Style and handling summary for HTC Desire HD review
The Desire HD manages to stay slim, despite the large screen, and its aluminium styling both looks and feels really good
User friendliness summary for HTC Desire HD review
The screen is great to touch, and thanks to the marvellous HTC Sense user interface, it's a joy to use
Feature set summary for HTC Desire HD review
So many highlights to mention - eight-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, and high-def screen - along with the HTC Friend Stream social networking facility
Performance summary for HTC Desire HD review
A powerful processor gets to work on fantastic navigation, social networking, and internet user experiences, along with a very decent camera
Battery power summary for HTC Desire HD review
With such a large screen, it's no surprise that battery life is pretty average
Full Review and Specification for the HTC Desire HD
The HTC Desire gained plaudits from the industry, and now HTC has come back with a bigger - and probably better - offering in the shape of the HTC Desire HD. But don't dismiss it as just another follow-up device - the Desire HD is very much a new phone in its own right; it has a new look, a bigger display and a better operating system. Whatever, HTC has certainly put itself under some pressure to deliver something even better than the Desire, and to offer a plausible alternative for iPhone fans.
First appearances
With its slick aluminium chassis, the Desire HD probably has more of the look of the HTC Legend, rather than the Desire, which was Teflon based. On the back of the device you'll find a pair of removable covers. Underneath is a space to store the microSd card and SIM. On the right-hand side, the cover hides the battery storage space. This means it is possible to hot swap memory cards without the need to turn off the device first. Mind you, we were rather worried about the way in which the battery virtually falls out - if the battery cover became loose after prolonged use, would the battery fall out and get lost?
The Desire HD has very slim proportions, despite that huge 4.3in touchscreen, but it is really long, which makes it a bit cumbersome. We could still fit the device in a pocket, and we're big fans of large screens, but it may put off some users. We love that HTC has allowed the touch-screen to stretch to all the device's sides, apart from the bottom. Underneath the screen are four touch keys for search, Back, Menu and Home - unlike the original Desire, which had hard keys for these functions.
Touch-keys are not always too responsive but those on the Desire HD have no such problems; there's enough surface area to make sure that you get a good key press. The home key is quite comforting - at any time you can hit it and go straight back to the device's home screen (that's the one with HTC's well-known digital clock interface). If you hit the home key when you're viewing the main screen, up will pop seven screens as thumbnails; this means you can quickly touch the one you want and go right there, rather than having to go through them all. You can also do this with a pinching movement.
HTC Sense UI
HTC has always been big on customisation, but the Desire HD goes one better, with the help of the fantastic HTC Sense user interface. HTC has even gone so far as to add a dedicated customisation icon - this takes the shape of an artist's palette and paintbrush and is located in the bottom right-hand corner of the display. With the customisation icon, it is possible to edit home screens and change wallpaper; you can even alter the design and colours of Google's notification bar, which you'll find at the top of the display. This is where you'll be able to see social network activity, messages, updates and new emails. Pull the bar down and you'll be rewarded with a scrolling list of the most recent programs used - a nifty addition. Pulling down the notification bar is achieved by putting your thumb right at the top of the display, so that it overlaps onto the surrounding edge - it feels a little strange.
Getting social
We have to say; we think HTC offers the best social network integration experience of any of the phone manufacturers, thanks to Friend Stream, which manages to sync Twitter and Facebook contacts with no repeats. Pop a ‘What's on your mind' status and it will add an update on both networks; you can state what sort of news you want to see from which networks and are able to review the history of your conversation with specific contacts; you can also see photos they have put up on social networks. We were also impressed with the email facility - pop in your password and email address and you're off. Choose whether you want to have one stream of all your accounts merged together, or filter to look at all your email conversations with one contact, all mails with attachments or unread mails. It's the closest we've seen on a mobile device to a real desktop email experience. It's handy that the device remembers your email addresses, so that you don't need to re-enter them to log in to other accounts. The dedicated ‘com' key on the virtual keyboard (whether it is in landscape or portrait mode) is another bonus.
