As you know, history develops in a spiral, and if some event has already happened, then after some time it will repeat itself again, albeit in a new turn, with minor changes. The Taiwanese company HTC is developing dynamically, and it seems that the spiral of its history has a small time distance between turns. In any case, some events are already becoming almost annual, and they have a negative impact on reputation. Of course, we are talking about canceling updates for smartphones. This year such a fate befell HTC Desire HD.

Drama with update Desire HD before Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which was initially promised, but was canceled almost before the possible release date due to “some problems,” has overwhelmed all resources aimed at HTC fans. And social networks with general IT resources were also seething about this information, because HTC Desire HD became really very popular, people’s love for it reached almost the same levels as for the legendary HD2. HTC fans were especially outraged by two facts. Firstly, the technical characteristics of this smartphone are superior to those of some of the company’s smartphones released this year, which have on board not only Android 4.0 ICS, but also the latest version of the proprietary HTC Sense shell, albeit slightly lightweight. Secondly, last year a similar situation arose with the update of HTC Desire, the founder of the series, to Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Although it resolved over time, some sediment still remained.

The situation with Desire HD has not yet changed, despite petitions from buyers of this smartphone and those who simply want to support users. HTC is not going to give up and release a less than complete update, as they did with Desire. True, fresh paragraphs have finally appeared on the company’s official blog, which more or less explain what the corporation’s representatives mean by “problems interfering with the update.”

"For a better understanding, the problem is the memory partitioning on HTC Desire HD and the larger Android 4.0 - to install this update, you will need to save user data somewhere in order to partition the internal memory again. If this does not cause a big problem for technically savvy users, then regular customers will not be able to do this. We also considered reducing the size of the update package somewhat by removing some features, but this will affect the functionality that device owners already use. And even after installing this update, we found that there are some technical restrictions that prevent you from getting a normal user experience."

What follows is a classic paragraph about how HTC always tries to update smartphones to the latest version of the OS, but first of all thinks about whether these updates will complicate the lives of users. However, each of the interested parties has their own opinion on this situation. What do you think about the explanations given by HTC?

I bought this mobile phone a few days ago, inserted an old Beeline SIM card from an old phone (Samsung Corby smartphone) into it, and the only thing I did was a couple of times for a few minutes, MB 5 minutes. At most I went online, I didn’t do anything else. What's wrong? Is it because of the android platform? (When I was examining the functions of the phone, I went into some shortcuts in the menu, labeled in English, but then immediately exited). What to do? I only have 30 rubles left from the money I put on my SIM card, and these 70 rubles were spent in only 1 day.
Will the Beeline operator help?

Call your mobile operator and ask if there is any connection option.

On the Beeline website, create a personal account. There you can manage your account. Your programs can update themselves, viruses can work, and paid subscriptions can turn on themselves. The phone is too smart.

All modern smartphones require a constant connection to the Internet, be it android, ios, bada, windows phone. Connect to an unlimited Internet service from your operator (on average 200 rubles per month), if you don’t want to, then turn off data transfer in the settings, then your phone won’t go anywhere on its own, and the money will remain intact! By the way, when you turn off data transfer, your phone will discharge noticeably slower! Good luck to you!

Hello everyone, tell me, I see everything and HTC Desire HD, HTC Desire Z and HTC Desire S, but there is no HTC Desire X, how is that?

HTS is withdrawing money from my account, what is this problem?

Related discussions↓

As you use HTC Desire 626, data will accumulate over time, filling the device's memory. Here are some tips on how to free up space on your phone.

Use the Memory Cleanup Wizard

Free up space on your phone by deleting unnecessary apps and files. In the Settings menu, click Inner memory> Phone memory > Free up more space.

Manage photos and videos

• After taking burst photos, keep only the best shot. The rest of the pictures can be deleted if you don't need them.
• After you edit a photo or trim a video, the original file remains. Delete the original files or move them somewhere, such as to your computer.
• If you only send videos via MMS, use a lower resolution. High-resolution videos take up more space. In the Camera app settings, tap Video quality to change the resolution.

