HTC Desire vs iTouch / iPhone

[Sliced Bread]

I picked up a HTC desire last week and managed to do some interesting comparisons with my itouch.

The iTouch is more musical (as expected) and has the edge when it comes to movie audio, however films looked SO much better on the (slightly larger) higher res AMOLED screen of the Desire. Skin tones were perhaps a shade more natural on the itouch, but all other colours where so much more impressive on HTC's device. They really pop! The extra resolution and greatly improved contrast ratio created a depth of field that the itouch could only dream about

The catch! Well, the Desire's audio seemed to be very slightly out of sync with the video. Hopefully this will be rectified quickly!

 

[Anonymous]

I have 1 on order mate but o2 are saying end of April....grrrrrrr

 

[Sliced Bread]

That's a shame, but it is worth the wait

Internet browsing is some of the fastest I've seen on a portable device...especially when using wifi

 

[oggie]

Picked up one myself and gotta say I'm extremely happy with it

 

[Anonymous]

oggie:Picked up one myself and gotta say I'm extremely happy with it

A month or so left on my current mobile contract and I am considering the HTC or an iphone. Any tips on which to go for, and why, would be appreciated.

 

[manicm]

I'm playing wait-and-see until Windows 7 phones are released. For me it's one of those or the new forthcoming iPhone.

 

[Sliced Bread]

Daveee:
oggie:Picked up one myself and gotta say I'm extremely happy with it

A month or so left on my current mobile contract and I am considering the HTC or an iphone. Any tips on which to go for, and why, would be appreciated.

It depends on your tastes and what you would like it for. In my opinion the iPhone sounds better and has a better selection of apps. However the HTC desire is better as a phone and for internet browsing (it is faster and also loads flash files). The screen on the HTC desire is also a big improvement over the iPhone. In terms of movies, they look better on the Desire, however the sound seems to be out of sync (I've no idea if or when this would be fixed.)

But...as the OP said the new iPhone will be released very soon, so it may be worth your while waiting. Although this is likely to be alot more expensive that the Desire.

Personally I love the desire (but I do also have a itouch, which I use for music).

Just my thoughts, for what they are worth.

EDIT: I've just been watching a film on my itouch on my way home from work, but after getting used to the Desires screen the images look dull and washed out in comparison.

As long as you're not using it for music, I would favour the Desire (at least until the new iphone arrives). - Once again though, this is just my opinion.

 

[Anonymous]

As another Desire owner, I'd have to pretty much agree with JohnNewman. If you compare the current iPhone with the Desire, the iPhone has many more apps (although Android is growing), has a better music player and has loads of internal storage. Although the the Desire ships with a 4GB micro SD card, you can only install apps on the internal memory, which after the OS etc is only around 200MB. Not a problem for me, I have pretty much everything I want on there and still have room for more. This is rumoured to be changed with Android 2.2 but nothing for sure yet.

The screen on the desire is loads better. The internet I think is better compared to my friends iPhone, and I by far pefer the Android OS. Much easier to customise, and you can download apps from anywhere, not just the Android Market, so Google don't filter out apps.

 

[harveymt]

I've ordered a Desire from Orange. I had intended to get a new iPod/iTouch as well as my old iPod is giving up the ghost. How is the Desire for playing music? I've everything ripped in Apple Lossless in iTunes. Will change them to 320kbs mp3s for mobile use, I listen to lots of podcasts too. Getting a bigger sd card for the Desire might let me use it as music player too.

Can you sync the Desire with iTunes?

I know the iPhone is popular but with phones seemingly as good as the Desire coming out that you can get for free on a contract, I think it could knock the iPhone.

 

[DaveyBoy1980]

I spent ages comparing the iphone and the Desire, I bought both as I couldn't decide which one I wanted.

The iPhone is good for typing on as far as touch screen phones go and the apps really make the phone what it is! Also, the music side of things can't be beaten for a phone in my opinion.

After using the iphone for a week I switched my SIM into the Desire. The first thing that grabbed my attention was the amazingly crisp and clear screen compared to the iPhone. The feel of the phone in your hand is so much nicer than the iPhone too. I haven't bothered looking into what they both actually weigh but the Desire feels so much more at home sat in your hand than the iPhone despite the larger screen. It feels much thinner and lighter. I have to say that the build quality seems very good too.

I was quite scared that I would miss the apps that are available on the iPhone but I haven't missed them one bit as there are so many apps now available for android handsets that you shouldn't really have to do without anything. The only ones I am still waiting for are lovefilm, rightmove and autotrader.

On the media side of things, the video is top class. Can't really fault the video. The colours, brightness and sharpness really stand out. For the music, there is a lot of noise. I notice a lot of hissing but you can get around this by putting the phone into aeroplane mode. Although, this does prevent any calls, texts or emails coming through. I think if you can stand the background noise then you will be ok using this phone as a music player. If not, I'd carry around an ipod or similar device with you. I haven't heard what the music is like through bluetooth headphones, maybe this would eliminate the interference that is evident in the hard wired headphones.