Underneath all this cleverness is Android's latest version of its operating system: FROYO 2.2. In short, it offers a faster user experience, voice search and dictation, and allows you to play flash video, like that embedded on a number of sites such as the BBC. We're generally very keen on Android, but we have to say it is not as smooth as the Apple OS, so it's great that HTC has managed to counteract this by adding its own skin of customisable menus and large icons.
Web browsing
Going online proved enjoyable, whether it was via W-Fi or HDSPA, thanks to the hugely responsive accelerometers and the excellent screen, which made watching videos a joy. Videos in landscape mode are particularly impressive, but we must add a note of caution - watch where you hold the phone if you're using both hands - because of the size of the display, we often found that a thumb would brush the edge of the screen and whisk us away to another page.
There are some useful features - hold a finger on any part of a website (except a picture or video) and a new window pops up offering three choices. You can choose to copy text - in which case the area will be magnified so that you can highlight the required text and copy it onto an email, text message or social network site. Quick Lookup offers the facility to highlight a word and then look it up on Google, Wikipedia, Google Translate, and Google Dictionary - even YouTube. Share Via offers the facility to post the link to the page either into a text or email or onto Twitter or Facebook. The only thing that came up short was that you can only view four pages at a time - but then we reckon it's rare that you'd need to look at more than four web pages all at the same time!
The HTC Desire HD has its full quota of media credentials. Yes it plays flash video, as we have mentioned, but it also offers great sound thanks to both surround sound and Dolby settings - just try listening in either of these, and go back to ‘normal' mode and you'll be amazed at the difference. It's hardly surprising, then, that there is a 3.5mm headphone socket, even though it is on the bottom of the handset. HTC assures us this is because it means if you keep your phone in your pocket with the 'phones plugged in; when you pull it out, it will be facing the right way - it seems they've thought of everything!
Snapper-happy
The HTC Desire HD has an eight-megapixel camera on-board, which makes it the best-equipped Android phone in terms of snapper so far (yes, we know the HTC Mozart has a Xenon Flash, too, but that is a Windows Phone 7 device). It's a shame that there is no lens protector, nor a dedicated camera key - instead you have to use a virtual icon on screen to switch it on, which we're not keen on. But we were impressed with the dual LED flash and there are a good dozen or so effects to play around with - they also offer the chance to preview before taking the photo. If you turn the phone around from portrait to landscape orientation, for instance, the virtual icons realign too, which is handy. The name will have given away the fact that the Desire HD offers high definition video, but we felt rather let down by the video recording facilities on offer. It's not awful, and does allow you to zoom in and out while recording, to record up to an hour's worth of footage, and to use the flash and the effects offered on the still camera. But we found it a shame that the video camera took some time to get used to changes in light, which resulted in rather amateurish footage.
Finding your way
One of the Desire HD's home screens has been designated for HTC's own mapping service, Footprints. It utilises Route 66's navigational technology which is fabulous, and offers ATM and petrol station locations, voice instructions and the option to call points of interest directly. However - there isn't much more on offer here than on Google Maps, which is also pre-loaded on the handset - and of course, you'll pay nothing more for the Google facility than data rates. Both options worked well, though, and there was a speedy A-GPS fix that stayed accurate and strong throughout our testing.
We could go on about the features on the Desire HD, but we're running out of space. But before we go we must just mention two more things: the highly useful call blocking facility, which lets you flag up numbers in your address book that you can divert straight to voicemail, and the Amazon MP3 store, which gives iTunes a run for its money, with loads of albums and singles available to buy, many at a cheaper price than Apple's store.
The verdict
At the beginning of this review, we said HTC had its work cut out improving on the already acclaimed HTC Desire, but it's done it with abundance. Okay, it may not have the initial wow factor, but that's mostly because we have already been wowed by the original and now know what to expect. But it does everything magnificently, from its perfect navigation to its fabulous social networking facilities. In fact, there are only two kinds of people who won't like it - those who find its case a tad too long, and the other is called Steve Jobs and runs a rather large technology firm named after a fruit. Not much we can do about that.
