HTC Desire - yeah or neigh

[BadgerBadger]

Thinking of getting my first smart phone - HTC Desire yeah or neigh?

 

what contracts you paying

[gonzo]

I'd say go for it. I've got the HTC Hero which the Desire is essentially an updated version of.

 

You can get a wide range of apps for it, plus it has Google Navigation included in the software, which is great.

 

The touch screen is also extremely good, and rivals the Iphone for responsiveness.

 

Internet browsing capabilities are very good. I'm actually posting this message using my HTC Hero.

 

The only real downside to it is that the battery life is pretty poor, but that is pretty much par for the course with the current crop of powerful smartphones.

 

Contract-wise, I got this back in March on a 24 month contract with 3, paying £25 per month. Included in that is 500 cross network minutes, 3000 or 4000 texts (can't remember which, but either way it's plenty) plus 1GB internet usage.

Edited 24 September, 2010 by gonzo

[Petersfield Saint]

I would also say go for it, and I am also a Hero owner. I also agree that battery life is dreadful although at least the battery is removable unlike the iPhone and to be honest most smartphones drink their batteries. However I would also say if you can afford it to buy one sim-free then shop around for cheap sim-only contracts. I had to tie myself in with 3 for two years to get the Hero plus if you google around the web you'll see what a painful experience it is getting Android OS updates if you're on a branded contract phone. Next time around I will pick an Android phone again but I will definitely go sim-free.

[SNSUN]

I have the Desire. Tis a great phone, the internet is quick (when the reception is good, sadly on Orange it's not the best.) I have Panther 30 which is unlimited internet, emails and texts for £30 a month plus add ons.

 

The Desire is a good looking phone, good internally and externally. My only quibble is the battery life - you will (if you're like me) probably use it a lot, looking at SWF and stuff, so the battery life will barely last a day, but I was so excited when I first got it that I didn't wait for it to charge up properly before using it, so that is probably my fault. The Apps are ok, I also have an iPod Touch, and I would say I prefer iTunes to the Android Market, but there's enough on there to keep you interested, and because Androind is multi-platform, I do think they'll overtake Apple for number of apps. You get more FREE apps with Android anyway, so that's a plus, but if I could go back to July when I bought it, I would consider getting the iPhone 4 instead.

 

The camera is pretty decent though on the Desire, can't fault it. Needs more internal memory though, my phone's nearly full, although I haven't yet learnt how to put stuff on the SD card, so again, my fault.

 

If you don't want an iPhone, which is the only other phone I'd go for, then you can't go wrong with the Desire. Quite a few reviews on the internet have the Desire down as the best phone on the market at the moment, and I would say that's pretty accurate.

[mdearlove]

Get it! I love mine. Battery life isnt great but you can always buy a second battery and keep it with you. I have mine on the 1 plan on three. Costs £35 a month.

 

The space issue can be fixed by putting everything you can on the SD - there are apps to make it easy or you can use the default android method.

[BadgerBadger]

Have read about the OS update issues but hopefully that won't cause me too many issues first time round. Looks like the Desire it is, mobile.co.uk have a good deal on at the mo with Orange but have heard they're coverage can be a bit flaky

[gonzo]

I'd avoid Orange if you can. Great deals but terrible network coverage.

[St Marco]

I am on Orange Dolphin i think. Unlimited internet 400m calls and i think 1000 texts or something like that for £25 a month. You also get a magic number meaning you can talk to someone who is also on Orange for as long as you like for free. You can add a new number every 6 months. And you also get others perks like get 2 cinema tickets for the price of 1 on weds at any cinema. I live in the middle of nowhere and my reception is pretty good. I imagine there might be a pylon around there though? Using the internet on wifi is super fast. You have the option of turning mobile internet off and having the real internet. Meaning if you browse sites you see them as you do on your computer. It is really fast and loads stuff pretty quick. Touch screen is amazing.

 

I love my Desire and i upgraded from an Iphone about 5 months ago when they first came out. However there is one problem......My phone is being repaired.

 

The early Desires which mine was could develop a fault where if you used it the phone would turn itself on, then off again. And get stuck in this loop where it would keep doing that. Only way to stop it was to pull the battery out and wait for it to cool down a bit. Since then HTC changed the motherboards on them so the ones you now get can't have those problems. They are now free from overheating. So mine is away getting it's motherboard changed.

 

But when it works it is a quality phone. TechRadar do extensive tests on every phone and they still have it as the best phone on the planet http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/20-best-mobile-phones-in-the-world-today-645440?artc_pg=21

[SNSUN]

I've been given about a million Orange magic numbers but I only know two other people on Orange so it defeats the object. I've been with Orange for years, Orange Wednesdays is a brilliant idea, and their customer service has been good, but it's true their reception is iffy, but getting better. My Desire sometimes takes a while to find web pages depending where I am. I'm sticking with Orange, but for somebody getting the Desire, I'd suggest Three or O2.

[gonzo]

One thing I will say is that for anybody who is suffering from a slow connection (ie, Orange!), then it's worth downloading Opera Mini from the Android Market. It lacks some of the funky features of other browsers in the market, but it loads pages quickly even when you're outside the 3G area.

[whu]

something to consider for anyone getting a desire is that some handsets are prone to overheating, this problem requires the phone to be sent to HTC for a new motherboard, it is probably pot luck as to whether u would get a dodgy phone or not. If u mess around with the settings you can extend the battery life by a lot.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=594 there are some good tips on that link

[thesaint sfc]

[BadgerBadger]

Well having had the phone a few weeks now, most impressed, a real slick bit of kit.

Orange connection is a little flaky but not as bad as my missus Virgin phone

[SuperMikey]

My HD2 has gone down the pan a bit now. Went into Virgin with it earlier because I wasn't getting any sound on my calls, and now had to do a factory reset. NOW it's not letting me sync up any of my data accounts.

I may ask if I can switch phones, it's slow as fook now as well.