The HTC Desire HD has become widely available in the UK over the past week; praise has been widespread with reviewers impressed with the new handset, however many people are confused with the latest addition to the HTC range as for some it seems like a sideways movement rather than a progression.
To me this is a little difficult to comprehend, especially when you consider the differences in the phones specs. The new phone has a bigger and better screen, uses the brand spanking new version of Android – newer is better, right?
HTC Desire - still king?
Reviewers have discovered that the HTC Desire HD suffers from the same problems as its predecessor, namely poor battery life, this has resulted in the original HTC Desire remaining more popular than the new model.
According to the latest tech radar chart the original HTC Desire is still the most popular phone with their users with the iPhone 4 in second place and the new Desire HD taking third spot.
It’s still very early days for the Desire HD, it is available across various networks in the UK already with more and more network providers adding the phone to their range in quick succession.
What do you think? Is newer better?
What you have said is not completely accurate. For example I have a HTC Desire running the latest android version 2.2.
Most networks in the UK have plans to upgrade the android software on the current Desire model, if they haven't already done so.
The HTC HD does have an upgraded version on HTC's Sense and a new chipset, upgraded camera e.t.c.
However it is quite large and the screen seems to be more of a sideways move than a total upgrade. Although it is 4.3" it is not LED so the colours don't seem as brilliant. In addition, with the screen being so large and with it having a backlight it is responsible for draining the battery a whole lot more. (which is smaller than its predecessor's)
Here are the statastics….
Weight (g) 164 vs 135
Height (mm) 123 vs 119
Width (mm) 68 vs 60
Depth (mm) 11.8 vs 11.9
Band Quad Battery Stand By (Hours) 490 vs 360
Battery Talk Time (Hours) 9.15 vs 6.5
Screen 4.3-inch S-LCD capacitive touchscreen vs AMOLED touchscreen 3.7-inch
Memory 1.5 GB internal storage vs 576
768MB RAM memory vs 512
Connectivity HSDPA, 14.4 Mbps vs 7.2; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps vs 2, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n vs only b/g.
Camera 8 megapixel vs 5
Battery Consumption depends on the User also, How he is using the device, and howmany apps running in background, Howmany UNNECESSARY Applications running in background, So we should wait for proper Desire HD assessment with statastics on battery usage……..
i have had the new desire hd for a few weeks now and i think it is top! i have used friends desires and the screen and sleek design of the new hd version is definatly an upgrade tho both phones are very similar the big screen is a real plus! i did notice at the start the battery runs down rather fast but i think that is because i couldnt stop playing with it! if you arnt constantly playing with it with the screen on the battery is fine! i can go to uni and listen to music on it for several hours an the battery stays well charged it is purly down to the amount of time you hav your screen light on that makes the difference but so far i am completely happy with the phone
I've had the Desire HD for about a week now, replacing my previous Samsung I8910 HD. Whereas the I8910 failed miserably to live up to Samsung's hype in pretty much every aspect except the screen, the Desire HD not only satisfies my expectations it surpasses them. Even arguments about which is the better screen are tbh somewhat moot as the Desire HD's screen is a joy to use and looks beaut too.
I had some reservations about its size in terms of portability but I've not found it to be a problem and I've even ignored the manufacturer's recommendation to "remove the device from your trousers pocket before sitting down" without damaging either myself or the phone! The large screen turns out to be a bit of a boon for web browsing, gaming, and using Google maps, esp. street view, so much so that I would be reluctant to consider a smaller screen for my next device.
Battery drainage seems better than the I8910 in my experience as both would need charging at the end of a day's heavy use but there's just so much more you can do with the Desire that the battery can get a good hammering at times.
All in all I'm extremely pleased with it. Chuffed to bits in fact!
I totally disagree with tech radar and your website. Having had a desire since 1st week of April with constant use and now having had a desire hd for 2 weeks, the desire hd smacks the original desire totally. It did take me a week to get over the fact that the super lcd screen is not as vivid as the amoled on the desire. That said, the desire hd somehow manages to display text better. In fact I actually prefer this screen and I think it gives a much better natural colour palette than the desire but can't match it for blqck levels. That said, watching videos on this baby is a joy!
In terms of battery life, believe it or not, the hd trumps the desire . It probably has something to do with the 2nd generation processor.
Performance wise the hd destroys the original desire. I use system panel to regularly kill off unwanted background apps and I get up to 450mb of free RAM which makes any process run better on the desire. it is so good with web browsing it is unreal.
I really dig the new sense too. On the original desire, it couldn't handle multi tasking quite as well. At the moment, news rob is currently downloading 250 full web pages in the background and I can't even tell!
It's that better 46 nm snapdragon , gpu and 768 mb of ram that probably has a lot to with it, but this phone is a definite step up from the desire. The it from a heavy user, my average use on the desire was 4 to 6 hours a day and I would never go back to using the original desire as it is a much weaker handset than the hd.
The phone design of the desire is also ace…a single block of aluminum….this is probably the best phone on the market right now
In what way is it a sideways step??
The processor is much more powerful and energy efficient (hence the smaller battery) and has much more RAM.
As for the screen, AMOLED screens suffer burn-in and and don't last as long as LED screens, so it is not as clear cut as most of these amateur-hour tech bloggers make out.
I have a dilema. Should i get the HTC desire now, or wait untill january to get the desire HD?? The reviews for the HD are somewhat mixed. Please advise.
Personally I think my hero g2 running villain rom version of 2.2 is faster, longer battery life by far , easier to handle, and more reliable.
I'm selling the HD on ebay and having 18 months free calls from the proceeds