The Desire HD manages to stay slim, despite the large screen, and its aluminium styling both looks and feels really good
User friendliness summary for HTC Desire HD review
The screen is great to touch, and thanks to the marvellous HTC Sense user interface, it's a joy to use
Feature set summary for HTC Desire HD review
So many highlights to mention - eight-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, and high-def screen - along with the HTC Friend Stream social networking facility
Performance summary for HTC Desire HD review
A powerful processor gets to work on fantastic navigation, social networking, and internet user experiences, along with a very decent camera
Battery power summary for HTC Desire HD review
With such a large screen, it's no surprise that battery life is pretty average
Full Review and Specification for the HTC Desire HD
The HTC Desire gained plaudits from the industry, and now HTC has come back with a bigger - and probably better - offering in the shape of the HTC Desire HD. But don't dismiss it as just another follow-up device - the Desire HD is very much a new phone in its own right; it has a new look, a bigger display and a better operating system. Whatever, HTC has certainly put itself under some pressure to deliver something even better than the Desire, and to offer a plausible alternative for iPhone fans.
First appearances
With its slick aluminium chassis, the Desire HD probably has more of the look of the HTC Legend, rather than the Desire, which was Teflon based. On the back of the device you'll find a pair of removable covers. Underneath is a space to store the microSd card and SIM. On the right-hand side, the cover hides the battery storage space. This means it is possible to hot swap memory cards without the need to turn off the device first. Mind you, we were rather worried about the way in which the battery virtually falls out - if the battery cover became loose after prolonged use, would the battery fall out and get lost?
The Desire HD has very slim proportions, despite that huge 4.3in touchscreen, but it is really long, which makes it a bit cumbersome. We could still fit the device in a pocket, and we're big fans of large screens, but it may put off some users. We love that HTC has allowed the touch-screen to stretch to all the device's sides, apart from the bottom. Underneath the screen are four touch keys for search, Back, Menu and Home - unlike the original Desire, which had hard keys for these functions.
Touch-keys are not always too responsive but those on the Desire HD have no such problems; there's enough surface area to make sure that you get a good key press. The home key is quite comforting - at any time you can hit it and go straight back to the device's home screen (that's the one with HTC's well-known digital clock interface). If you hit the home key when you're viewing the main screen, up will pop seven screens as thumbnails; this means you can quickly touch the one you want and go right there, rather than having to go through them all. You can also do this with a pinching movement.
HTC Sense UI
HTC has always been big on customisation, but the Desire HD goes one better, with the help of the fantastic HTC Sense user interface. HTC has even gone so far as to add a dedicated customisation icon - this takes the shape of an artist's palette and paintbrush and is located in the bottom right-hand corner of the display. With the customisation icon, it is possible to edit home screens and change wallpaper; you can even alter the design and colours of Google's notification bar, which you'll find at the top of the display. This is where you'll be able to see social network activity, messages, updates and new emails. Pull the bar down and you'll be rewarded with a scrolling list of the most recent programs used - a nifty addition. Pulling down the notification bar is achieved by putting your thumb right at the top of the display, so that it overlaps onto the surrounding edge - it feels a little strange.
Getting social
We have to say; we think HTC offers the best social network integration experience of any of the phone manufacturers, thanks to Friend Stream, which manages to sync Twitter and Facebook contacts with no repeats. Pop a ‘What's on your mind' status and it will add an update on both networks; you can state what sort of news you want to see from which networks and are able to review the history of your conversation with specific contacts; you can also see photos they have put up on social networks. We were also impressed with the email facility - pop in your password and email address and you're off. Choose whether you want to have one stream of all your accounts merged together, or filter to look at all your email conversations with one contact, all mails with attachments or unread mails. It's the closest we've seen on a mobile device to a real desktop email experience. It's handy that the device remembers your email addresses, so that you don't need to re-enter them to log in to other accounts. The dedicated ‘com' key on the virtual keyboard (whether it is in landscape or portrait mode) is another bonus.
Underneath all this cleverness is Android's latest version of its operating system: FROYO 2.2. In short, it offers a faster user experience, voice search and dictation, and allows you to play flash video, like that embedded on a number of sites such as the BBC. We're generally very keen on Android, but we have to say it is not as smooth as the Apple OS, so it's great that HTC has managed to counteract this by adding its own skin of customisable menus and large icons.