Removing unused themes

Because themes include images, sounds, and icons, they can quickly fill up storage space. Remove unused themes. See Deleting a topic for details.

Backing up data and files

Keep only the most recent data in applications and files that you will use frequently. The remaining data and files can be placed in a backup copy. For some tips, see Ways to back up your files, data, and settings.

Uninstalling or disabling apps

Delete downloaded apps if you no longer need them. Initially installed applications can be disabled if you do not use them. See section

How to set your own ringtone for calls, alarms, SMS/messages/notifications?

The ringtone is set in the Settings > Sound > Ringtone menu (green plus sign at the top right).

The melody of SMS and system notifications, depending on the model, is configured in SMS - all messages > menu > Settings > Notifications > Notification sound or in Settings > Sound > Notification sound.

• On your computer, create folders ringtones, alarms, notifications. In the first place place ringtones, in the second - for alarm clocks, in the third - for SMS and mail messages, calendar, etc. Then copy these folders with their contents from the computer to the phone: to the root directory of the internal memory or memory card (if you have smartphone with microSD support). Do not use the ES Explorer program, but connect your phone to your computer and copy files through the interface of the desktop operating system.
• The melody may not be visible in the list if the ID3 tags (metadata) in the MP3 file are not written in Unicode. You can fix tags using ID3Fixer.
• Make sure there are no .nomedia files in the specified folders (if there are, delete them).
• Restart your smartphone.

The phone turns itself off/on, gets very hot, freezes, glitches, and crashes out of programs.

• Reboot your device. Important: In Settings > Power, uncheck Fast boot. Turn off your phone (hold the Power button for 2-3 seconds and select Power off) and turn it on again. If the phone freezes and does not respond to anything, hold down the power button for 10–20 seconds and it will reboot.
• Boot the phone in safe mode (instructions below) - without autoloading user-installed programs and their services. If the problem disappears in safe mode, look for its source in the installed software.
• Go to Settings > Apps > All apps, find the problematic app and tap Clear data + Clear cache.
• Reset your phone to factory settings (instructions below).
• If a full reset does not help, take the phone to a service center for diagnostics.

How to boot in safe mode?

In safe mode, the smartphone will temporarily (until the next reboot) return to its original “factory” state.

To activate safe mode and boot the device into the basic system configuration, reboot or turn off/on your smartphone. When Quietly Brilliant appears on the screen, press and hold the Volume Down key. Wait until “Safe Mode” appears in the lower left corner of the screen and release the key.

The device returns to normal by rebooting (hold the power button and select Restart).

How to do a hardware reset to factory settings (hard reset, hard reset, XP)?

Option 1: Settings > Backup & reset > Reset your phone.

Option 2: Turn off your smartphone. Press and hold the Volume Down key and the Power button at the same time. A menu will appear, select FACTORY RESET (clear storage). Navigating through the menu is done using the volume keys, and confirming the selection with the power button.

How to force a reboot (soft reset, soft reboot)?

One of two options: hold down the power button for about 10 seconds or hold it down simultaneously with the volume up key for the same time.

What should I do if the player/media player or the Music program closes spontaneously (“crashes”) or does not start?

• Try formatting or replacing the memory card (if your phone supports them).
• The reason may be a corrupted media file or a long/incorrect file name. Delete your entire music collection and record it again one folder at a time. This will help you identify the problematic directory/file.

The camera turns off and does not work: the screen is black/the image is still, the camera closes.

• Reset your camera settings: Settings > Applications > All applications > Camera > Clear data + Clear cache. Restart your smartphone.
• Reset the camera to factory settings: In the camera interface, click the settings button and select Factory settings.

Why are the photos of some contacts blurry, as if they were covered with a grid?

