The first thing that strikes one when encountering the Desire HD from HTC is the sheer size of it. It is a big device at 123 x 68 x 11.8mm and 164g including battery. However, when seen side by side with its stablemate, the HD7, it is clear that the two share a little more than chassis dimensions.
In comparison to say an iPhone 4, or a Google Nexus S, it is significantly larger and heavier. This is not necessarily bad, as the solidity gives the impression of bullet proof build quality, while the textured aluminium finish will ensure no inadvertent launching of the device across the room during spirited use! The size is partly to accommodate the 109mm screen, which occupies almost all of the front of the phone.
Hardware wise, the Desire HD (DHD) loses nothing to its rivals, indeed, sporting an 8MP camera, it trumps several. There is a 1Ghz Qualcomm processor which allied to 768MB of RAM ensures high performance. Internal storage is a paltry 1.5GB, but this can be expanded to 32GB via the MicroSD slot, taking advantage of features in Android 2.2 Froyo which allow applications to be installed on the SD card.
As mentioned the 8MP camera has a range of shooting, focus and light modes, as one would expect, along with 720p video, but neither one produces results that distinguish this device from rivals. In fact, the likes of a Sony Ericsson Xperia X10i runs rings around it on its standard Android 2.1 ROM.
Sensors include a G sensor, compass, proximity and ambient light.
On turning the device on and logging in, the screen is vibrant and bright, despite being a standard LED, as opposed to the Super AMOLED screens on the likes of the Nexus S. In reality, the DHD doesn’t suffer, except in battery life.
The Android 2.2 operating system is augmented with various HTC customisations, such as the overlay HTC Sense, as well as various widgets, apps and features. These are uniformly well designed, and at this stage, well tested, so it is a matter of taste as whether you like them or not.
Having recently reviewed the Google Nexus S, which is a very standard implementation of Android 2.3.3, the impression from the DHD is of an overpacked suitcase bursting at the seams with stuff. Personally, I found it quite off putting to have had so many things preconfigured. An essential part of the Android experience for me is to install the apps that I have found to be good and suit my usage patterns for Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and more. Hence, I found the Peeps, Friend Stream and other applications, thoughtfully provided by HTC, as fluff that I didn’t want and would rather remove.
If you want something that, out of the box, has pretty much everything to access the various services that people commonly use then this is a great device, if you would rather have a more blank canvas, then this may frustrate!
That said, configuring Google Apps e-mail, with full contacts, tasks and calendar synchronisation was the work of minutes and during the process, it comes across how fluid the user interface really is, thanks to those hefty core specs.
As a business device, this lacks for little and is easily configured to access those vital services to allow you to be productive. In fact boot times from cold are the best we have seen in the current generation of smart phones.
Viewed in isolation, this is a stunning device that would sit well in any gadget arsenal. This would be doubly so for anyone who is upgrading from a previous HTC device.
In comparison to other Android devices, or the likes of Windows Phone 7 or even WebOS, the DHD is easily competitive, but fails to deliver a killer blow. When considering the fact that one of the key differentiators, the 8MP camera, is only OK, then one has to say that the DHD may not win many new users over HTC on its own. For first generation owners, Legend or Hero users, this is a worthy upgrade, for those unaccustomed to HTC’s particular way of doing things, it may not have enough appeal to precipitate defections.
The Desire HD is available from Vodafone, 3 Ireland and the Carphone Warehouse.
www.htc.com * www.vodafone.ie * www.3ireland.ie
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