Web browsing
Going online proved enjoyable, whether it was via W-Fi or HDSPA, thanks to the hugely responsive accelerometers and the excellent screen, which made watching videos a joy. Videos in landscape mode are particularly impressive, but we must add a note of caution - watch where you hold the phone if you're using both hands - because of the size of the display, we often found that a thumb would brush the edge of the screen and whisk us away to another page.
There are some useful features - hold a finger on any part of a website (except a picture or video) and a new window pops up offering three choices. You can choose to copy text - in which case the area will be magnified so that you can highlight the required text and copy it onto an email, text message or social network site. Quick Lookup offers the facility to highlight a word and then look it up on Google, Wikipedia, Google Translate, and Google Dictionary - even YouTube. Share Via offers the facility to post the link to the page either into a text or email or onto Twitter or Facebook. The only thing that came up short was that you can only view four pages at a time - but then we reckon it's rare that you'd need to look at more than four web pages all at the same time!
The HTC Desire HD has its full quota of media credentials. Yes it plays flash video, as we have mentioned, but it also offers great sound thanks to both surround sound and Dolby settings - just try listening in either of these, and go back to ‘normal' mode and you'll be amazed at the difference. It's hardly surprising, then, that there is a 3.5mm headphone socket, even though it is on the bottom of the handset. HTC assures us this is because it means if you keep your phone in your pocket with the 'phones plugged in; when you pull it out, it will be facing the right way - it seems they've thought of everything!
Snapper-happy
The HTC Desire HD has an eight-megapixel camera on-board, which makes it the best-equipped Android phone in terms of snapper so far (yes, we know the HTC Mozart has a Xenon Flash, too, but that is a Windows Phone 7 device). It's a shame that there is no lens protector, nor a dedicated camera key - instead you have to use a virtual icon on screen to switch it on, which we're not keen on. But we were impressed with the dual LED flash and there are a good dozen or so effects to play around with - they also offer the chance to preview before taking the photo. If you turn the phone around from portrait to landscape orientation, for instance, the virtual icons realign too, which is handy. The name will have given away the fact that the Desire HD offers high definition video, but we felt rather let down by the video recording facilities on offer. It's not awful, and does allow you to zoom in and out while recording, to record up to an hour's worth of footage, and to use the flash and the effects offered on the still camera. But we found it a shame that the video camera took some time to get used to changes in light, which resulted in rather amateurish footage.
Finding your way
One of the Desire HD's home screens has been designated for HTC's own mapping service, Footprints. It utilises Route 66's navigational technology which is fabulous, and offers ATM and petrol station locations, voice instructions and the option to call points of interest directly. However - there isn't much more on offer here than on Google Maps, which is also pre-loaded on the handset - and of course, you'll pay nothing more for the Google facility than data rates. Both options worked well, though, and there was a speedy A-GPS fix that stayed accurate and strong throughout our testing.
We could go on about the features on the Desire HD, but we're running out of space. But before we go we must just mention two more things: the highly useful call blocking facility, which lets you flag up numbers in your address book that you can divert straight to voicemail, and the Amazon MP3 store, which gives iTunes a run for its money, with loads of albums and singles available to buy, many at a cheaper price than Apple's store.
The verdict
At the beginning of this review, we said HTC had its work cut out improving on the already acclaimed HTC Desire, but it's done it with abundance. Okay, it may not have the initial wow factor, but that's mostly because we have already been wowed by the original and now know what to expect. But it does everything magnificently, from its perfect navigation to its fabulous social networking facilities. In fact, there are only two kinds of people who won't like it - those who find its case a tad too long, and the other is called Steve Jobs and runs a rather large technology firm named after a fruit. Not much we can do about that.
written by : Unknown | published In : Senin, 12 November 2012 | article Title: HTC Desire HD | Url : http://doom-mobi.blogspot.com/2012/11/htc-desire-hd.html | Please like and share this article to support this blog
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Unknown - Senin, 12 November 2012
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