HTC Desire

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HTC Desire
ManufacturerHTC Corporation
SloganSimply Stunning
PredecessorHTC Legend
TypeSlate smartphone
Form factorSlate Candybar smartphone
Dimensions119 (4.7) × 60 (2.36) × 11.9 (0.47) mm (inch)
Mass135 g (4.8 oz)
Operating systemAndroid 2.1
CPUQualcomm QSD 8250 1 GHz (Snapdragon) with AMD Z430 GPU
Memory512 MB flash, 576 MB RAM
Removable storageup to 32 GB with microSDHC
BatteryLi-ion 1400 mAh
Display3.7-inch 480×800 WVGA AMOLED capacitive touchscreen
Rear camera5 Megapixel autofocus with LED flash featuring Face detection capability and Geotagging
ConnectivityEurope/Asia Pacific: HSPA/WCDMA: 900/2100 MHz or 850/2100 MHz (Telstra Australia); GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz; Wi-Fi (802.11b/g); Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR; Micro USB
Data inputsMulti-touch with HTC Sense interface, 3-axis accelerometer, digital compass, proximity and ambient light sensors
OtherProximity sensor, Accelerometer, FM Radio, Facebook, Twitter, MS Exchange, compass, GPS, A-GPS, Google turn-by-turn navigation, Flash 10.1 enabled[1]

The HTC Desire (codenamed Bravo),[2] is a smartphone developed by the HTC Corporation, that was announced on 16 February 2010 and released in Europe and Australia in the second quarter of the same year. It is powered by a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor and runs the Android operating system, version 2.1. It includes an active-matrix OLED (AMOLED) screen and a 5-megapixel camera. Internally it bears a strong resemblance to the Nexus One, but differs in some features.

The hardware has the potential for high-definition video, if available, with future updates. The Android operating system has the capability to take advantage of the video circuitry onboard the Snapdragon processor,[3] enabling the device to capture and playback video at high-definition 720p on a WVGA screen. [4][5]

Availability

In the North American market, the device will be available in August 2010 from U.S. Cellular[6] and from Cellular South at an undisclosed date in the future.[7] In Canada the device will be available from Telus Mobility with an expected release date around a July/August time frame.[8]

In Europe, the carriers announced are Vodafone UK, Vodafone Ireland, Meteor Irl, T-Mobile UK, O2, Orange UK, 3, and Virgin Mobile UK. In Australia it is exclusive to Telstra. In Japan, Softbank Mobile started sales in late April.[9] In South Korea, SK Telecom began sales in May.

Orange UK is selling the normal brown version and an exclusive black version.

In Singapore, the official launch date was 14 May 2010 and the phone has been up for sale by all carriers subsequently.

Many of the UK mobile networks have been unable to keep up with demand, Vodafone UK, 3, T-Mobile UK and Orange UK are just four of the networks experiencing very high demand.[10][11][12][13]

Comparison with Nexus One

The HTC Desire internally bears a strong resemblance to the Nexus One. The differences are:[14][15][16][17][18][19]

  • A different body shell
  • An optical trackpad in place of the trackball
  • A row of tactile rather than touch-sensitive buttons
  • FM radio included
  • No second microphone but has software noise cancellation
  • No dock pin connectors
  • 576 MB DRAM instead of 512 MB DRAM
  • Dual band HSPA/WCDMA: 900/2100 MHz (850/2100 Telstra Australia),[20] instead of Tri band
  • HTC Sense user interface including the 'Sense' live wallpaper
  • Bundled with Adobe Flash Lite 4
  • No speech-to-text (though the application can be downloaded)
  • Support and updates through HTC rather than Google

Reception

The HTC Desire has received extremely positive reviews. CNET UK reviewed the phone on March 29 and awarded the phone 9.2/10.[21] TechRadar awarded the phone 5 out of 5 stars and stated "In short, this is a phenomenal phone—one of the best we've ever had on TechRadar".[22]

From TechRadar's Top 15 best mobile phones in the world, the HTC Desire is simply the best so far : "It's like a Nexus One only better. For this reason, the HTC Desire has entered our top 10 at number 1, and the Google Nexus One has dropped out completely. It's tough at the top."[23]

MobileTechWorld found the HTC Desire to be a fairly capable product that "manages to please casual users with HTC’s flashy Sense UI and geeks who love to tweak their handsets on a daily basis thanks to the Google’s Android OS." [24]

GPS problem in Australia

Shortly after the HTC Desire's release in Australia, HTC and the exclusive carrier of the phone, Telstra, issued a press release, alerting users that "HTC and Telstra have been made aware of an issue relating to the GPS function on the HTC Desire smartphone in Australia. After investigating customer reports we have found that the software for this feature is set up incorrectly. This means the HTC Desire is currently unable to operate GPS navigation. The device’s GPS hardware, however, is not affected and will operate once a minor software update is made."

Notice of the software fix was issued on 30 April, 2010. One method was a Firmware over the air (FOTA) update, the other a software download from the HTC Australian website. As a sweetener for the issue, an additional feature for the phone was included, voice search. [25]

This issue has been resolved and phones on sale now do not require patching or software updates.

See also

References

  1. ^ Ziegler, Chris. "HTC press conferens MWC 2010". Retrieved 16 February 2010. {{cite news}}: Text "date 2010-02-16" ignored (help)
  2. ^ "HTC Bravo becomes HTC Desire". Techdigest.
  3. ^ http://www.qualcomm.com/products_services/chipsets/snapdragon.html
  4. ^ "HTC Desire to receive DivX playback support in future update". MobileTechWorld. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  5. ^ http://desirefanatics.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/htc-desire-720p-video-recording/
  6. ^ http://www.facebook.com/USCellular/posts/109582565746792
  7. ^ http://twitter.com/cellularsouth/status/16327446124
  8. ^ http://mobilesyrup.com/2010/05/27/name-change-telus-now-releasing-htc-desire/
  9. ^ http://en.akihabaranews.com/41407/phone/softbank-japan-jumping-into-the-android-world-with-the-htc-desire
  10. ^ http://www.eurodroid.com/2010/04/three-uk-runs-out-of-htc-desire-stock-upgrades-for-existing-customers-stopped/
  11. ^ http://www.eurodroid.com/2010/04/vodafone-htc-desire-still-out-of-stock-online-and-offline/
  12. ^ http://www.eurodroid.com/2010/04/orange-high-demand-for-htc-desire-leading-to-delays/
  13. ^ http://www.eurodroid.com/2010/04/t-mobile-expecting-10000-more-htc-desire-phones-next-week/
  14. ^ "HTC Desire vs. Google Nexus One". Slashgear.
  15. ^ "HTC Desire: Nexus One with Flash and Sense". Icrontic.
  16. ^ Slashgear
  17. ^ androidboss
  18. ^ androidguys
  19. ^ iHelplounge
  20. ^ http://www.cnet.com.au/htc-desire_specs-339301153.htm
  21. ^ "HTC Desire Review". Flora Graham. CNET UK. March 29,2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  22. ^ "HTC Desire Review". Gareth Beavis. TechRadar.com. March 31,2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  23. ^ "15 best mobile phones in the world today. Android takes over, a new phone goes top". James Rivington. TechRadar.com. March 26,2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  24. ^ "HTC Desire Review". MobileTechWorld.
  25. ^ http://techstyles.com.au/htc-desire-gps-fix-available-now/mobile-phone/

External links