast rate, and with the quality of features being used today there are generally no questions after closer inspection which tech-savvy users prefer when looking at both the Nexus and Desire.
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