Not overly impressed with HTC Desire

dave81uk · 20-07-2010, 12:14

Sure its lightening fast and it is a great phone, But its made of cheap plastic, I think I prefer my old iPhone 3G, sure its a bit slower than this but there is no thinking involved and everything just feels more polished. Does anyone else feel like this? To be honest I feel in the minority.

platelet · 20-07-2010, 12:18

Nope it's a fair comment, if you want pretty look at the judas phone, if you want pretty and functional look at the HTC legend, if you care more about function than form, then the desire wins.

for the record I have a Desire

moox · 20-07-2010, 12:20

I'll have to disagree about the "cheap plastic". Given that the 3G and 3GS had severe case cracking issues I'm not sure if it is really any better apart from, possibly, how it "feels".

I don't like the rear cover, the way it is held on and the way you remove it, though. Sounds like I've snapped something every time I do it.

dave81uk · 20-07-2010, 12:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by moox

I'll have to disagree about the "cheap plastic". Given that the 3G and 3GS had severe case cracking issues I'm not sure if it is really any better apart from, possibly, how it "feels".

I don't like the rear cover, the way it is held on and the way you remove it, though. Sounds like I've snapped something every time I do it.

Yes I thought the same myself when I got it, But I think I will return it and stick to my iPhone, even typing on it just isn't as good with my sausage digits,

Gormond · 20-07-2010, 13:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave81uk

Sure its lightening fast and it is a great phone, But its made of cheap plastic, I think I prefer my old iPhone 3G, sure its a bit slower than this but there is no thinking involved and everything just feels more polished. Does anyone else feel like this? To be honest I feel in the minority.

Yeah I have used a friends HTC Desire and thought the very same thing, the difference in build quality between it and the iPhone 4 is vast and I also thought it felt like cheap plastic.

There are rumours that the new Desire HD will use a unibody design so if you don't fancy another iPhone it might be worth your while just holding out for it.

moox · 20-07-2010, 13:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gormond

Yeah I have used a friends HTC Desire and thought the very same thing, the difference in build quality between it and the iPhone 4 is vast and I also thought it felt like cheap plastic.

It is interesting to note that even "cheap plastic" absorbs impact better than the glass of the iPhone 4.

(not even standard glass, but scratch-resistant glass, so it is even more brittle)

Gormond · 20-07-2010, 13:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by moox

It is interesting to note that even "cheap plastic" absorbs impact better than the glass of the iPhone 4.

(not even standard glass, but scratch-resistant glass, so it is even more brittle)

The front glass is the same stuff they use in planes and as strong as sapphire crystal so it doesnt break easily. The back however isn't as high a quality and can break quite easy, the only advantage is it's very easy to replace. For me I would rather glass than plastic (would rather aluminium though) but yet I will break easier than say the iPhone 3GS if dropped, possibly another reason to get a Bumper.

alanwarwic · 20-07-2010, 13:46

Cheap plastic is described as polycarbonate on the Macbook.
It has many wonderful properties such as staying cool on the lap and not hindering an antenna.
It certainly does not dent as easy as aluminium when dropped.
And of course it is not as smashing as glass.

Maybe now I would be ok with an iPhone in that I seem to have now stopped toppling and smashing my Bodium pyrex cafetieres.

dave81uk · 20-07-2010, 14:46

When I put the battery in it said half full, played with it 10 mins and it went flat, Now ok this may not be fair as I never charged the battery but I thought with it being half full would last a while anyway

GetFrodo · 20-07-2010, 15:05

You can never judge a battery on its first use - I think a few cycles are needed before it 'settles'. It wouldn't surprise me if the phone needs a few cycles before it correctly displays the battery status.

I'm pretty happy with my Desire in that respect, but tbh it's my first smartphone so can't compare. I also have a new yet basic Nokia - the battery lasts for approximately 12 years as far as I can tell

Flawed_Tactics · 20-07-2010, 16:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave81uk

When I put the battery in it said half full, played with it 10 mins and it went flat, Now ok this may not be fair as I never charged the battery but I thought with it being half full would last a while anyway

I presume that was from new, when i got mine the battery also said half full and got 3 n half hours of continuous use from it, maybe your new battery is faulty or just had less charge than indicated.

platelet · 20-07-2010, 16:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave81uk

Yes I thought the same myself when I got it, But I think I will return it and stick to my iPhone, even typing on it just isn't as good with my sausage digits,

Have you tried graffiti? it's not as quick as a conventional keyboard but it's fat finger friendly.

