HTC Desire HD

Editor's Review of the Desire HD

Just when you thought it couldn't get much better, HTC introduce the Desire HD. It comes equipped with a huge display and more features than you can shake a stick at, and it looks great. What more could you ask for?

Design/Build

Well, we loved the way the HTC Desire looked, and now we've been given an even bigger version! The HTC Desire HD features a whopping 4.3 inch touchscreen, which may seem a little too big for some people, but luckily doesn't make the handset feel bulky or uncomfortable to use. The display manages to sit perfectly within the handsets chassis, which is carved from a single piece of aluminium, making the it fit perfectly in your hand.

OS and Interface

The HTC Desire HD comes equipped with Android 2.2 OS, bringing with it HTC's new Sense UI 2.0 which makes the interface slick and easy to use, and also adds some new features, such as the ability to scroll through your most used applications. It also comes with a new online portal, which allows you to remotely lock and wipe your phone if you're unlucky enough to use it.

The handset's selling point is its cinematic 4.3 inch LCD display, although we would have liked to see a Super AMOLED display like on the Samsung Galaxy S. We also find it a bit strange that the Desire HD has the same 480 x 800 WVGA pixel resolution as its predecessor. However, we can't complain, as the screen is perfect for viewing TV shows and films, providing you with a bright, clear image, even in direct sunlight.

Multimedia & Storage

Our favourite improvement from the HTC Desire is the Desire HD's powerful 8 megapixel camera with face recognition, autofocus and dual LED flash, making it perfect for taking pictures in areas with low-lighting. You are also provided with bags of photo-editing tools, including sepia and posterisation. Not only does the camera take great snaps, it can also record 720p HD video footage, complete with Dolby Mobile and SRS virtual surround sound. You also have the option to transfer your photos and videos to your HD TV via DLNA, perfect for sharing footage with your friends and family.

Music sounds great on the Desire HD's built in MP3 player too, mainly due to its upgraded Dolby Digital and virtual surround sound. You have plenty of storage for all your music files too, the handset coming equipped with 4GB of internal memory and a microSD slot for expansion.

Everything Else

Internet browsing and social networking is made easy on the Desire HD, which comes equipped with both 3G and WiFi connectivity. Its web browser comes with a new 'text flow' feature, which automatically resizes text on a page to fill the screen, making everything clear and easy to read. The browser also comes equipped with Adobe Flash support, making it easy to watch movies on your handset. Facebook and Twitter widgets can be downloaded straight to your homescreen too, although we would have liked them to come pre-installed.

E-mailing on the Desire HD is great too, as it supports multiple accounts, of which you can view messages in one unified inbox. It also colour codes messages in each account, to help you keep organized, and you can send messages super-fast using the handset's on-screen keypad.

You are also provided with a built-in GPS service called Locations, which is based on Google Maps. The service provides you with access to maps while offline, so its perfect for not using up your data allowance. It can guide you too, the screen automatically turning to give you instant orientation.

Conclusion

The HTC Desire HD had squared up to be a great smartphone, and although we initially had reservations about the whopping-great screen, I'd challenge anyone not to love it. It would be the perfect upgrade for any HTC Desire owner, as it comes packed full of tweaks and additional features which certainly prove that bigger is better.