HTC Desire Review Thread

youcancallmeal · 15-04-2010 05:10PM

100gSoma wrote: »

I won't get any of those silicon/plastic screen covers, I'll instead use a microfibre bag/pouch to carry the phone in the pocket. I also won't keep it with keys or coins etc, I think the screen should be fine then. It's not soft as you wuold expect and would need some sharp item to damage it. sand/grit/metallic item etc.

This is probably what I will do as well but I would be wary that you may not feel the phone vibrating in your pocket? Anyway let us know if you do get some sort of microfibre pouch.

eamondunphy · 15-04-2010 06:39PM

can anyone who bought the phone from meteor tell me if the phone is locked to meteor please?

0scar · 15-04-2010 06:57PM

And how it's doing with the 2G/3G coverage issue please!

partyatmygaff · 15-04-2010 07:43PM

Bought from meteor, comes in it's standard sim free box inside a bigger orange meteor box. Sim free and unlocked of course.

Had the phone nearly one and a half hours now. Cannot put it down :pac:

Now on to the review. Note that i'm upgrading from a N95 8GB

Pros
The AMOLED screen is gorgeous. Pictures really do not do it justice in any way or form. The touch screen is responsive and the colours are so so vibrant.

Sense UI is great and looks very very slick. I'm still trying to get used to it though.

The phone is lightning fast. No lagging at all.

The Web browser is simply superb, it behaves exactly like safari on the iPhone except with flash support (Which plays very well imo)

Cons
Compared to my N95 the camera isn't as great but the difference is almost negligibile.

It only has a mono loudspeaker.

Before buying this phone I was a bit hesitant but only one hour in and I can tell you that this is an amazing phone.

Zagato · 15-04-2010 10:02PM

My main concern with the Desire is battery life. Would be using it to make phone calls a lot everyday........well it is a phone!
I see that Seidio now have 3200mAh battery for the Nexus One, which should double the battery life; it obviously requires a different cover. I don't see them releasing one for the Desire to soon, as it looks like Incredible will be released sooner Stateside.
I was just wondering if anyone could clarify whether the back covers of Nexus One and Desire are interchangeable or not? (I'm presuming not):p

partyatmygaff · 15-04-2010 10:08PM

Zagato wrote: »

My main concern with the Desire is battery life. Would be using it to make phone calls a lot everyday........well it is a phone!
I see that Seidio now have 3200mAh battery for the Nexus One, which should double the battery life; it obviously requires a different cover. I don't see them releasing one for the Desire to soon, as it looks like Incredible will be released sooner Stateside.
I was just wondering if anyone could clarify whether the back covers of Nexus One and Desire are interchangeable or not? (I'm presuming not):p

Back covers no but the batteries are interchangeable from what i've heard. They share a lot of parts.

MagicMarker · 15-04-2010 10:13PM

All I have to say, as I post this from my desire, is.....sex, pure sex.

Mr Bloat · 15-04-2010 11:41PM

Has anyone switched to the Desire from the iPhone 3G or 3GS. I have a 3GS but I've had both previous iPhone versions and it feels like I've had the same phone for 2 years at this stage. I'm looking for a change and the Desire looks mighty fine to me but I'd hate to use an upgrade and not like it in the end, especially if I have to re-buy all the apps I'm used to using on the iPhone! If someone can tell me they're having a better experience with the Desire over an iPhone, I'm sold!

Roy Rogers · 16-04-2010 09:08AM

Picked up the phone yesterday and I really like it so far -- some nice apps out there, and the phone has a bewildering range of options in it. Still learning my way around!

I do have an incredibly messed up address book at the moment, however -- My google/facebook contacts have all been added, and I imported my phone contacts from my SIM card.

However, while you can link the online contacts, there doesn't seem to be any way of linking the phone numbers on the SIM to the online contacts. Anyone have any ideas how to go about this?

Burning Eclipse · 16-04-2010 09:53AM

Roy Rogers wrote: »

Picked up the phone yesterday and I really like it so far -- some nice apps out there, and the phone has a bewildering range of options in it. Still learning my way around!