It's a port of the old palm data entry method, in place of the pop up keyboard you get a writing area where you just draw a letter at a time.

alanwarwic · 20-07-2010, 16:52

Seems to me you already had a half decent phone.
Beyond the placebo effect life is no doubt still the same.

legends wear 7 · 20-07-2010, 17:32

SwiftKey is the best keyboard application on the market in my opinion

dave81uk · 20-07-2010, 18:15

Oh dear, what is wrong with the speaker and headphone volume? The speaker distorts if its up any volume at all, and the headphones simply can't be heard even up full, and the radio, even on radio 1 it breaks up, I bought this as I wanted away from iPhone but think I'll have to stay.

john_locke · 20-07-2010, 18:21

You can't speak Ill of HTC on here, for it is the iPhone antidote. The grail of anti-appledom. All hail HTC! Android is the only fruit! It's open you see. So open, the Droid X has junk ware you can't remove on it!

moox · 20-07-2010, 18:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by john_locke

You can't speak Ill of HTC on here, for it is the iPhone antidote. The grail of anti-appledom. All hail HTC! Android is the only fruit! It's open you see. So open, the Droid X has junk ware you can't remove on it!

Believe it or not, I think the speaker on the Desire is a tad anemic too. I have noticed that I have to have the volume somewhat high to get a good listening volume too. The FM radio doesn't seem bad though, far better than some phone radios that I have used.

Unlike the Apple fanboys, the rest of the world can take criticism of products they own.

BTW - when Motorola becomes the #1 manufacturer of Android handsets there might be something to worry about. But HTC aren't quite so bad in their attempts to prevent rooting and reflashing.

sotek · 20-07-2010, 18:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by legends wear 7

SwiftKey is the best keyboard application on the market in my opinion

I know it's in closed beta but have you tried Swype? That's a game changer for the entire mobile field in my opinion. Simply brilliant.

legends wear 7 · 20-07-2010, 18:53

The droid x fiasco has put me off ever buying motorola, i've rooted every android i've owned, much prefer clean android without an overlay

dave81uk · 20-07-2010, 20:24

Well now, I thought i'd have another play around with it tonight, I only looked at it 10 mins early so thought I might be a bit quick to judge, Turned it on and I get "Removed SD Card" but the cards in it? So I pulled the battery out and removed the SD card and put it back in, turned it on and same issue, it appears to be fried after 10 mins use, amazing

Gormond · 20-07-2010, 20:32

You don't have a great deal of luck with phones lol

dave81uk · 20-07-2010, 20:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gormond

You don't have a great deal of luck with phones lol

I have to just laugh really, I had alot of issues getting the damn thing to begin with.

andyf94 · 20-07-2010, 21:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave81uk

Well now, I thought i'd have another play around with it tonight, I only looked at it 10 mins early so thought I might be a bit quick to judge, Turned it on and I get "Removed SD Card" but the cards in it? So I pulled the battery out and removed the SD card and put it back in, turned it on and same issue, it appears to be fried after 10 mins use, amazing

Not being rude mate, but it sounds like you'd already made up your mind from the first post (so many negative comments and then it turns out you've only just switched it on)..and nothing is going to change your mind.

Which is fine of course....but if you're going to live with something for a couple of years..give or take.....why not wait awhile and find out what it's really like, if you're going to make up your mind so quickly you may as well give it back

dave81uk · 20-07-2010, 21:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by andyf94

Not being rude mate, but it sounds like you'd already made up your mind from the first post (so many negative comments and then it turns out you've only just switched it on)..and nothing is going to change your mind.

Which is fine of course....but if you're going to live with something for a couple of years..give or take.....why not wait awhile and find out what it's really like, if you're going to make up your mind so quickly you may as well give it back

I was going to wait a while, I only had a quick play with it earlier so thought I may have been a bit quick to judge it considering all the great reviews it has, so went back to it tonight and and it come up with this card error.

moox · 20-07-2010, 21:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave81uk

I was going to wait a while, I only had a quick play with it earlier so thought I may have been a bit quick to judge it considering all the great reviews it has, so went back to it tonight and and it come up with this card error.

If you have another microSD card, have you tried putting that in?

20-07-2010, 12:14	#1
dave81uk Guest Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,402	Not overly impressed with HTC Desire Sure its lightening fast and it is a great phone, But its made of cheap plastic, I think I prefer my old iPhone 3G, sure its a bit slower than this but there is no thinking involved and everything just feels more polished. Does anyone else feel like this? To be honest I feel in the minority.