I have decided to keep the Desire and sell the iphone on Ebay. The desire has the best UI, very customizable, much better screen and it's also "fun" to use! For the media side of things, the video is great and will use it while stopping away from home and the music I use for when nothing else is available and for convenience.

There are apps to play FLAC files on the android platform. I haven't used one yet but this is just another reason to buy into the whole Android and open source world!

 

[Sliced Bread]

harveymt:
I've ordered a Desire from Orange. I had intended to get a new iPod/iTouch as well as my old iPod is giving up the ghost. How is the Desire for playing music? I've everything ripped in Apple Lossless in iTunes. Will change them to 320kbs mp3s for mobile use, I listen to lots of podcasts too. Getting a bigger sd card for the Desire might let me use it as music player too.

Can you sync the Desire with iTunes?

I know the iPhone is popular but with phones seemingly as good as the Desire coming out that you can get for free on a contract, I think it could knock the iPhone.

Hi Harvery,

The Desire is an excellent phone, but as the OP said, it does not measure up to the iPhone on the music side of things. Maybe a Desire and a separate ipod is a good way to go if you want the best of both worlds, but only if you don't mind using two devices. If you don't want to carry two devices and music is the priority, then the iPhone would be a better bet imo.

 

[Anonymous]

I can't believe how cheap the contracts for the HTC Desire are! I was expecting them to be similar in price to the iphone. I also just noticed the HTC Legend is similar in price to the Desire, which is better?

 

[DaveyBoy1980]

Technically, the Desire is better with it's faster processor and higher res screen. The only reason I would go for the Legend is the great looks and the smaller size for the pocket. Other than that, the Desire is better for everything else in my opinion. I like mine more every day and I can't really find any faults with it apart from one major flaw for me which is voice dialling. I use that every day in the car when hooked up to my bluetooth car kit! Now, I have to either dial from the phone itself or wait for someone to call me.

 

[bigboss]

iPhone is ridiculously overpriced. HTC Desire is more sensible in its pricing.

 

[bigboss]

manicm:I'm playing wait-and-see until Windows 7 phones are released.

Windows 7 phone isn't making an appearance until 2011.

 

[Anonymous]

The price difference between the iPhone and the Desire really did shock me. Between the 16GB 3GS and the Desire (which comes with a 4GB card), the iPhone was over £300 more expensive. I just couldn't justify the price difference, but I think on the whole I actually prefer the Desire regardless of price. But as others have said, if music is a big thing then the iPhone is far better for that. The Android music player isn't terrible, it's just not very slick. I haven't noticed any noise on it though,

 

[harveymt]

The Desire was back in stock today with Orange and I got a call from them and placed my order. I was on 600min/unltd texts for £35 plus £7.50 for internet. The retention deal I got was 1000min/unlimited text/internet and insurance for £26 a month over 18 months. Free phone too. More than happy. For £25 a month I could have lost the insurance and had a Dongle instead of 500MB a month but I though given the cost of the handset insurance would be better.

I think it ships with a 4GB memory card which will be enough if I don't use it as a music player.

Much better than paying at least £100 up front for an iPhone. I can use that money to buy a stand alone music player.

 

[Anonymous]

harveymt:

The Desire was back in stock today with Orange and I got a call from them and placed my order. I was on 600min/unltd texts for £35 plus £7.50 for internet. The retention deal I got was 1000min/unlimited text/internet and insurance for £26 a month over 18 months. Free phone too. More than happy. For £25 a month I could have lost the insurance and had a Dongle instead of 500MB a month but I though given the cost of the handset insurance would be better.

I think it ships with a 4GB memory card which will be enough if I don't use it as a music player.

Much better than paying at least £100 up front for an iPhone. I can use that money to buy a stand alone music player.

I'm 17 months into an 18 month Orange contract and I was shopping around for deals on the HTC Desire. That offer seems excellent. All I could find was a load of rubbish with "free" gifts you have to pay for!

Well done Harvey, my negotiations will be based around the deal you got I think

A few questions though regarding the Desire handset. Why can't you save apps to the memory card? Is there sufficient memory for loads of apps to be saved on the phone itself? I've read a lot of the apps are free, over an 18 month contract I'm guessing I may be wanting to store quite a few and running out of memory would be pretty frustrating.

 

[DaveyBoy1980]

Daveee:
Why can't you save apps to the memory card? Is there sufficient memory for loads of apps to be saved on the phone itself? I've read a lot of the apps are free, over an 18 month contract I'm guessing I may be wanting to store quite a few and running out of memory would be pretty frustrating.

I read recently on Engadget that support for memory card app storage on Android will be "coming soon". Currently, I have around 40 apps stored on my Desire using the phone memory with no problems at all.