HTC Wildfire review: Desire Mini

20 July 2010
Occasionally HTC takes a little break from high-end smartphones and dips its toes in the waters of the lower midrange. The HTC Wildfire is a down-sized, down-clocked and down-priced version of the HTC Desire. If Sony Ericsson can do it with the X10...

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  • m
  • mk2u
  • tew
  • 28 Jul 2010

To - vivek dixit

MS Office files - Check
PDF files - Check

    • v
    • vivek dixit
    • t}g
    • 27 Jul 2010

    I want to buy this product bt i wana know wheather this can open MS Office files like Word, excel & PDF.m confussed. can any body reply on that?

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • mbT
      • 27 Jul 2010

      So can we, or can we not install Android Eclair on the tattoo?
      I´m getting confused since I was told it would eventually not be possible?

        • m
        • mk2u
        • tev
        • 26 Jul 2010

        Using the wildfire for about 2 weeks now...

        Overall, great phone for its price..

        U want to get the Desire or the Samsung Galaxy S, but it's jus too expensive...go for the wildfire!

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • p@x
          • 25 Jul 2010

          In my country the legend is at least 150 euros more expensive, now I wouldn't give that much money for a screen only. Btw u guys were spoiled by the desire and legends' amoled screens and that's why u were so rough on the device. I've had it for 3 days now and i can say that things are not as dramatic as you are trying to make people thing. Guys if u want a good review go to www.coolsmartphone.com

            • W
            • Wilbert
            • LBb
            • 23 Jul 2010

            Ooops. My bad, you did talk about the battery life, you did it better than Engadget or others did. Best review about the Wildfire I have read.

            PS: When I posted my first comment I had just made a quick "batt" search through the ten pages so I apologize.

              • W
              • Wilbert
              • LBb
              • 23 Jul 2010

              Great review but after reading 10 pages you had no word on battery life. WTF?

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • LEX
                • 23 Jul 2010

                I don't understand shit with all these crappy names. Why don't they name their phones LowRange 1, 2, 3, 4... MidRange 1, 2, 3, 4, and HighRange etc...???

                You can't remember the phones when they have names like Cookie, Wave, ... well. I can't remember any other.. I'm telling you, hard to remember. Something more like the Nokia notation is better =3

                  • N
                  • Neostar
                  • BwV
                  • 22 Jul 2010

                  I still think we need a better explanation of the Wildfire's video playback capabilities. And also does the yxplayer and rockplayer apps work...

                    • K
                    • Khan
                    • 3LW
                    • 22 Jul 2010

                    lol
                    gsmarena changed the review now to not include the comparison to Legend. Not sure whether it's bad that they were wrong in the first place, or good that they were openminded enough to listen to the opinions of their readers. I'm gonna go with the latter. Kudos to gsmarena to know when they are wrong. A lesson apple could learn from. ;)

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • 0Bh
                      • 22 Jul 2010

                      Anonymous, 22 Jul 2010not a good review, they can't compare this phone to legend.One sentence at the very end of the review makes it bad? I don't think so. Did you read only the last comparison or the whole 10 pages review?

                      Plus it's already fixed.

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • nTf
                        • 22 Jul 2010

                        not a good review, they can't compare this phone to legend.

                          • K
                          • Khan
                          • Scn
                          • 21 Jul 2010

                          Lidodido, 21 Jul 2010Khan: Actually, don't just look at prisjakt.nu. The more se... more@Lidodido
                          Haha, yeah, I just grabbed the first prices I saw at prisjakt. But still, the price difference between Legend and Wildfire is still significant. Just as you, I would rather questions Legends place in the HTC lineup since it almost cost as much as Desire. When they announced the two phones at almost the same time, I thought that Legend was going to be the successor to Hero and with about the same price(middle segment to budget) and that that Desire would be the flagship model. Instead it costs almost as much as Desire. It only has a place as a designer model that will lure some iphone buyers that only goes on looks.
                          Yes, I wonder where gsmarena got those prices for Wildfire and Legend. Although I'm starting to suspect that the writer of the review mixed up the prices of Hero and Legend.

