Photo call
It seems to deliver in these areas too, as it’s noticeably quicker skipping through the menus and apps than previous HTC Android handsets, even the very recent Incredible S, currently running on Android 2.2. The Desire S has a 1GHz single core processor, but that doesn’t hold it up much in general use. The new dual core processors are likely to show their mettle with advanced gaming and other apps, but for general use, this is just about as fast as it needs to be.
Messaging and Friendstream
Compared to the original Desire, the S is now beefed up with 768MB of RAM (from 576MB) and the internal storage has been almost doubled to 1GB. Its MicroSD expansion accepts cards up to 32GB, but the card capacity you get with the handset will depend on the network or supplier.
HTC has taken advantage of Gingerbread’s dual camera capability to add a 1.3Mp camera to the front for video calling. Unfortunately, it’s not true video calling, since you can’t use it over your network – you’ll need to instal a third party app such as Fring, from the Google Market, and connect to the Internet to use it.
HTC’s ever-popular Sense user interface which sits on top of Android has had a few tweaks too, with a function that turns down the ringer volume when you pick it up… and silences it altogether when you turn it over. And previous goodies have returned, such as the FriendStream widget which pulls together your social networking and message updates. As with previous Androids, pulling in your Facebook contacts and syncing with your Outlook contacts and calendar is easy and straightforward using HTC Sync.
Browser
The Android browser now supports Flash video – so you’ll be able to see more of those fancy animated sites than the iPhone can – and the intuitive text wrapping and pinch to zoom makes surfing the web always fun and never a chore.
Next page: Colour me bad?
COMMENTS
Meh! Soft buttons
What is it with most android phones going the soft button route?? They're crap and they don't work as well as a hard button does.
Living the HTC desire
I got a HTC desire a few months back opting for the standard version over the HD version..
reading this review, I think I would have still made the same choice, and opting for the older (and cheaper) version. All the new stuff appears to be stuff that I would just not be interested in using.. the faster cpu would be nice, but every app I throw at the phone now all work fine. maybe in a years time there will be some really stunning games to play that would benefit from the extra core.
as for the camera. the stock camera software is not good on the old version, but after a trial of camera360 I paid for the premium version, which gives much better results than the stock camera app. (also, get a phone camera lenspen).
as I rooted my desire there are plenty of options to update the ROM software and there are already roms available based on gingerbread and am sure there will be version ported from the desire s to the desire any time soon... I rooted mine to get rid of the customisations that three dump on the phone and reverted to a stock HTC rom. then I found ROM based on a stock desire, but that wll use some of your SD card memory space as system memory to get around the poor limitations on available memory for apps. even on this new desire-s system memory will still be limited !
still,,, the HTC desire is a class phone, the phone that every iphone user if they are honest wishes they had got !
Mines the one wit hthe phone in the pocket that I decide what it can and cant do !!
There is NO NFC on this phone either
Wake up El Reg, this is the second phone you said is NFC ready but it actually isn't!
Just because they come with Gingerbread, which would support it doesn't mean they have the hardware for it!
In this case HTC even said "the extra bulk an NFC module would introduce wasn’t worth it given the limited availability of NFC services."
re: Original Desire.
I still have the Original Desire - I still love the Original Desire.
Yes it has the volume lowering when you pick the phone up - and silencing when you flip it over.
The camera is actually not that bad.
Runs whatever I have thrown at it so far.
My biggest gripe is that even with Froyo, internal space is limited and runs out quickly - but this would be easily overcome if the two biggest apps (facebook and twitter) would allow "Move to SD" instead they sit there consuming upto 20mb of application data which is a pain.
Also a pain is that MOST of the Google apps cannot be installed to SD either!.
What happens next with my phone will depend on what happens when Gingerbread arrives in a few weeks, there are rumours it further reduces the amount of space left in the phone - might be time to root after that.
I am on Three, I love their Network and I got the phone early enough that they had not had a chance to brand it :)
However - my next Android phone WILL be a HTC - but I have another year to go on this contract yet. UNLIMITED DATA + FREE TETHERING - how can anyone not love that? and I am in the middle of the Scottish Borders but I still get HSPDA at 7(ish)mbs woooooo
Double tap zoom with text column
Errr, the stock android browser on my original desire has done this on 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 android versions. I have a vague recollection that my old G1 also did this on 1.6.