The photos of these contacts are of low quality (they have low resolution). On your computer, through Google Contacts (in Gmail), move your contacts to the Starred in Android group (or move them to the Favorites group on your phone) and set new high-resolution photos for your contacts.

How to open the "For Developers" menu?

In the system settings, go to the About phone menu > Software version > Advanced and quickly click on the Build number line several times (seven or eight). A message will appear indicating that developer mode has been activated. An option for developers will appear in the settings in the “System” section.

How to transfer a program or game to a flash memory card?

Settings > Applications > , select an application, click the Move button (for previous versions of HTC Sense: Settings > Applications, SD card tab, check the Move to SD card box; the same tab shows what programs you have installed on the card).

Please note that not all HTC programs and models support transfer to a memory card!

Why can't I save or copy files to a memory card (ext_sd)?

In Android 4.4 and higher, the principle of how programs work with a memory card has been changed. Now programs (including file managers and browsers) can only write data to their own folder on the card (Android/data/program-name), and not to an arbitrary one. Therefore, write (copy, move) files to the memory card not from your phone, but from your computer by connecting your phone to it.

Communication and internet are not working well. The phone loses network. Interlocutors complain about loss of sound during a conversation, insufficient audibility, echo, “gurgling”, “croaking”.

The vast majority of problems are related to the telecom operator's network and network range. Therefore, a universal way to diagnose and eliminate such problems is to change the network mode. We recommend setting the mode to GSM only (completely disabling 3G).

Options for changing settings:

1. Settings > Mobile Internet > Network mode (“Automatic GSM/UMTS/LTE”, “Automatic GSM/UMTS”, “UMTS only”, “GSM only”).
2. In the phone interface, dial *#*#4636#*#* > Phone information > Set your preferred network type.

Other options for solving communication problems:

• Disable mobile internet.
• Do not cover the speaking microphone with your hand/finger.
• Replace the SIM card with a new one (especially if you received the SIM card a long time ago) or replace the standard SIM card you cut yourself with a micro-SIM.
• Change operator.

How can I view the list of recent programs (open Task Manager)?

To open recently launched apps, double-click the Home button. The behavior of this button is configured in Settings > Display, buttons and gestures > Home screen.

How to remove “three dots” (a line with three dots to open a menu)? How to call the menu if there is no such button?

Go to Settings > Display, buttons & gestures > Home screen (Home button) - check the bottom switch. The program menu will begin to open by long pressing the Home button, and the bar with the vertical ellipsis will disappear from the interface.

Why does the amount of (RAM) memory in the system properties not match what is stated?

Some of the memory is used by the Android operating system, HTC Sense and other service components. The user always has less memory available than is indicated in the phone's characteristics. .

The “Others” item in “Settings” > “Phone memory” includes operating system files, system programs, files and drivers necessary for the operation of connected devices, and maps of navigation programs.

How to disable BlinkFeed news screen?

HTC Sense 5.5 now comes with a built-in feature to disable BlinkFeed. BlinkFeed is disabled in Sense 5.0.

How to take a screenshot?

To take a screenshot on HTC, hold down the power button and, without releasing it, press the Home touch key once. Second option: power button plus volume down key.

The screenshots will appear in the Screenshots album (Gallery > My Photos). Physically they are located in the pictures > screenshots directory.

After the update, the letter/icon N (Z) appeared in the top line: what is it and how can I remove it?

Setting up your phone, operating system, firmware update, diagnostics

How to enter the engineering menu? How to run diagnostics?

Enter service codes on the keyboard:

• *#*#4636#*#* - engineering menu. For devices based on Mediatek processors: *#*#3646633#*#*.
• *#*#3424#*#* - information, tests (HTC function test), diagnostics.

Another option is to run diagnostics in the HTC Assistant program (included in the standard set of HTC applications since 2014).

The phone received a small firmware update, and I'm waiting for the big one. How to get it?

Currently, HTC phones are updated in two stages: first install a small update, after which restart the device (don't forget to uncheck Settings > Power > Fast boot). Check for updates again: new firmware will become available.

