HTC Desire A8181 Quad-Band GSM Phone with Android OS Reviews

HTC Desire A8181 Quad-Band GSM Phone with Android OS Reviews. I wanted the latest Android phone with fast processor, robust 3G where my laptop could tether to it and support for local WiFi hotspots. The screen had to be excellent quality (this one is OLED!), fast touch interface for easy typing, 5MP+ camera (I have a SLR so this is just for back-up; I felt 5MP is fine because there is no point getting higher MP in a cellphone camera because the lenses are poor) with focus by touch and a built-in flashbulb, user-swappable batteries and memory cards. And HTC was first preference due to the HTC Simple interface which is quite a slick addition to Android including superb Facebook and Twitter integration if you like that. Oh and by the way, the whole phone should be ultra lightweight (the HD2 looked humongous to me and the Motorola Droid was both big and had a mushy keyboard) and normal use battery time at least a full day. Furthermore, it had to have quadband since I travel all over and unlocked so I could swap in local SIM cards and get realistic data and calling rates.

HTC Desire delivers intense brilliance, sharp contrast, and true colors on the expansive 3.7-inch AMOLED display. The 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor makes the phone incredibly responsive as you multitask from app to app without skipping a beat, while the instinctive HTC Sense experience lets you wield the power of the HTC Desire with the greatest of ease. With the HTC Desire, it?s all about your information, your entertainment, your multimedia, your way. A multitude of HTC Sense widgets makes it easy to transform your Home screen with rich content that personalizes your phone experience. If you?re a sports junkie or simply love to keep up to date with the latest news, the HTC Desire keeps you in the know with the News application. News makes it easier than ever to collect all your favorite articles from across the web. Choose from a selection of channels that cover top blogs, news sites or sports pages, or get news updates based on the keywords you select. The HTC Desire excels at helping you stay in touch with the different circles of friends or colleagues in your life. The new People widget lets you bring any group you create on your phone right to the surface for easy access to calling, messaging, emailing or simply checking up on social networking updates. The HTC Desire simplifies the way that you tend to all of your social networks. With Friend Stream, your interaction with friends across multiple social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr are brought into a single easy to follow stream of updates, photo posts, and shared links. Friend Stream also lets you shout out your thoughts or feelings to all your online friends with a single comment that gets broadcast to both Facebook and Twitter. The package components found in the box are: -Handset (Phone) -Battery -Battery door -Battery Charger (AC Adaptor) -USB Sync Cable -User guide -Stereo Headset -micro SD memory Card 

This was a lofty list, and the HTC Desire met everything on paper - I was excited to get it about a week ago. In hand, the HTC Desire has lived up to *everything* and surprises with decent voice quality, much faster responsiveness than I expected, a built-in FM Radio for kicks, easy Calendar and Contact synch with Outlook, haptic touchscreen, and longer battery life then I had expected easily covering a whole day or more. Typing on this touchscreen is pretty nice. It is also super lightwight and pocketable. Wow! HTC has done a first rate job.

Flaws: the whole front is a piece of glass so recommend you buy a scratch guard. The back is simply a piece of plastic that you peel off to access the battery; do this too many times and I think a replacement back might be needed after year or so but so far no problems and it looks pretty secure. The speaker has limited volume before it starts to clip - it's OK for speakerphone but no portable boombox. The camera is OK not great image quality; you have to push in the little silver round joystick button to activate and I have had some camera shake trying to use this so it will really be last ditch... although one cool thing is really easy upload to Facebook and it has geotagging - again wow.

No iTunes of course so you will not be able to port 'Protected' files without the 30-cent upgrade; after that try iSynch and you get songs and playlists too. On the other hand, Android has tons of apps and a much more open environment for future app development. This only has one camera, whereas the EVO has a front-facing camera phone for video calls. I guess the next-generation HTC may have that, but I needed a new 3G unlocked phone now and the laptop already has a webcam for Skype video so not really missing that feature too much.

Caveats: I have not had a chance to try the EDGE service yet; waiting for the right carrier SIM card; WiFi gives great results. Note that I could only see 802.11a networks and not b/g/n... not sure if that is a hardware, software or user issue though. I think that is the lowest common denominator standard and should work in most hotspots though.

Overall - this is every feature I wanted and more in a sweet design. Count me a satisfied - even thrilled - customer. 

Product Features

• This unlocked cell phone is compatible with GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile. Not all carrier features may be supported.
• Quad-Band Unlocked GSM cell phone compatible with 850/900/1800/1900 GSM and 900/2100 3G frequencies plus GPRS/EDGE capabilities
• Camera : 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash; Display: 3.7 inches, 480 x 800 pixels; Multi-touch input method
• Platform : Android OS, v2.1 (Eclair); CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1 GHz processor; Stereo FM radio with RDS
• Up to 6 hours of talk time, up to 340 hours of standby time.
• Size (LWH) : 2.36 inches, 0.46 inches, 4.68 inches
• Weight : 4.8 ounces