20-07-2010, 12:18	#2
platelet Forum Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: GL51 0EX Posts: 14,097	Nope it's a fair comment, if you want pretty look at the judas phone, if you want pretty and functional look at the HTC legend, if you care more about function than form, then the desire wins. for the record I have a Desire

20-07-2010, 12:20	#3
moox Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,645	I'll have to disagree about the "cheap plastic". Given that the 3G and 3GS had severe case cracking issues I'm not sure if it is really any better apart from, possibly, how it "feels". I don't like the rear cover, the way it is held on and the way you remove it, though. Sounds like I've snapped something every time I do it.

20-07-2010, 12:26	#4
dave81uk Guest Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,402	Quote: Originally Posted by moox I'll have to disagree about the "cheap plastic". Given that the 3G and 3GS had severe case cracking issues I'm not sure if it is really any better apart from, possibly, how it "feels". I don't like the rear cover, the way it is held on and the way you remove it, though. Sounds like I've snapped something every time I do it. Yes I thought the same myself when I got it, But I think I will return it and stick to my iPhone, even typing on it just isn't as good with my sausage digits,

20-07-2010, 13:24	#5
Gormond Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Scotland Posts: 15,714	Quote: Originally Posted by dave81uk Sure its lightening fast and it is a great phone, But its made of cheap plastic, I think I prefer my old iPhone 3G, sure its a bit slower than this but there is no thinking involved and everything just feels more polished. Does anyone else feel like this? To be honest I feel in the minority. Yeah I have used a friends HTC Desire and thought the very same thing, the difference in build quality between it and the iPhone 4 is vast and I also thought it felt like cheap plastic. There are rumours that the new Desire HD will use a unibody design so if you don't fancy another iPhone it might be worth your while just holding out for it.

20-07-2010, 13:30	#6
moox Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,645	Quote: Originally Posted by Gormond Yeah I have used a friends HTC Desire and thought the very same thing, the difference in build quality between it and the iPhone 4 is vast and I also thought it felt like cheap plastic. It is interesting to note that even "cheap plastic" absorbs impact better than the glass of the iPhone 4. (not even standard glass, but scratch-resistant glass, so it is even more brittle)

20-07-2010, 13:37	#7
Gormond Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Scotland Posts: 15,714	Quote: Originally Posted by moox It is interesting to note that even "cheap plastic" absorbs impact better than the glass of the iPhone 4. (not even standard glass, but scratch-resistant glass, so it is even more brittle) The front glass is the same stuff they use in planes and as strong as sapphire crystal so it doesnt break easily. The back however isn't as high a quality and can break quite easy, the only advantage is it's very easy to replace. For me I would rather glass than plastic (would rather aluminium though) but yet I will break easier than say the iPhone 3GS if dropped, possibly another reason to get a Bumper.

20-07-2010, 13:46	#8
alanwarwic Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: the wild world web Posts: 28,132	Cheap plastic is described as polycarbonate on the Macbook. It has many wonderful properties such as staying cool on the lap and not hindering an antenna. It certainly does not dent as easy as aluminium when dropped. And of course it is not as smashing as glass. Maybe now I would be ok with an iPhone in that I seem to have now stopped toppling and smashing my Bodium pyrex cafetieres.

20-07-2010, 14:46	#9
dave81uk Guest Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,402	When I put the battery in it said half full, played with it 10 mins and it went flat, Now ok this may not be fair as I never charged the battery but I thought with it being half full would last a while anyway

20-07-2010, 15:05	#10
GetFrodo Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 1,745	You can never judge a battery on its first use - I think a few cycles are needed before it 'settles'. It wouldn't surprise me if the phone needs a few cycles before it correctly displays the battery status. I'm pretty happy with my Desire in that respect, but tbh it's my first smartphone so can't compare. I also have a new yet basic Nokia - the battery lasts for approximately 12 years as far as I can tell

20-07-2010, 16:26	#11
Flawed_Tactics Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 653	Quote: Originally Posted by dave81uk When I put the battery in it said half full, played with it 10 mins and it went flat, Now ok this may not be fair as I never charged the battery but I thought with it being half full would last a while anyway I presume that was from new, when i got mine the battery also said half full and got 3 n half hours of continuous use from it, maybe your new battery is faulty or just had less charge than indicated.

20-07-2010, 16:31	#12
platelet Forum Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: GL51 0EX Posts: 14,097	Quote: Originally Posted by dave81uk Yes I thought the same myself when I got it, But I think I will return it and stick to my iPhone, even typing on it just isn't as good with my sausage digits, Have you tried graffiti? it's not as quick as a conventional keyboard but it's fat finger friendly. It's a port of the old palm data entry method, in place of the pop up keyboard you get a writing area where you just draw a letter at a time.

