The HTC Desire is the pinnacle of Android achievement thanks to HTC's Sense interface. We've seen 1GHz Snapdragon-toting iPhone killers before, but the Desire is a cut above them all. It's not that it offers Wi-Fi, A-GPS, HSDPA and a headphone jack, because they all do.
What makes the Desire special is that the mix of power and functionality is teamed with HTC's Sense interface to make the whole experience silky smooth and, dare we say it, iPhone-esque.
You can now pile up live-updating widgets and shortcuts on up to seven customisable home screens, all viewable as thumbnails with a press of the Home button.
ADVERTISEMENT
For social networkers, Friendstream lets you view a list of friends' Facebook, Twitter and Flickr feeds, as well as the usual email and SMS.
The onscreen keyboard is the best in the business; almost magical in its ability to discern what you intended to type.
The screen is massive at 3.7-inches, and with an 800x480 resolution you get a lot of information in one go.
ADVERTISEMENT
Watching video is also a classy experience as long as you're indoors – OLED really doesn't love the sunshine. The web browsing is another high point. It matches the iPhone for multi-touch smoothness then betters it by adding Flash as standard.
Not every video plays as well as you'd like, but it's great for seeing embedded video.
Multi-touch works great, with the sensitivity of the larger display meaning pinch-to-zoom is arguably superior to the iPhone.
When you also consider HTC has thrown in push email, an overhauled music player and Google's new Maps Navigation turn-by-turn Satnav, this is the best all-round smartphone in this test.
The only drawbacks are a battery that demands nightly charging and Google Market which, though improving, still lags well behind Apple's App Store for both quality and quantity of apps.
LOVE - The large and responsive OLED touch screen is great for video and the web browser is as fast and intuitive as anything on the market
HATE - Battery life is a little suspect and the Bluetooth connection can be patchy at times. OLED suffers in sunlight
WE SAY - The HTC Desire out-specs and out-performs all other phones, and looks attractive whilst doing so. It's over to Apple et al to rise to its challenge.