I received a notification that an update is available, but I don't want to install it. How to get rid of an intrusive notification?

Press and hold your finger on the notification There is a system update, click Application information, in the “Connection Error” program settings menu that opens, click Force Stop. Make sure that the Auto Update checkbox is not selected in the Software Update system settings item, otherwise the notification about the availability of an update will again bother you.

I download a new update and get the error “System update: file could not be downloaded”

Go to Settings > Apps > All apps and clear data from the Connection Error and Download Manager apps.

A red frame appeared around the screen and numbers appeared on the screen, how to fix it?

Go to settings, there select For developers. Uncheck the following boxes:

• Pointer position (will remove coordinate bars and numeric coordinates on the screen).
• Strict mode is enabled (will remove red frames around the perimeter of the screen).

The mode for the visually impaired has turned on, the image gets closer as if viewed with a magnifying glass, how can I turn it off?

Uncheck the Magnify Gestures/Show Magnifying Glass option in Settings > Accessibility.

The screen does not turn off when charging the phone!

In Settings > For Developers, uncheck Keep the screen on.

Buttons and menus in the OS and standard programs cannot be pressed!

Check Settings > Developer > Advanced > Animation.

How to set up recording of telephone conversations?

To record conversations, it is recommended to use the Call Recording, MP3 InCall Recorder & Voice (free) or CallRecorder (paid) programs. Recording from the line is not possible - conversations will be recorded from the microphone.

LEDs signal notifications for only 5 minutes, how can I increase this time?

It is impossible to increase the active time of LED indicators of missed events using standard means. The Easy Reminder program will help you.

Is it possible to remove the memory card while the phone is on? If so, do I need to choose safe extraction and where is it located?

To remove the card, use Settings > Storage > Remove SD card.

Explain the need for the Settings > Power > Fast Boot feature. Should I put a tick there?

How to enable a third-party keyboard? In the settings I check the box next to this keyboard, but I can’t turn it on when entering text.

Settings > Language & Keyboard - Check the box for the new keyboard. After that, in any program in which you can type text, click on the input field so that the keyboard appears. Then open the notification panel (curtain) and change the input method.

The standard keyboard has disappeared, what should I do?

Make sure the keyboard is enabled (Settings > Language & Keyboard). Check to see if the HTC Sense Input app is disabled (Settings > Apps).

When entering text, the phone underlines all words in Russian in red

Settings > Language and keyboard > Spell check > Correct HTC Sense Input (tap) > Use keyboard language.

How to connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi if you need to enter a password in Russian, but the keyboard only contains English letters? The button to switch to another language is not active.

Type the password in SMS, select, copy, in the field for entering the password for the wireless network, hold your finger until the “Paste” option appears and click on it. You can also change the password for the wireless network in the router.

How to apply Beats Audio audio effects to a ringtone?

You can't activate Beats Audio when you have an incoming call.

The volume of the ringtone and notifications decreases on its own, how to fix it?

Check how you set the volume of sounds (in the settings menu Sound > Volume): if the volume is set to the same for the system and multimedia, then by reducing the volume of the operating system or multimedia, you lower the volume of notifications.

Make sure that the volume keys are not pressed when the phone is in your pocket (the volume is reduced even in sleep mode).

If you have Hangouts installed, change its settings or remove it altogether because it often conflicts with system sounds.

BoomSound speakers become clogged over time. They need to be cleaned in a circular motion with a dry toothbrush (do not press too hard), after which you can turn the phone over and shake out the remaining debris with light tapping. It helps when one speaker is louder (or quieter) than the other. .

Why am I having trouble hearing my interlocutor?

In addition to the reasons described above, the source of the problem may be a low conversation volume. Adjust the sound using the volume keys directly during a telephone conversation.

I opened a file and mistakenly checked “Set as default”/“Use always”. Now I can't choose a program to open the file. How to return the selection?