20-07-2010, 16:52	#13
alanwarwic Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: the wild world web Posts: 28,132	Seems to me you already had a half decent phone. Beyond the placebo effect life is no doubt still the same.

20-07-2010, 17:32	#14
legends wear 7 Guest Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 2,070	SwiftKey is the best keyboard application on the market in my opinion

20-07-2010, 18:15	#15
dave81uk Guest Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,402	Oh dear, what is wrong with the speaker and headphone volume? The speaker distorts if its up any volume at all, and the headphones simply can't be heard even up full, and the radio, even on radio 1 it breaks up, I bought this as I wanted away from iPhone but think I'll have to stay.

20-07-2010, 18:21	#16
john_locke Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 1,367	You can't speak Ill of HTC on here, for it is the iPhone antidote. The grail of anti-appledom. All hail HTC! Android is the only fruit! It's open you see. So open, the Droid X has junk ware you can't remove on it!

20-07-2010, 18:23	#17
moox Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,645	Quote: Originally Posted by john_locke You can't speak Ill of HTC on here, for it is the iPhone antidote. The grail of anti-appledom. All hail HTC! Android is the only fruit! It's open you see. So open, the Droid X has junk ware you can't remove on it! Believe it or not, I think the speaker on the Desire is a tad anemic too. I have noticed that I have to have the volume somewhat high to get a good listening volume too. The FM radio doesn't seem bad though, far better than some phone radios that I have used. Unlike the Apple fanboys, the rest of the world can take criticism of products they own. BTW - when Motorola becomes the #1 manufacturer of Android handsets there might be something to worry about. But HTC aren't quite so bad in their attempts to prevent rooting and reflashing.

20-07-2010, 18:25	#18
sotek Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 3,200	Quote: Originally Posted by legends wear 7 SwiftKey is the best keyboard application on the market in my opinion I know it's in closed beta but have you tried Swype? That's a game changer for the entire mobile field in my opinion. Simply brilliant.

20-07-2010, 18:53	#19
legends wear 7 Guest Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 2,070	The droid x fiasco has put me off ever buying motorola, i've rooted every android i've owned, much prefer clean android without an overlay

20-07-2010, 20:24	#20
dave81uk Guest Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,402	Well now, I thought i'd have another play around with it tonight, I only looked at it 10 mins early so thought I might be a bit quick to judge, Turned it on and I get "Removed SD Card" but the cards in it? So I pulled the battery out and removed the SD card and put it back in, turned it on and same issue, it appears to be fried after 10 mins use, amazing

DS Forums

Not overly impressed with HTC Desire

20-07-2010, 20:32	#21
Gormond Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Scotland Posts: 15,714	You don't have a great deal of luck with phones lol

20-07-2010, 20:41	#22
dave81uk Guest Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,402	Quote: Originally Posted by Gormond You don't have a great deal of luck with phones lol I have to just laugh really, I had alot of issues getting the damn thing to begin with.

20-07-2010, 21:14	#23
andyf94 Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Sunny South Coast Posts: 298	Quote: Originally Posted by dave81uk Well now, I thought i'd have another play around with it tonight, I only looked at it 10 mins early so thought I might be a bit quick to judge, Turned it on and I get "Removed SD Card" but the cards in it? So I pulled the battery out and removed the SD card and put it back in, turned it on and same issue, it appears to be fried after 10 mins use, amazing Not being rude mate, but it sounds like you'd already made up your mind from the first post (so many negative comments and then it turns out you've only just switched it on)..and nothing is going to change your mind. Which is fine of course....but if you're going to live with something for a couple of years..give or take.....why not wait awhile and find out what it's really like, if you're going to make up your mind so quickly you may as well give it back

20-07-2010, 21:18	#24
dave81uk Guest Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,402	Quote: Originally Posted by andyf94 Not being rude mate, but it sounds like you'd already made up your mind from the first post (so many negative comments and then it turns out you've only just switched it on)..and nothing is going to change your mind. Which is fine of course....but if you're going to live with something for a couple of years..give or take.....why not wait awhile and find out what it's really like, if you're going to make up your mind so quickly you may as well give it back I was going to wait a while, I only had a quick play with it earlier so thought I may have been a bit quick to judge it considering all the great reviews it has, so went back to it tonight and and it come up with this card error.

20-07-2010, 21:35	#25
moox Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,645	Quote: Originally Posted by dave81uk I was going to wait a while, I only had a quick play with it earlier so thought I may have been a bit quick to judge it considering all the great reviews it has, so went back to it tonight and and it come up with this card error. If you have another microSD card, have you tried putting that in?