I do have an incredibly messed up address book at the moment, however -- My google/facebook contacts have all been added, and I imported my phone contacts from my SIM card.

However, while you can link the online contacts, there doesn't seem to be any way of linking the phone numbers on the SIM to the online contacts. Anyone have any ideas how to go about this?

I'm also just learning my way around at the moment. So much to do with it

Also delighted with the colour. I was under the impression that Meteor were getting the black variety (said colour on website)!

As for linking contacts, I don't think it's possible when they're stored on a sim card, but should work fine once you've got them on the phone itself! That's how it worked for me!

johnny_adidas · 16-04-2010 10:41AM

have had the phone since yesterday and loving it, will add a proper review once i figure out all the ins and outs. this is my first touchscreen phone but is going very easily.

seeing as everyone is thrumping the phone (me included) one major downside so far is the loudspeaker, very thinny, no bass whatsoever to it (maybe another media player will have an equaliser to adjust this). Big step down from the sound on my C902. not a big issue for me as its only the odd time i ever used it but for those 'cool kids' who use their phones as getoblasters, this is not for you

the battery life is the other major issue, albeit i hadnt left it down for hours, but as per the other thread, advanced task killer handles this pretty well and as a widget on home screen is a must. the initial usage should ease though giving me much better life.

have been using wifi only so far (home & work available) so cant tell anyone how bad the data costs will be

phone seems to reboot itself every so often (3 times in 1 day i guess), nothing major, just takes a few secs to get going again (hoping this one is not faulty)

contacts are strange, i cant elaborate any more cos i cant figure out what im doing wrong, everything is linked (all google contacts, facebook etc) but it feels like there could be a much quicker way of sync everything

the screen unlock button location is annoying but maybe this is due to past phones having it in different location.

the camera needs a shutter button on top(when phone held sideways), again this is mainly due to ergonomics, so will probably get used to it.

thats all i can think of for now

DemoniK · 16-04-2010 10:56AM

johnny_adidas wrote: »

seeing as everyone is thrumping the phone (me included) one major downside so far is the loudspeaker, very thinny, no bass whatsoever to it (maybe another media player will have an equaliser to adjust this). Big step down from the sound on my C902. not a big issue for me as its only the odd time i ever used it but for those 'cool kids' who use their phones as getoblasters, this is not for you

Agree with this. Thankfully headphones are ok for music.

the battery life is the other major issue, albeit i hadnt left it down for hours, but as per the other thread, advanced task killer handles this pretty well and as a widget on home screen is a must. the initial usage should ease though giving me much better life.

I've not had to use advanced task killer on this yet. Did on the hero as I ran out of memory too often and the phone slowed down.
Battery on these types of phones are in a different league compared to C902. Basic measurement is can you do what you need to in 1 day compared to 1 week

Definitely add the toggles for wifi, gps and 3g to your home screen so you can flip them off when you know you aren't using and conserve the battery. I used go from 1 day to 3days on the hero.

phone seems to reboot itself every so often (3 times in 1 day i guess), nothing major, just takes a few secs to get going again (hoping this one is not faulty)

That is very strange. I've had it since Monday, and no reboot.
Must be an app or a phone fault.

contacts are strange, i cant elaborate any more cos i cant figure out what im doing wrong, everything is linked (all google contacts, facebook etc) but it feels like there could be a much quicker way of sync everything

+1
I've talked about my problem

What it needs is a good contact manager which allows you to browse it all a little easier. But in fairness, when you get it all configured the integration really kicks ass.

Glad your enjoying anyways

R28 · 16-04-2010 11:04AM

Has anyone one using the Desire on Meteor experienced the 3g connection problem that plagues the Hero and the Legend?

Getting the Desire might be the only way to have a good htc android phone which actually works on meteor if it doesn't have this problem.

jimmycrackcorm · 16-04-2010 11:30AM

Advanced task killer is not required for 2.1 devices as I discovered from reading about the api changes for handling background services. use settings, applications, running services to kill tasks.

