It was over 3 months ago that we first brought you the news that HTC would finally be bringing a 4.3″ screen device to the UK. I have to be honest, I would have guessed it was even longer ago than that, it feels like an eternity! Not only would it have a huge 4.3″ screen, but an 8 mega pixel camera, dual flash, FroYo and a whole new version of Sense UI!
The specs are all very impressive, HTC have been pimping it with packed out press events and everyone’s on the edge of their seat to see the device in action. It’s here now, was it worth the wait?
The Screen
If you’ve watched my unboxing video, you’ll know already that one of my first impressions of the device was that it feels kinda heavy and that the screen looks a little washed out. Both of these may be a little unfair when you consider what I’m comparing it to is a Samsung Galaxy S, which both is one of the lightest devices and has what is probably the best screen on an Android device. Having said that, someone commented that even coming from their regular Desire, they were a little disappointed in the screen.
This is due to it being LCD rather than AMOLED, or even SLCD perhaps. Having said all of this, if you crank up the brighteness it still looks pretty amazing, maybe partly because it’s so big. I watched some YouTube videos on it and it actually made me smile. Even if the colours aren’t as vibrant as others, it’s still very crisp and clear.
Yesterday was rather a bright day and I should give it credit, I could see the screen well enough to use it, even with the sun shinning directly on to it, much better than my Nexus One used to be and maybe even a little better than the SGS.
One thing HTC had done is made good use of the space on the front of the device. The SGS screen is 87mm high out of the 122mm height of the device, compared to 94mm on the DHD which is the same height.
All in all, although it’s not as good as others, the screen is far from a weakness of the device.
Hardware
So as I mentioned, this is probably the heaviest device I’ve ever used, weighing in at 164grams. 45g heavier than the SGS and 29g above the original Desire, for me does make a bit of a difference. I use my SGS at the gym, it goes in my pocket and I hardly notice it’s there. The DHD I can feel weighing my shorts down somewhat. You could argue though, that this adds to it’s feel of quality. The HD certainly does feel well made, there’s no creaking, loose parts or wobbly keys.
The case itself is in the same design of the Legend, a uni-body case, with removable panels to insert a SIM card and battery. The only complaint I would have is the lens sticking out so far at the back makes it rather uneven and doesn’t feel right when sat on my desk.
As I played with my new toy I began to get quite excited. Already I had in my mind ‘How much could I sell the SGS for?’ I moved all my data over on to the DHD and started installing all my apps. My dream of the most amazing device came crashing down around my ears when I installed BeyondPod and played one of my podcasts… oh dear. This is a £450+ top end, cutting edge device, with a speaker I would expect to find in a wrist watch! How hard can it be? Even the San Francisco, at £99 had a decent speaker, this thing I had to lean towards it to hear what was being said.
For some, this probably isn’t an issue. For me, I use my phone while I’m doing chores or making meals to listen to podcasts and that simply wont be possible with the Desire HD unless I use an external speaker. Considering it was hyped to have Dolby Mobile and SRS virtual surround sound, this was hugely disappointing.
Under the hood is a 1ghz Qualcomm 8255 Snapdragon processor, which is one digit different to the Desire’s 8250 Snapdragon. The new CPU is said to have better handling of graphics and all round better performance from the same speed.
The HD has made significant improvements in the storage and memory department, now boasting 768MB of RAM and 1½gig of internal storage, you wont be worrying about memory. Of course, you add to that a MicroSD card of up to 32gig and you’ve got no problems!
I have to say, I’m not a big fan of the few hard keys around the edge. The power button and volume rocker are quite flush with the device case and the slight angle on the top of the device makes pressing the power button a little tricky, especially with such a large device where fingers might struggle to reach up there.
This size issue is possibly a bit of a problem for some. I have quite big hands but I can’t actually grip and use the device. If I hold it in my right hand and try and press an icon in the top left corner, I come up about a centimeter short. Likewise, however I hold it, I can’t touch the top panel and then the bottom without adjusting my grip. For those with smaller hands, this really might be off putting.
Something I thought quite odd, was the fact they put the headphone socket on the bottom. Then I thought about it, when you hold it in your hand, if the socket is on the top, the wire only droops down anyway, so why not have it connect to the bottom. When you put the device in your pocket, does it matter if it’s upside down or not? No it doesn’t, so maybe it makes sense for it to be there?
Camera
The camera could be the best camera I’ve seen in a mobile device. I’m not bothered about megapixels, I could care less if I had 8 or 3 in my phone. Considering probably 90% of photo’s taken on a phone are for Facebook or Twitter, you don’t really need more than 2 mega pixels! I have an app that shrinks my photo’s down to upload them, I really don’t want them that big. Even 1 megapixel is 1200 by 800… that’s plenty!
Anyway, enough of my rant, this camera is 8 megapixels and every one of them looks great in the test shots I’ve taken. Even in poor light, I’ve taken pictures and the flash comes on and adjusts itself before the picture is taken. Photo’s I expected to be heavily over exposed came out looking great.
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