HTC Desire HD

Tech, TV, Mobile, Internet and Geek Corner
21
Well to be fair, the Galaxy S lag issue can be fixed with a small update, and then its smooth as butter. Plus the Hummingbird and PowerVR SG540 is still faster than the Qualcomm and Adrena 205 combo in terms of raw performance. PLus, the Super AMOLED screen is simply gorgeous.

I agree that Sense is much better than Touchwiz though, and prefer the physical design of the HTC... though the Samsung certainly isn't badly built and feels nice in the hand.

Personally I think i'll go for the HTC Desire Z though, I love QWERTY for messaging, and 4.3" is slightly too much screen for me.

22
Oh no you didn't! I think HTC have been very happy with Desire sales. They can't seem to get enough even though the source of the problem is those bloody OLEDS.

I don't think that HTC can suddenly have the marketing smarts of Apple. Apple is like a cult. It's taken years for people to be drawn into the Apple way. At the centre of that is Steve Jobs. I can't stand the guy. But he has a following. If he created an iBike that was to be given to fish to use as a bicycle, it would sell in drones to people, including those who don't even have fish!

I watch a lot of dragons den. For the lulz mostly. And I thought to myself. If someone went to the dragons asking for money for the original iPhone back in 2007. They would be laughed out of the studio. $599 + a 24 months contract for a phone that doesn't half half the features most of the phones at the time had. I can just imagine any investor saying 'Nobody will pay for just a good user experience' but that's exactly what people did do with the original iPhone. I was amazed!

23
It's mainly Samsung's fault - they provided the AMOLED displays to HTC. But for obvious reasons (*caugh*SGS*caugh*), they stopped being very keen on providing ample numbers of those screens to HTC. So HTC was forced to switch to Sony's SLCD displays (which, btw., are almost identical in performance compared to the AMOLEDs and don't use more power).

As for the user experience: true - that's the main reason why Apple had to go with AT&T for the iPhone (a fact that still bites them in the a**). They had previously talked to Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile etc. but they all thought you can't sell a phone at a premium price just because it's easy to use. They were all wrong.

24
I've never been able to fix the lag issues completely. Even with the various lag / speedfix hacks the lag was still present to a lesser extent, or it manifested itself again after using the phone for a day or so.

Also, as far as the benchmarks go, the Desire HD is way ahead of the SGS (actually, it's almost double as fast in the quadrant benchmark. If you only look at the graphics bms, it's almost exactly the same as the SGS):

http://www.xginsider.com/2010/09/19/...-hd2-portiert/

Of course, the SGS will catch up a tad once Froyo has been released (which has just been pushed to the end of October, apparently).

The SGS's screen is definitely better for viewing outside - inside, while it still compares favorably, it isn't much ahead.

Peter

25
Really tempted, but I'll wait for some honest reviews.

Couldn't accept it if the battery barely lasted one day of use.

26
Wow 669CHF... anyone have any details about the subsized prices? I can end my Swisscom contract any moment. Since I'm in Asia until the end of the year might just end up buying it in Hong Kong if the price difference is significant.. even if using plug adapters would suck. I've been looking at Android ever since the G1, never quite saw one that makes me want to make the jump into it so bad... this has got to be my next phone...

27
This definitely looks like the next phone to get.

Funnily, you are all quoting prices to buy. Is that what most of you do? I would have thought combining with a contract (Orange or Swisscom? I am tending to hear that Orange is slightly better?) is the way to go...

Does anyone have news on which companies are planning to offer the Desire HD and when?

Thanks

28
I compiled the following table for the deal that digitec.ch is doing with the Orange Me contracts. Phone price is the price of the Desire HD. All prices in CHF.

[](http://img826.imageshack.us/i/orangel.png/)

29
A cheaper option is to buy an HD2 on Ebay, and then flash it with the Desire HD ROM.

Look around the web and you'll find out how to do this - I think there's even a video on YouTube.

Ok, the hardware spec of the Desire HD is higher, but not that much - you'll be able to buy an HD2 for around half the price.

I'm not saying that's what everyone should do, but it's a viable option.

30
For anyone reading this is a TERRIBLE idea.

The Desire HD is a far superior option with far superior hardware.

It is an option but hardly a viable one.

31
LOL - thanks for the heads up. I am aware of flashing and so on, and it does seem a bit drastic with a new phone. The good thing is that digitec seem to be combining the price with the Orange tarif. This means I get a cheap phone (zero in some cases) and I also get a tarif (which I will need).

Switzerland seems a bit behind the times if you compare to typical UK tarifs (I roam here cheaper than some locals pay on their tarifs), but Orange seem quite good with their flexible tarifs. Not sure about coverage etc. but a few people I know here moan a bit at Swisscom.

I hope that above table helps SOMEone out there. Took a while to compile! lol

32
In fact, I am not sure you can get an Orange option that is cheaper if you have your own phone... hmmmm - anyone have any info on this?

The Desire HD looks too irresistible!

33
Coverage for Orange SUCKS. No EDGE, poor 3G network, no fun with a smartphone unless you live in downtown Zurich.

Peter

34
I get hspa or 3g with a full signal pretty much everywhere in neuchatel and lausanne on orange.

I got a 2860 down and 1535 up on orange in neuchatel on the bus!

35
I know it's ok in some areas - but outside any kind of urban area, you're on your own. Good luck using your smartphone on the train, for example. The lack of EDGE makes that simply impossible, unless you're very patient.

In Basel, coverage is dreadful. I never had a 3G signal inside of buildings. When I still lived there, I could only use the phone in one room of our apartment - everywhere else I didn't get any reception whatsoever. Where I live now (Lake of Constance area), there's no reception, either, not even GSM.

Peter

36
I'm with Sunrise and always have problems with my connection on the train between Bern and Lausanne. Half of the time the connection fails and nothing will load (that is with EDGE). So I mostly stopped using it on the train, no point when you are waiting 5 minutes for the page to load only to get an error message that the connection has been lost.

On the other hand, DH is with orange and often has much better connection that I have, even when we are on the trains.

Once in a while I'll have connection and he doesn't but those times are not that common.

He has an iphone and I have the htc desire.

37
never been able to use Orange on the train between Frauenfeld and Basel - no 3G anywhere to be found. Sunrise works perfectly for me - but I have to say that with the first Desire I had, I had massive connection issues. Oftentimes, I had excellent reception but no data was transmitted. There was no difference between Swisscom and Sunrise, though - I tried both providers.

the latest-gen Desires don't have the problem anymore. I'd say the issue you are seeing is device-related, not network-related..

38

thanks, that's interesting actually.

I would also find I have all the bars but no data being transmitted.

I'll be staying with htc anyway I think, so which ever new one is available the end of the year I'll likely get which I upgrade. I've just started watching my tv shows on the train now...helps to pass the time!

39
Wow, how do you manage that with the 1GB limit that ALL the providers have? 40 minutes of TV show is about 340MB so 1GB gives you 120 mins or three shows per month!

40
crap, HTC has pushed the Desire HD and the Z back to late October / early November. the reason? apparently Google demands changes to the Android ROM HTC intended to ship.

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk