Considering just how similar the new HTC Desire is to the not-quite-as-new Google Nexus One (read:very, very similar), I wasn’t expecting to walk away from my hands on session with my mind too blown. I mean, it’s essentially just a Nexus One with HTC’s Sense UI and an optical trackpad, right?
Right – and that’s exactly why it’s amazing.
Now, a big part of the reason I was so impressed by the HTC Desire is because I haven’t spent time with a Nexus One in a few weeks – I’d forgotten just how great it feels in your hand and how speedy the entire operating system is on the 1Ghz Snapdragon chip. Both of those still ring completely true with the Desire; the build quality is rock solid, and HTC’s Sense just downright flies.
Notes and Impressions:
- As I mentioned in the Legend hands on, I walked away from my time with these handsets with far more confidence in the optical trackpad than I went in with. The transition was effortless.
- It looks just like the Nexus One – and that’s a good thing. The Nexus One is easily one of the best look Android handsets around – hell, it’s one of the best looking handsets around regardless of platform.
- We’ve heard a few reports of Sense being a bit buggy during demonstrations (it is, after all, a new build), but we didn’t see anything of the sort. Check it out in the video down below – a 1Ghz CPU, Sense, and a big ol’ high resolution screen is really just a perfect combination
- In addition to the jump from trackball to optical trackpad, the HTC Desire has physical, pressable buttons where as the Nexus One’s are all touch. I’m a sucker for physical buttons. I’d take the button layout over that of the Nexus One any day.
Should you hold out on buying a Nexus One in hopes that this is coming to the states? Probably not – HTC seemed pretty adamant that this model won’t be coming stateside. Should recent Nexus One owners feel chuffed? Nah – the Desire is better than the Nexus One on a few counts and seemingly worse on none, but the majority of its perks are at least somewhat trivial. The real, solid selling points here are almost entirely software-based. Once this thing’s released, I’d imagine it won’t be too long at all before Sense and all that comes with it gets hacked straight onto the Nexus One.
A phone that makes browsing, exhilarating
With its huge cinematic screen and high fidelity sound the HTC Desire HD gives you a breathtaking internet browsing experience. Websites, videos, music, games and apps at their dynamic best. Everything you like to play with, played safely thanks to HTC Sense security.
5 things that make the HTC Desire HD unique
We put a lot of love in every single product we create, all to make sure that every feature, from the smallest to the biggest, is designed around you and your needs.
- 1
Capturing the moment
Until recently if you wanted quality images and video you had to carry both a camera and your phone. Not anymore. We've added HD video recording and an 8MP, dual flash camera with built-in effects (it's like being able to swap lenses and Aadd filters on the fly). And we've made it a snap to share to YouTube or to your big screen TV via DLNA. - 2
Connected media for more viewing options
Tired of moving stuff from one device to another just to share your photos, videos and music on a bigger screen? Stream them all from your phone to your home theater system via DLNA. Gather the family around - it's show time! - 3
Always have a good read on hand
You may forget to take along your book, but, no problem, you've got your HTC Desire HD and its built-in library of classics. As you flip through the books, you can easily look up tons of info about what you're reading. Simply select the text and choose to search from Wikipedia, Google, YouTube or the dictionary. Want new books? Just download them! - 4
See more of the web with Flash®
What's the point of only being able to see part of the web? With built-in Adobe® Flash® Player support on your HTC Desire HD, no websites are out-of-bounds. And why wait for pages to load when you can view them in separate windows? A pinch and a tap lets you jump from one page to the next. - 5
Hear all about it
It's frustrating when you don't have the same content at home, in the office and when you're away from both. Problem sorted with the new News app on the HTC Desire HD which syncs with Google Reader. And wouldn't it be great if all it took to subscribe to a site's feed - and add it to all your readers - was just a simple tap on your HTC Desire HD web browser? Well, it is great!