Slaanesh · 16-04-2010 11:33AM

I've also read that battery life increases after 5-6 charges.

R28 · 16-04-2010 11:39AM

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

Advanced task killer is not required for 2.1 devices as I discovered from reading about the api changes for handling background services. use settings, applications, running services to kill tasks.

I've heard that using task killer apps can result in some damage to the SD card if the app is writing on to the SD card when you kill it. From what I've read about how android works, it seems best not to use task killers at all.

http://geekfor.me/faq/you-shouldnt-be-using-a-task-killer-with-android/

bren32 · 16-04-2010 12:54PM

Why are paid apps not available? Will they ever be?

Roy Rogers · 16-04-2010 01:18PM

Burning Eclipse wrote: »

As for linking contacts, I don't think it's possible when they're stored on a sim card, but should work fine once you've got them on the phone itself! That's how it worked for me!

Ahh, got it sorted now! Well, not entirely... still need to link up all my nicknamed phonebook entries to the real-named facebook and google contacts, but still!

If anyone else is having this problem, I finally sorted it out thanks to the above.

1. Open People
2. Menu -> Import/Export -> Import from SIM
3. Copy them to Phone (can't remember exact phrase used)
4. When the copy finishes, choose Menu -> View and deselect the SIM checkbox.
5. Select the Phone checkbox (if it's not already selected).

Now People will only display phone, facebook, and gmail contacts (depending on what was selected in 4 + 5 above). Annoyingly, you can't seem to filter the contacts in Phone on the homescreen, but I've put a link to People on the homescreen and plan to make calls through there.

It might be a handy workaround, it might be a pain... I really don't know yet.

Alternately, some people on the Android Forums suggest moving all your SIM contacts to Google Contacts, and then deleting the SIM to avoid doubles. Probably only recommended if you're certain you're not going to drop back to a non-smartphone at any stage.

TheBuck · 16-04-2010 01:39PM

Mr Bloat wrote: »

Has anyone switched to the Desire from the iPhone 3G or 3GS. I have a 3GS but I've had both previous iPhone versions and it feels like I've had the same phone for 2 years at this stage. I'm looking for a change and the Desire looks mighty fine to me but I'd hate to use an upgrade and not like it in the end, especially if I have to re-buy all the apps I'm used to using on the iPhone! If someone can tell me they're having a better experience with the Desire over an iPhone, I'm sold!

Yep i switched from a Jailbroken 3GS.... and very happy.
Its my first experience with the Android OS so there is a bit of a learing curve but the apps, the speed and the beauty of the phone are great.
Its almost as if its the Iphone jailbroken as it should have been.

Need to get a silicone case though , anyone in Dublin know places that sell these ??

thanks

eamondunphy · 16-04-2010 05:08PM

has anyone bought it from meteor, do they know if its not locked to meteor???

godskitchen · 16-04-2010 05:13PM

eamondunphy wrote: »

has anyone bought it from meteor, do they know if its not locked to meteor???

Comes unlocked.

eamondunphy · 16-04-2010 05:36PM

godskitchen wrote: »

Comes unlocked.

hi gods kitchen are you sure, i really only wanna get it if its not stuck to meteor

100gSoma · 16-04-2010 06:01PM

noticed a speck of dust under my Desires screen glass. :eek::eek:
I guess its not possible to make dust free sealed devices. its only the size of a pixel. still..I won't try and replace it given the stock issues, plus I might end up with a worse phone, who knows. last perosn I read who replaced a desire over this issue got back a "refurbished" unit. screw that.

jimmycrackcorm · 19-04-2010 12:11AM

got my desire!!!

Absolutely pleased, after moving from N95.

Battery life is ****e - but that is to be expected given the use that you will make off it; chatting to a friend who suggested a spare wallet battery, I'm actually inclined to agree that is the solution.
Camera is outclassed to N95.
I've no problems with Desire running on 3 with switching between 3G and roaming.

Android is fantastic and HTC sense is the biz.

partyatmygaff · 19-04-2010 12:32AM

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

got my desire!!!

