HTC Desire HD review: Most wanted

11 November 2010
Proceed with caution, big Snapdroids ahead. We guess that sign is due wherever someone mentions Desire HD. It’s big and bad and it takes no prisoners. HTC certainly took their time with releasing a badass Android handset on our side of the pond but ...

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  • k
  • kev
  • sw$
  • 13 Nov 2010

Anonymous, 12 Nov 2010Actually, on a SuperAMOLED, pictures and movies look "... moreah not at all, I love samsung, i've had many of their phones and believe they've only gotten better and have really found their groove now with the apple-like touch wiz. But the build quality of the SGS is terrible, the shell gives a great phone a cheap feel.Possibly to save weight but I for one would prefer to have a few more grams in my pocket, it lets you know the phone is there, rather than sacrificing quality materials used in the making of the expensive device. You want to hold it and for it to feel like it was worth the few hundred euro you just forked out for it. It was such a pity that they did not recreate the gorgeous brushed steel casing of the Wave. And the superAMOLED is breathtaking when you first see it, if you can see it through your own finger prints. But i'm a bit of a perfectionist and a camera is very important to me, but the images created on the screen do not reflect the scene I just snapped a photo of. Its all very well and good to say it looks gorgeous, it does, but it looks false, like watching a tv with the contrast and colours turned way up, it may look striking, but it would annoy the hell out of me. Its lovely with the menus and music player and all that, they aren't real objects, but when it comes to web browsing, photos, video, it just can't display anything realistically. Colours just look wrong, like they've been distorted and are glowing. I'm all for sharpness and clarity but thats not all they have achieved. And I just can't get over that they didn't include a flash, its a necessity these days. You can never take a decent photo on a night out, no matter how good the jittery night mode is, they should have included a flash. I'm not samsung bashing, i'm a big fan of theirs, i'm not writing out of anger, its more of disappointment. I know this won't bother others, each to their own, but thats just me. Neither phone is perfect, but they're both fantastic devices, I just think the Desire HD is the best all rounder on the market

    • X
    • Xman
    • srg
    • 13 Nov 2010

    Anonymous, 12 Nov 2010As a trance music lover the audio quality is soooooo import... moreyeah man, I feel you. There are 3 important thing about listening to Trance music in a Smartphone: Sound quality (especially bass and low end sounds), The speed of the device to change the music to next file (like Markus schulz style- Non-stop music), and the output audio quality. I was really hoping for a smartphone other than iPhone to get these 3 things right (since I'm an anti-apple fan) especially in android department, but man, there is no better choice than iPhone. Yeah you might say galaxy S is good too BUT the galaxy sound quality (especially the bass) doesn't catch up with iPhone. DAMN !

      • b
      • baloo
      • LaC
      • 12 Nov 2010

      Well, SGS is better than this one. The super amoled doesn't compare with nothing existing on the market right now, maybe just with the retina, but in the direct sunlight is the best. From all of the people that actually seen a superamoled display there are maybe 5% that say that this have "unrealistic" colors, or it consumes "3x more battery", but everyone wants one. If samsung could keep up the demand every phone in the market would have such a beautiful screen.

      But if I were to choose between iPhone4, Desire HD and SGS, I'll choose iPhone because it has the most responsive OS although WP7 isn't far away ...

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • pJG
        • 12 Nov 2010

        I am fed up with this phone. It slows down and crashes all the time.


        I will get the Windows Phone 7 or iphone as they are so much faster and easier to use than this.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • piM
          • 12 Nov 2010

          As a trance music lover the audio quality is soooooo important for me. By buying a smartphone I plan to skip carring another mp3 device so I'm not into DHD.

          Been waiting next-gen(3.0) android HTCs.

            • m
            • m7svk
            • 3H%
            • 12 Nov 2010

            Anonymous, 12 Nov 2010Actually, on a SuperAMOLED, pictures and movies look "... morenot everybody care about screen, I need PRO smartphone, and this why I choose Desire HD, superamoled - amoled - retina = display, which is 1 part of the phone, and rest ...??? leading Desire HD, latest procesor, 768 RAM, its fast yet available phone.., some people care about that..,

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • ttc
              • 12 Nov 2010

              kev, 12 Nov 2010I think gsm are being a bit hard on the desire hd, i know t... moreActually, on a SuperAMOLED, pictures and movies look "wow!" And that's exactly the kind of reviews the technology's received from all corners of the reviewing world--"wow!" Show it to anyone, and their jaw drops open at the sheer beauty of the SAMOLED display. Fake colors, maybe, but who gives a sh**? The moment you set your eyes on that display, you're blown away by its beauty. But then, it's understandable, and pretty much so, for a typically jealous anti-Samsung fanboy of some brand to be writhing in his seat in agony at every positive review it receives. And those have been too numerous to count.

