HTC Desire

[Jayy]

I've been watching Youtube clips on this and it looks brilliant, anyone else got one?

Not keep on the iphone, it's good but it's a hugely over priced gadget!

[Vinyardo]

I got one a couple of weeks ago. It is without a doubt the best phone I have ever owned (and I've had Blackberries and iPhones before this).

I was never keen on the iPhone - although it is slick and nice to use, you just can't customise it how you want it and I don't like the fact that the only apps you can put on are ones that Apple approve of

There are a few little niggles though - like battery life is even worse than an iPhone (I haven't gone 24 hours without needing to charge it yet ) and it can "freeze" sometimes if you do too many things at once (although multitasking is a bonus over the iPhone).

All things considered, I would definitely recommend it
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[MattHirst]

I believe the Desire has a larger battery compared to the Legend but with the more powerful cpu and larger screen etc, i've heard it's roughly the same.

If you find you aren't even getting 24hrs from the battery then try an app called 'Locale' (it costs you money but worth it). It uses your network to determine your location and you can set different profiles for different locations.

Like when at home you can set it to turn off 3g and turn on wifi or at night turn it into airplane mode etc. Or at work where i rarely get signal i can say don't connect to 3g or wifi (pointless because it can't connect). I'm shit at explaining things but search for it on the market, theres a brief description and it's worth it Can't remember how much it costs though, about $5 or something.

Also, check to see what software version your phone is running, i found after updating to 1.32, it runs a bit smoother and i do get longer battery life. (go into Settings, then About Phone and press 'System Software Updates', it will check to see if the latest OTA update is available.
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It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, then it's bloody hilarious!!!

[Vinyardo]

[Davie_G71]

I've got one and it's fantastic. Here's a top tip though, do not use task killers, they WILL do more damage than good eventually.

The OS is designed to close apps when they're not in use. Unlike windows running low on memory isn't a bad thing.


The app for changing settings automatically dependant on your location is called locale, and will cost you nothing if you send me an email.

For some interesting bits on the phone, check out this MASSIVE thread over on PistonHeads:

https://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=95&t=827954&mid=95785&nmt=HTC%20Desire

Davie.
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Suzuki GSXR600 SRAD, 1997 & Kawasaki Z1000, 2003.

[Phil.]

There is a huge android thread knocking about that was active quite recently, have a look for it, plenty of reviews on the device on that one.

But anyway, I went from a 1st Gen iPhone to the Desire about a month ago.

I'm sure most could and will go into more detail but for me there are a handful of points

Desires battery life is really bad. iPhone would go a 2 - 3 days on a charge, this 1- 1.5 days.

Android market place is no match for the app store. There was some fun games on the apps store like plants vs zombies, peggle, monopoly that i'd play fairly often. I have no games on my desire.

I got the device after I seen a Froyo demo. With the Flash improvements (speed) i'm hoping that will open up all those flash games to dick about with, as now, they are just too slow.

Web browsing is much better, it does this auto text wrapping thing that makes reading wide pages much easier. Flash video often works (All will work with Froyo Including the iPlayer) which was a frustration on the iphone to only be able to watch youtube vids.

I expect in a few years the flash issue will be less prominent, with the shift to HTML5 Video, but by time that is adopted in large numbers, we will all have new phones anyway.

[Pernig]

I really wanted one of these but in the end I thought I would try out a Dell Streak instead. Specs wise it looks roughly the same but with 16GB of memory built in and I could get a better deal on it, which was what swayed it in the end. Also it has a bigger screen which looks useful. I'll let you know if it's any good when I get it!
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H100 Breaking for spares

[Davie_G71]

Wow, have you held a Dell Streak? I can't imagine using it as a phone, ever. It's like holding a brick to your ear..

To each his own i suppose.
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Suzuki GSXR600 SRAD, 1997 & Kawasaki Z1000, 2003.

[Pernig]

[Davie_G71]

The streak has about 20mm on both sides more than the E90, but is much thinner.

I can't imagine using it as a phone - it's enormous.
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Suzuki GSXR600 SRAD, 1997 & Kawasaki Z1000, 2003.

[MattHirst]

[JonB]

I have an unbranded unlocked Desire and I clicked "Check for updates" and it said none were available and i'm on 1.21.
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Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[MattHirst]

That's surprising, i only really keep upto date with what's happening with the Legend but i assumed they would release the update for the Desire aswell.

Even so, i'd highly recommend rooting your phone. Not as dodgy as it sounds and the chance of you bricking it is very slim.
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It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, then it's bloody hilarious!!!

[Vinyardo]

[MattHirst]

Well after a bit of umming and ahhing, my desire turned up this morning

Rooted it this evening, piece of cake. However, you need to make a gold card (had to do same for the leg-end) and the included 4gb card didn't work. Gold card is what gives you the root access to the SD card and allows you to flash custom roms onto the phone.

Used a spare Kingston 2gb card and it worked fine (it seems it needs to be a class 6 card, just happens the kingston 2gb ones are)

Now got superuser access, apps2sd and can overclock The possibilities are a lot greater if you sign upto MoDaco's ad-free/premium service (not dear i don't think) and then you can bake your own custom roms in the online kitchen
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It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, then it's bloody hilarious!!!

[MonkeyKnuckle]

Yo brosefs.


A guy at work bought one of these but didn't read the eBay advert properly and it's locked to T-Mobile. Anyone know how to unlock it easily, quickly, cheaply etc.


Thanks.
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2000 Honda CBR600F - Sold! 2003 Honda CBR600RR - Current!

[MattHirst]

The one i bought was locked to T-Mobile, hence why i got it about 75 quid cheaper than all the others.

I used these. I bought it saturday evening/night and by the time i woke up sunday morning, i had an email with an unlock code and it worked straight away.

Although these guys are supposed to be MUCH quicker (i believe they send you a small one-time use only program that generates it for you), it's almost instant but it does cost more.

Even if he unlocks it, it will still be branded to T-mobile, that's where rooting comes in
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It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, then it's bloody hilarious!!!