                            • M
                            • Mak
                            • pu2
                            • 21 Jul 2010

                            This is a completely biased review. Anyone could easily guess it. It only highlights the negatives throughout the review which you don’t find in any other review. Hmmm… what would gsmarena get profited by this??? This is a budget mobile for the starters of android devices. Guys this have sense ui which is the best of the lot in the market now. It has the same hardware configuration of legend minus the screen and processor speed difference of only “72 MHz” processor. See the table below from the comparison page of the site. it’s a best value for money mobile out there now. Grab yours

                            General
                            2G Network
                            Wildfire = GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
                            Legend = GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
                            3G Network
                            Wildfire = HSDPA 900 / 2100
                            Legend = HSDPA 900 / 2100
                            HSDPA 850 / 1900 - American version

                            Announced
                            Wildfire = 2010, May
                            Legend = 2010, February
                            Status
                            Wildfire = Available. Released 2010, May.
                            Legend = Available. Released 2010, March.

                            Size Dimensions
                            Wildfire = 106.8 x 60.4 x 12 mm
                            Legend = 112 x 56.3 x 11.5 mm

                            Weight
                            Wildfire = 118 g
                            Legend = 126 g

                            Display Type
                            Wildfire = TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
                            Legend = AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors

                            Size
                            Wildfire = 240 x 320 pixels, 3.2 inches
                            Legend = 320 x 480 pixels, 3.2 inches

                            Wildfire
                            - Multi-touch input method
                            - Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate
                            - Touch-sensitive controls
                            - Proximity sensor for auto turn-off
                            - Optical trackpad
                            - HTC Sense UI
                            - Turn-to-mute and lift-to-dim-out a call

                            Legend
                            - Sense UI
                            - Multi-touch support
                            - Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate
                            - Optical trackpad

                            Sound
                            Alert types
                            Wildfire = Vibration, MP3
                            Legend = Vibration, MP3, WAV ringtones
                            Speakerphone
                            Wildfire = Yes
                            Legend = Yes
                            Wildfire = 3.5 mm audio jack
                            Legend = 3.5 mm audio jack


                            Memory
                            Wildfire = Legend
                            Phonebook = Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
                            Call records = Practically unlimited

                            Wildfire =
                            Internal
                            384 MB RAM; 512 MB ROM

                            Legend =
                            Internal
                            384 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM

                            Card slot
                            Wildfire = Legend
                            microSD, up to 32GB, buy memory microSD, up to 32GB, buy memory


                            Data
                            GPRS
                            Wildfire = Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
                            Legend = Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
                            EDGE
                            Wildfire = Class 10, 236.8 kbps
                            Legend = Class 10, 236.8 kbps
                            3G
                            Wildfire = HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps
                            Legend = HSDPA,7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 2 Mbps

                            WLAN
                            Wildfire = Legend
                            Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
                            Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g

                            Bluetooth
                            Wildfire = Legend
                            Yes v2.1 with A2DP

                            Wildfire = Legend
                            Infrared port No

                            USB
                            Wildfire = Legend
                            Yes, microUSB v2.0

                            Camera
                            Wildfire = Legend
                            Primary
                            5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
                            5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash

                            Features
                            Wildfire = Smile detection, geo-tagging
                            Legend = Geo-tagging
                            Video
                            Wildfire = Legend
                            Yes Yes
                            Secondary
                            No No


                            Features
                            OS
                            Wildfire = Legend
                            Android OS, v2.1 (Eclair)
                            Android OS v2.1 (Eclair)

                            CPU
                            Wildfire = Qualcomm MSM 7225 528 MHz processor
                            Legend = Qualcomm MSM 7227 600 MHz processor

                            Messaging
                            Wildfire = Legend
                            SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
                            SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM

                            Browser
                            Wildfire = Legend
                            HTML
                            HTML

                            Radio
                            Wildfire = Legend
                            Stereo FM radio with RDS
                            Stereo FM radio with RDS

                            Games
                            Wildfire = Legend
                            Yes
                            Yes

                            Colors
                            Wildfire = Black, Brown, White, Red
                            Legend = Gray, Black

                            GPS
                            Wildfire = Legend
                            Yes, with A-GPS support
                            Yes, with A-GPS support

                            Java
                            Wildfire = Legend
                            Via third party application
                            Via third party application

                            Wildfire
                            - Digital compass
                            - Dedicated search key
                            - Facebook, Flickr, Twitter integration
                            - Google Search, Maps, Gmail
                            - YouTube, Google Talk, Picasa integration
                            - MP3/AAC+/WAV/WMA9 player
                            - MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV9 player
                            - Voice memo
                            - T9

                            Legend
                            - Aluminum unibody
                            - Dedicated search key
                            - MP3/eAAC+/WAV player
                            - MP4/H.263/H.264 player
                            - Google Search, Maps, Gmail,
                            - YouTube, Google Talk
                            - Document viewer
                            - Photo viewer/editor
                            - Organizer
                            - Voice memo
                            - T9


