VIDEO PHONE REVIEW: HTC Desire HD

If we had to choose, we want a 4.3” Super AMOLED screen on an aluminum unibody handset, that is as thin as the Galaxy S, and carries the new HTC Sense UI on it. Any of the two chipsets will do. Just kidding, but it might happen next year.

However, out of the HTC Desire HD and the Samsung Galaxy S, we would pick Samsung's finest, and we'll tell you why. It's not the silicon – both phones have excellent chipsets, and the theoretical advantage in the graphics department of Sammy's Hummingbird didn't translate into better frame rates in the 3D games we played. It's not the built-in 16GB of memory on the Galaxy S, and lack thereof on the HTC Desire HD. Memory cards are cheap these days, and the Desire HD beats the Galaxy S in the camera specs department with higher resolution cam and a ho-hum LED flash, which compensates the absence of in-built memory for us.

Our preference was not based on the screens either – despite that we'd personally take the Super AMOLED before an LCD of the same resolution any day, the sheer size of the one on the HTC Desire HD is also quite appealing. We have to admit that the new HTC Sense UI almost tipped the scales for us, with its fast boot, amazing personalization options, cloud-based services and offline navigation functionalities. But it will be coming on all HTC Android handsets from now on, and inventive souls are working towards porting it over to the Galaxy S as well.

It's the battery life and the design approach. In practice, when the first “wows” subside around the sleek aluminum chassis of the HTC Desire HD, you'll be seeing the black rectangle where the screen is most of the time, but notice the considerable heft of the device, and the fact that you have to use both hands to operate it more often than not. The Galaxy S might be bland looking in its all-plastic body, but it is incredibly thin, light, durable and easy to handle because of that - for a handset with a 4” screen, that is. We also know that we'll be cursing ourselves that we chose a slightly bigger screen if the battery runs out after just an average day with the device, and we have no way to charge it. Of course, you can always buy and remember to carry a spare battery, but the new side-loading way of swapping it is a nuisance thanks to the stiff slot cover on the Desire HD. Bigger screens is the way to go, but only if the handsets are kept slim and light, and battery life is worth it, which is not the case with the HTC Desire HD.

There are not many alternatives to the HTC Desire HD and the Samsung Galaxy S, considering the latest generation chipsets in both. Screenwise, there is no AMOLED like the Super AMOLED, and 4” is as large as it goes. The only other such screen is in the Samsung Omnia 7, with the fledgling Windows Phone 7. Also, devices with 4.3” LCD screens of HTC make, such as the EVO 4G, or the HTC HD7 with WP7 can do the trick for you. All of these phones are carrying first generation Snapdragon chipsets, which still run whatever you throw at them, so they could be viable alternatives to the HTC Desire HD, and the Samsung Galaxy S.

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.

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