HTC Desire Z

Editor's Review of the Desire Z

It's been a long time since HTC released a handset with a full QWERTY keypad, their last attempt being the T-Mobile G1 back in 2008. If you've been waiting for a high-end Android phone with a full keypad, it looks like your lucky day has finally arrived.

Design/Build

There's no doubt that the HTC Desire Z is a good-looking handset, it's 3.7 inch screen coupled with a full slide out keypad. Some of you may find it a little bulky, the handset measuring in at 119 x 60.4 x 14.16mm and weighing 180g, making it less pocket-friendly than its sibling, the HTC Desire HD.

They keypad, however, is the handset's selling point. The keyboard itself is one of the best on the market, providing you with raised buttons spaced perfectly apart, perfect for people with large thumbs and long nails. The keypad is coupled with an optical trackpad, which although unnecessary, does prove handy for scrolling through text,

One bad point is the fact that the HTC Desire Z is equipped with an 800MHz processor, compared to the 1GHz processor that we would like to have seen. However, this may be because the QWERTY keypad requires less processing power than touch screen typing, so we can forgive HTC this time.

OS and Interface

The HTC Desire Z comes equipped with Android 2.2, a vast improvement on its predecessor. The best feature of Android 2.2 is its integration with HTCSense.com, an online portal where you can call, locate and wipe personal data from your phone. It also brings with it HTC Sense UI 2.0, a slick interface providing you with easy access to your applications, with an impressive response time. A number of Google widgets, of course, come pre-installed, so you have instant access to Google Search, Maps, and Goggles.

It may not be equipped with the whopping 4.3 inch screen of the Desire HD, but the 3.7 inch screen on the HTC Desire Z is still very impressive. We would have liked to see a Super AMOLED display, but the Super LCD still provides a bright, clear image, perfect for viewing images and films.

Multimedia & Storage

The HTC Desire Z comes equipped with a 5 megapixel camera, and although it does the job, we would have preferred a dual LED flash, the camera struggling to maintain its quality in areas with poor lighting. However, it makes up for this with its other features, as photos can be pre-tagged before heading to Facebook, and also viewed back on your home theatre system.

Its HD video recorder also struggles in low lighting, but it does record some great quality footage, which you can go on to edit and add effects to.

The built in music player is a great little feature. It's easy to use, looks cool and sounds good, although it lacks the Dolby Digital Surround Sound of the Desire HD. The handset is also equipped with 4GB of storage for all of your music, which can be expanded up to 32GB with a memory card.

Everything Else

We've already established that the HTC Desire Z is a great handset for staying in touch, due to its full QWERTY keypad. When coupled with the device's impressive texting, email and social networking support - the keyboard really shines. The handset supports multiple e-mail accounts and brings Facebook and Twitter updates straight to your homescreen.

Conclusion

It may not have the whopping features of the HTC Desire HD, but we must remember, the Desire Z doesn't feature as high a price-tag either. It's the best QWERTY smartphone we've got our hands on, and is perfect for those of you who love to stay in touch at all times.