                            Battery
                            Wildfire = Standard battery, Li-Ion 1300 mAh
                            Legend = Standard battery, Li-Ion 1300 mAh

                            Stand-by
                            Wildfire = Up to 480 h (2G) / Up to 690 h (3G)
                            Legend = Up to 440 h (2G) / Up to 560 h (3G)
                            Talk time
                            Wildfire = Up to 7 h 20 min (2G) / Up to 8 h 10 min (3G)
                            Legend = Up to 7 h (2G) / Up to 6 h 10 min (3G)


                            Misc
                            Price group
                            Wildfire = About 300 EURO
                            Legend = About 400 EURO

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • 3T%
                              • 21 Jul 2010

                              confused, 21 Jul 2010too confused whether to choose wildfire (android) or htc hd... moreI would definitely buy Wildfire because of the Android OS. WinMo is useless and WinPho 7 is coming soon.

                              It seems you should sacrifice the live wallpapers. I'm sure you can live without them. In fact I'm not sure HTC Sense UI allows them. Perhaps that's the reason why they are missing.

                              Go play with an HTC phone and you'll see why you should buy one ;)

                                • c
                                • confused
                                • K2G
                                • 21 Jul 2010

                                too confused whether to choose wildfire (android) or htc hd mini (windows).....i really want the option of live animated wallpaper which i heard wildfire doesn't have (in htc hd mini its available)....but also want an android phone....WHAT TO DO??? HELP!!!

                                have to buy one of these in 2 days....please help me!!!

                                  • t
                                  • torrentblock
                                  • ixY
                                  • 21 Jul 2010

                                  my girlfriend went from a Sony Ericsson v630 or something like that to this phone. she is still blown away by it.

                                  i think it's a little narrow sighted to criticise the screen too much.
                                  she had a choice between this and the legend and she preferred the styling of this phone. it still retains the android functionality.

                                  i doubt ANYONE will go to this phone after having an iPhone or Desire. it's really not aimed at people like that. for most people the screen resolution will be an upgrade.

                                    • L
                                    • Lidodido
                                    • s3P
                                    • 21 Jul 2010

                                    Khan: Actually, don't just look at prisjakt.nu. The more serious retailers take around 2700 (270EUR) for the Wildfire and 4100 (410EUR) for the Legend. Though that doesn't matter, it's still 140 Euro's for a bunch of more pixels and some metal which almost cuts your ear while speaking. I wouldn't pay 140 Euros just for a sharper display, and since the build-quality of the Wildfire is astonishing for that price (million times more rigid than the X10 Mini) I don't know what all the fuzz is about. Of course it has a place in the HTC Line-up. I'd rather question the Legend since the Desire basically cost the same.

                                    I'd like to know what prices your verdict is based on since they're obviously a lot different from here in Sweden.

                                      • K
                                      • Khan
                                      • Scn
                                      • 21 Jul 2010

                                      Wildfire_Fan, 21 Jul 2010Dunno why GsmArena mentioned and compared Legend wrt Wildfi... moreYes, I agree, they are not comparable. If I could get a Legend for almost the same price as the Wildfire, then there would have been no doubt for me(since I'd get a standard resolution screen then with more aps and better picture). But the Legend cost as much as Desire with worse specs(but nicer looks,since it's a designer for more than a tech phone).

                                      The wildfire is very hard to beat for the price. In that budgetsegment, it's only SE X10 mini(and pro) and X8 that beats it in the specs, but SE has worse software(SEs own shell is worse than vanilla, while HTCs Sense is a nice addition over vanilla android). If SE can get their gear in motion and release X8 with 2.2, it's the only threat to Wildfire in the budget android class.

                                      Legend is not really comparable at all to Wildfire. I'm curious where everybody gets the numbers that Legend only costs a couple of euros more than Wildfire.

                                        • W
                                        • Wildfire_Fan
                                        • GFk
                                        • 21 Jul 2010

                                        Anonymous, 21 Jul 2010HTC Wildfire is 300 euro, HTC Legend is 340 euro. (SIM-free... moreDunno why GsmArena mentioned and compared Legend wrt Wildfire...

                                        HTC Legend costs GBP 350 on Expansys,Amazon etc while Wildfire is at GBP 230...while HTC desire is GBP 399

                                        Btw Wildfire is a great entry level light on wallet Andrioid Phone...