Absolutely pleased, after moving from N95.

Battery life is ****e - but that is to be expected given the use that you will make off it; chatting to a friend who suggested a spare wallet battery, I'm actually inclined to agree that is the solution.
Camera is outclassed to N95.
I've no problems with Desire running on 3 with switching between 3G and roaming.

Android is fantastic and HTC sense is the biz.

I thought the N95 had a horrible battery but this thing just eats battery even at standby.

The camera isn't all too great compared to the N95 either, I do like the way autofocus is done though but the rest of the camera is completely outclassed by the N95, especially video recording.

johnny_adidas · 19-04-2010 12:35AM

R28 wrote: »

I've heard that using task killer apps can result in some damage to the SD card if the app is writing on to the SD card when you kill it. From what I've read about how android works, it seems best not to use task killers at all.

http://geekfor.me/faq/you-shouldnt-be-using-a-task-killer-with-android/

that would explain the weird loading issue i sometimes get on mine, 2 or 3 sec delay when i click the AT killer every so often

lafors · 19-04-2010 08:03AM

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

got my desire!!!

Absolutely pleased, after moving from N95.

Battery life is ****e - but that is to be expected given the use that you will make off it; chatting to a friend who suggested a spare wallet battery, I'm actually inclined to agree that is the solution.
Camera is outclassed to N95.
I've no problems with Desire running on 3 with switching between 3G and roaming.

Android is fantastic and HTC sense is the biz.

Got mine eventually

Arrived at home on Friday but I didn't get my hands on it until Saturday night due to a certain Icelandic volcano extending my trip home by 32hours.

Switching from the N97 to the Desire.
Firstly its a complete change, it really shows how bad the touch screen experience on the N97 is.
Everyone is complaining about the battery life but the battery life is always going to be sh*te in the first few days as you play with it constantly. I like the way the battery menu tells you exactly what is using it up. My hog is the Cell Standby (33%) & Phone Idle (33%).

Wasn't too happy with the contacts setup, I had all my contacts setup with gmail previously and expected it to be a breeze but there were a load of messy links especially when you include facebook into the mix and nicknames etc. Took approx 1hr to sort out.

Internet is excellent on it, very impressed! I'd go as far as saying its better than my wifes iphone 3gs!

Messaging was good but I downloaded handcent for it and made it the default . Works a treat.

Gmail works great, would be nice to be able to star messages and can't copy txt from messages either??

Camera is basic enough, N97 was better but then my N82 prior to that was even better again.

Would be nice to be able to put folders in the "All Programs" section. Is it possible?

So thats my mini review for now, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Desire to anyone thinking of changing. I still think its more of a techies phone, where the iphone is for people who don't want to know how stuff works...if you get what I mean

100gSoma · 19-04-2010 08:45AM

lafors wrote: »

Gmail works great, would be nice to be able to star messages and can't copy txt from messages either??

no problem starring messages here. You using the gmail app that comes on the phone? you just click on the star beside the message to star it.

lafors · 19-04-2010 09:14AM

100gSoma wrote: »

no problem starring messages here. You using the gmail app that comes on the phone? you just click on the star beside the message to star it.

Blind & Bat

Grudle · 19-04-2010 11:00AM

100gSoma wrote: »

noticed a speck of dust under my Desires screen glass. :eek::eek:
I guess its not possible to make dust free sealed devices. its only the size of a pixel. still..I won't try and replace it given the stock issues, plus I might end up with a worse phone, who knows. last perosn I read who replaced a desire over this issue got back a "refurbished" unit. screw that.

Noticed the same myself on Saturday night on my Desire purchased from Meteor. Went to the shop Sunday morning and the manager had a look and said that it was either dust or dead pixels and exchanged it for a new one on the spot.

Can't complain about that kind of service.

Have read about a lot of people getting this issue. Have ordered the official HTC screen protectors from Clove so when they arrive (if this ash cloud will ever go away) they are going straight on the phone and hopefully that will protect my lovely screen.

HTC Desire Review Thread

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