HTC Desire HD - The allround Performer

Introduction

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 bad-ass Android handset on our side of the pond but their timing is perfect now. We’re about to enter the holiday shopping spree and HTC Desire HD is in for the kill.





HTC Desire HD official photos

Powered by the latest Android 2.2 Froyo hand in hand with the latest HTC Sense, the HTC Desire HD is what the HD2 was to HTC Windows Mobile portfolio. With an 8-megapixel camera and HD video it may as well unsettle quite a few of the top smartphones out there. The innovative fast boot, the complete connectivity set and solid multimedia capabilities round off a great package. HTC might just have a natural bestseller on their hands.


You might want to have a closer look:

Key features:

• Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support
• 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• 4.3" 16M-color capacitive LCD touchscreen of WVGA resolution (480 x 800 pixels)
• Android OS v2.2 Froyo with HTC Sense UI
• Unibody design
• Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8255 1 GHz processor
• 768 MB RAM and 1.5 GB ROM
• 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and geotagging
• 720p video recording @ 25fps
• Wi-Fi b/g/n and DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS
• microSD slot up to 32GB (8GB card included)
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v2.1
• Smart dialing, voice dialing
• DivX/XviD video support
• Dolby Mobile and SRS sound enhancement
• HTC Locations app
• HTCSense.com integration
• Ultra-fast boot times (if you don’t remove battery)

Main disadvantages:

• LCD isn’t quite as impressive as Retina or Super AMOLED (lower contrast, more reflective)
• No dedicated camera key and no lens cover
• No front facing camera
• Quite heavy at 164 g (not that we mind)
• The two lids at the rear have questionable aesthetics and usability
• Disappointing audio reproduction quality
  

But there’s more to it. The HTC Desire HD is a mongrel. It doesn’t even warrant a name of its own. Desire is cheesy and HD is worn-out. And they both are OLD phones’ names. Alright, don’t take it literally. It’s not as simple as saying HTC got themselves a brand new phone out of two older ones. The HTC Desire HD goes beyond the massive screen and powerful hardware that we’ve already seen elsewhere.

HTC Desire HD live shots

But whatever the name – bad Snapdroids get all the attention. And we have one at our hands and no time to lose. Unboxing and hardware follow right after the jump.

Desire HD unboxed

The retail box of the HTC Desire HD has pretty standard contents: a USB charger, standard microUSB data cable and the usual paperwork.

There’s a one-piece headset with music controls (play/pause/skip) and a CD with HTC Sync. The supplied headphones aren't your only option though, since the Desire HD has a 3.5mm audio jack.





The HTC Desire HD unboxed

Also enclosed is an 8GB microSD card. The only thing we miss is a carrying pouch.
With a 4.3” screen, the Desire HD is one massive Snapdroid. Just the sound of this is enough to frighten, impress, excite and entice. On a more sober note, the enormous screen has its consequences. The overall size of the phone has crossed some usability lines for sure.

Previously rumored as HTC Ace

General	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 900 / 2100
	Announced	2010, September
	Status	Available. Released 2010, October

Size	Dimensions	123 x 68 x 11.8 mm
	Weight	164 g

Display	Type	LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	480 x 800 pixels, 4.3 inches
		- Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate - Proximity sensor for auto turn-off - HTC Sense UI - Multi-touch input method

Sound	Alert types	Vibration, MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes, check quality
		- Dolby Mobile and SRS sound enhancement

Memory	Phonebook	Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
	Call records	Practically unlimited
	Internal	1.5 GB; 768 MB RAM
	Card slot	microSD, up to 32GB, 8GB included, buy memory

Data	GPRS	Class 32
	EDGE	Class 32
	3G	HSDPA, 14.4 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA
	Bluetooth	Yes v2.1 with A2DP
	Infrared port	No
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0

Camera	Primary	8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, dual-LED flash, check quality
	Features	Geo-tagging, face detection
	Video	Yes, 720p
	Secondary	No

Features	OS	Android OS, v2.2 (Froyo)
	CPU	1 GHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 205 GPU, Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon
	Messaging	SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
	Browser	HTML
	Radio	Stereo FM radio with RDS
	Games	Yes
	Colors	Black, Brown
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support
	Java	Via third party application
		- Digital compass - Dedicated search key - Google Search, Maps, Gmail - YouTube, Google Talk, Picasa integration - MP3/AAC+/WAV/WMA9 player - DivX/Xvid/MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV9/player - Facebook, Twitter applications - Adobe Flash 10.1 - Voice memo - Predictive text input

Battery		Standard battery, Li-Ion 1230 mAh
	Stand-by	Up to 490 h (2G) / Up to 420 h (3G)
	Talk time	Up to 9 h 15 min (2G) / Up to 5 h 30 min (3G)