                • J
                • JaM
                • MeH
                • 12 Nov 2010

                kev, 12 Nov 2010I think gsm are being a bit hard on the desire hd, i know t... moreregarding SAMOLED - you dont need to have 100% Brightness all the time... with mine i use 0% Brightness and picture still looks better than on other SLCD or iPhones.. but in direct daylight 100% brightness makes phone usable even in summer...

                I dont care about plastic rear.what i do care is 118g of weight.. i dont feel it in my pocket at all..

                about photos - did you ever tried to make a picture with SGS? even in low light you will get good pictures with night mode, of course you cant make pictures in pitch black..

                and here we go to battery... no smartphone can touch SGS...

                  • b
                  • bb
                  • nh7
                  • 12 Nov 2010

                  HTC makes some very good phones,the worst thing is the support.They released a buggy software for HTC Legend before six months,no update at all since then.I personally will think twice before buying from them again.

                    • R
                    • Rob
                    • S3G
                    • 12 Nov 2010

                    Anonymous, 12 Nov 2010Going to upgrade this weekend: IPHONE 4 OR HTC DESIRE HD... moreNip down to your local mobile shop and try them out. As you are coming from a phoone with a hardware keyboard you might want to try them to make sure you are comfortable with moving across. Both work very well in my opinion but neither are as a good as a solid keyboard. You may want to wait for the HTC Desire Z

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • iFs
                      • 12 Nov 2010

                      What's this heavy brick??? I won't carry a "mini-tablet" with me all the time but only a smartphone which has 3.5" screen or less, a lot of people thinking the same about this junk.

                        • R
                        • Rob
                        • S3G
                        • 12 Nov 2010

                        OK guys, I have had this phone for a couple of weeks and can answer a few questions. I have had iPhones, Samsung, Nokia and love them all but this HTC is very good indeed.

                        I had reservations about moving from iPhone to Android as I was worried about stability. I shouldn't have worried, the platform is rock solid.

                        I use it for work (email, phone, contacts, office documents) the HTC Desire HD performs brilliantly. Social networking integration is great so it performs just as well outside of work. I was worried about the keyboard having previously had a HTC HD2 which had an terrible keyboard however this is a great improvement almost as good as the iPhones which I consider to be the best touchscreen keyboard. All in all the software is first class; I really struggle to fault it.

                        Cons - Battery does seem to run out rather quickly for my liking although this is improving over time. I get just under a day of heavy use but expect I could increase this to two by changing email synch options and other bits. Also the camera can have a tendency to blur unless you have very steady hands, special effects and editing options are good though, as is the flash.

                        Screen - Personally I find the screen great and that is from someone coming from an iPhone 4 with retina. Yes if you compare them side by side then the HTC is a little lacking but in everyday use you really won't notice this because you will be spending so much time marvelling at the lovely big screen. Other than the HD2 this is the first phone I've had where surfing the net isn't an eye straining nightmare.

                        All in all, buy this phone, you really won't regret it.


                          • r
                          • radoranke
                          • 2NN
                          • 12 Nov 2010

                          Battery?, 12 Nov 2010Not a single word about the battery. Is it THAT BAD?yes it sucks

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • NaA
                            • 12 Nov 2010

                            Going to upgrade this weekend:

                            IPHONE 4 OR HTC DESIRE HD? Never used touch screens before...

                            Which one should i go for? on blackberry now so it's all new for me..

                            Thx Guys

                              • m
                              • m7svk
                              • ix1
                              • 12 Nov 2010

                              ishraj, 12 Nov 2010m worried abt the battery overall phone is damn gudif you know how to setup phone, you will be fine, still Mugen will bring end of month extended battery 1800mAh, and this will hold long enough..., phone is just great...

                                • i
                                • ishraj
                                • q@m
                                • 12 Nov 2010

                                m worried abt the battery
                                overall phone is damn gud

                                  • B
                                  • Battery?
                                  • TpV
                                  • 12 Nov 2010

                                  Not a single word about the battery. Is it THAT BAD?

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • uSQ
                                    • 12 Nov 2010

                                    that's my phone right there! perfect.

                                      • E
                                      • Ed
                                      • nFw
                                      • 12 Nov 2010

                                      Anonymous, 12 Nov 2010YES. 0,3 inch IS the diference between "perfect" ... moreThe bigger the better for me. I can palm a basketball one handed so prefer a big phone. Maybe the Streak is the way forward for me...

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • L51
                                        • 12 Nov 2010

                                        SOSmonster, 12 Nov 2010So we can measure the distance between "too big" ... moreYES. 0,3 inch IS the diference between "perfect" and "too big" for a lot of people.

                                        Your comment is not only stupid, but also irrelevant.