Settings > Applications, select the program that opens the file by default, click the Clear defaults button.

Save, Flash Player disappeared in the browser after updating to Android 4.4!

Adobe Flash technology is no longer supported on Android. Websites with video content have already switched to playing videos through the HTML 5 standard, which works in most Android browsers.

If you still need Flash, install the Dolphin browser and Dolphin Jetpack.

Why is it not possible to copy, transfer, or delete files (photos, videos, documents) on an external memory card in Android 4.4.2?

Starting from Android version 4.4.2, only standard programs (such as Gallery) can save files (and delete them) to a memory card (in an arbitrary directory). This is Google's policy. Third-party programs only have write rights to their own folder on the card (Android/data/program-folder).

Energy saving, battery

How to extend the battery life of your HTC phone and save power? Do I need to disable communication modules? How to calibrate the battery?

The answers to all these questions are in the article “”.

My phone works slowly/the screen is dim/there is no vibration/the Internet turns off when the screen is turned off, what should I do?

In the power saving settings, uncheck the corresponding boxes (CPU power consumption, Display, Vibration, Data connection). For example, if there is no vibration when you press the keys, in the energy saving settings, force vibration confirmation to turn on by unchecking the “Vibration” checkbox.

Why can't I activate Low Power Mode in Settings > Power?

Turn off high performance mode in developer options.

Why do I get a low score in the AnTuTu test?

Disable power saving mode before testing.

Do HTC phones support wireless charging?

At the beginning of 2014, no HTC model can be charged wirelessly using induction.

How can I lower the brightness of the button backlight or turn it off altogether?

The key backlight can be turned off or dimmed using the Capacitive Buttons program. In normal operation, the backlight cannot be turned off - its brightness automatically changes depending on the ambient light. When exposed to light, the backlight turns off on its own.

Synchronization, wireless interfaces and connections

Where can I find files received via USB/Bluetooth, downloaded from the Internet?

In the downloads folder in the internal memory (if necessary, a bluetooth folder is automatically created in it).

The access point/Wi-Fi turns off after 10 minutes of inactivity of the phone/after turning off the screen, what do you recommend?

First, check your power saving settings. Secondly, Wi-Fi > menu button > Advanced > Keep connected in sleep mode > Always on (if this option is active, select Never).

The phone does not connect to the IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi network.

• Change the network security algorithm (from WEP or WPA to WPA2) or the encryption type (from TKIP to AES).
• Check that the router does not have MAC filtering or other similar restrictions.
• Change the channel number in the wireless network settings. To determine the channel via a smartphone, use the Wifi Analyzer program.
• In the settings, select only the wireless network band that is actually used (for example, 5 GHz).
• In Wi-Fi settings > Advanced, uncheck the “Auto-assign DLNA IP address” checkbox.
• Remove the wireless network from your smartphone, create it again and try to connect to it.
• Update your router's firmware or change your router's regional settings (enter the region code Taiwan or China).
• Do a factory reset.

How can I configure my phone to operate in modem mode and “distribute” the Internet via Wi-Fi?

How to automatically switch to mobile Internet if Wi-Fi disappears?

Settings > Wi-Fi > Advanced > Automatic switching to mobile internet.

How does Wi-Fi Direct work?

Wi-Fi Direct allows direct data exchange between phones that support this technology, without connecting to a Wi-Fi network (no wireless router required). Wi-Fi Direct is enabled in Settings > Wi-Fi > Menu > Wi-Fi Direct. To quickly send files, we recommend using the SuperBeam program.

How to display an image from an HTC phone on an external display?

Why can't my phone see the flash drive via OTG/memory card?

1. Try a different cable.
2. Format the flash drive/memory card using the exFAT or FAT file system (not NTFS). FAT32 is used in microSD, microSDHC cards, and exFAT is used in microSDXC cards.

Contacts, phone book, SMS, messages

Notifications are received from number 50 in the form of an SMS with the name of the region in which the phone is located (you are offered to save or cancel). The salon said that this is a problem for many HTC owners. Is there any solution to this problem?

1. Settings > Call settings > uncheck the Receive broadcast messages checkbox in the Other call settings section. The option may also be called “Get channel list” (uncheck the box and delete all channels).

2. If this item is not in the settings of your phone (for example, in Desire 600 or One Dual SIM), install the SIM card in another phone (relatives, friends) and turn off broadcast messages through the SIM card menu (turn off channel number 50).

3. Contact the service center of your cellular operator and replace the SIM card (new SIMs do not have broadcast channels configured).

4. Install the Blacklist or Blacklist+ program and add number 50 to the blocked list.

How to block (blacklist) a contact from receiving incoming calls and SMS?

Hold your finger on a contact and select Block contact from the context menu. You will stop receiving notifications about calls and SMS.

You can remove a caller from the blocked list on the Call Log > Blocked Contacts tab. Touch and hold a contact, then select Unblock contacts.

How to set up MMS?

Settings > Mobile Internet > Network slot No. 1 or No. 2 (only for models with two SIMs) > Internet access points. On the APN screen, click the settings button and select Create APN. Find out the MMS settings on your operator's website.

Example for MTS:

Name: MTS-MMS APN: mms.mts.ru User name: mts Password: mts MMSC: http://mmsc MMS proxy server: 192.168.192.192 MMS port: 9201 MСC: 250 MNC: 01 APN type: mms

Why are there two “Contacts” items in the settings, in the “Accounts and synchronization” menu?

"Contacts" appears twice in Android sync settings due to translation errors. In the original it says Sync Contacts (synchronization of Google Contacts) and Sync People details (synchronization of people from Google+ circles). We recommend turning off the “bottom” “Contacts” if you do not actively use G+.

The phone has stopped receiving SMS, although it sends it itself. The phone stopped sending SMS from one of the SIM cards.

Check if the SMS center number is entered correctly (Messages > Settings > Text messages (SMS). Sometimes it gets erased. Saving the SMS center number again also helps.

Check that the SMS center is specified for both SIM cards (for dual-SIM phones).

How can I set a ringtone for a specific contact on HTC?

There are three ways:

1. In the music player, click on the menu (three dots to the right of the melody name) and select Ringtone for contact.
2. In the phone book (“Contacts”), open a contact, click Ringtone (default) in the Options section, and in the window that opens, click the “plus” button at the top right.
3. A method that is suitable for budget models without a full-fledged HTC Sense and without the “contact ringtone” function: add a contact to a separate group and then set a ringtone for it.

How to assign a ringtone to calls of a specific group of contacts?

Open a random music track from the Music folder in the media player, press the menu and select Set as contact ringtone, enter the name of the contact group for which you want to assign a ringtone in the search bar, mark all found contacts and set the ringtone.

Why is the contact not visible in the phone book and is not searchable, although it exists?

When saving a contact, specify the Google type. In “Contacts” at the top left, select “Phone Book” and check the boxes on the desired items (in particular, Google).

Defects, defects, glitches

I hear a lot of noise during conversations and in recorded videos, what should I do?

Clean the openings of the talk and noise microphones with a needle.

Why do you hear clicking noises in the speakers?

Turns the BoomSound system amplifier on and off. It is impossible to eliminate these clicks.

What to do if mobile Internet disappears?

This happens sometimes. Turn on/off Airplane mode or restart the device.

How to fix it if the SIM card periodically turns off/“falls off”?

Check whether the SIM disconnections are due to flexing of the case near the SIM card slot. If this is the reason, make pads (from electrical tape, cardboard, plastic) around the slot that will prevent the back cover from pressing on the slot.

For phones with micro-SIM cards: replace the card you cut yourself with a new micro-SIM from your telecom operator.

HTC Desire was simultaneously presented along with the Android Legend model in February, at MWC 2010, as an analogue of the Nexus One (in fact, this is the same model, with a different design and interface - Desire, in contrast to the “bare” Android 2.1 costs branded HTC Sense). The device instantly became the center of attention thanks to its advanced characteristics and the latest version of Android (most manufacturers at that time announced devices running Android 1.6). Quite recently we published a review of HTC Legend, now it’s time to dot all the I’s for its older neighbor in the line.

Technical characteristics and equipment of HTC Desire

While Desire (who doesn’t know - translated from English this word means “desire” and “passion”) reached first the Ukrainian market, and then the playful hands of the editors gg, the manufacturer has already managed to update its version to 2.2 Froyo, and then update it again, correcting a number of minor errors in the firmware. Perhaps today this is the only Android smartphone on the Ukrainian market that can boast a working version 2.2, obtained entirely legally (that is, through an update proposed by the manufacturer itself). In a difficult competition, HTC defended its right to the title of a company that introduces the most advanced technologies and is today one of the main drivers of the market. This means that HTC in many ways sets the tone for the work of other Android manufacturers (and let’s face it, Windows Mobile, too, because no one has put as much effort into developing and popularizing this platform as HTC).

What is important to know about the characteristics of HTC Desire? It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with a clock frequency of 1 GHz, a 3.7-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 800x480 pixels and a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus. It is worth saying that some (or all?) of the new Desire will not receive AMOLED, but a special Super TFT screen, which has adequate AMOLED capabilities, but also has a number of disadvantages and advantages. In the original firmware, Desire was able to record video in a resolution of 720x480 pixels, but in 2.2 it was able to record video with a frame size of 1280x720 pixels (when using the MPEG4 codec, you can record at a speed of 22 fps). It’s worth mentioning the HTC Sense interface, which is a strong point of the company’s smartphones, adds a pleasant feeling when working with them and, in general, in my opinion, is the most convenient interface on the market (not counting, of course, the iPhone, but that’s a slightly different story). The delivery set is almost the same as that of the HTC Legend - a charger combined with a USB cable, a wired stereo headset exactly the same as the Legend (or vice versa - depending on the point of view), a set of the necessary waste paper and a memory card ( we had a 2-gigabyte one). Strictly speaking, this is not a very generous delivery for a device priced at $650-700, but, as they say, you can’t take the words out of the song.

Competitive environment

The main competitor of HTC Desire was and is Samsung's flagship Android smartphone - the Galaxy S model, around which there is controversy and debate no less than around Desire itself. The question is so pressing that the editors gg I found it necessary to make a separate article about comparing the capabilities of HTC Desire and Samsung Galaxy S. Those who are interested will be able to get acquainted with it later, but I will say here that I was not able to clearly identify the leader even after a month. Each of the devices has both its disadvantages and advantages. In short, the Samsung Galaxy S beats the HTC Desire in display technology (it has a state-of-the-art Super AMOLED), puts the camera to shame (despite the lack of an LED backlight), and also has significantly better 3D graphics performance, as shown by the relevant benchmarks. Today, Galaxy S costs almost a thousand hryvnia more, but both smartphones have, if not an army, then a regiment of their own fans for sure. The formal competitor of the HTC Desire is the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 (if you haven't read its review yet, please correct the gaps in your knowledge), which has the same gigahertz processor and the advantage of a 4-inch display. The XPERIA X10 costs a little less than the Desire, it comes with an 8GB memory card, and it has a better camera (it's not just 8 megapixels versus 5). In other respects, the XPERIA X10 loses (the screen does not support multi-touch, Android is version 1.6 and a quick update to version 2.1 still won’t save it). Not to mention, TimeScape's interface doesn't compare to HTC Sense's capabilities. Another competitor to Desire is Acer Liquid E (have you read its review?), but it’s frankly not easy to find in stores. I would also add that if there is a lack of finances (after all, not everyone can afford the price of Desire), the same Legend may turn out to be its replacement. Therefore, it is worth recalling what its weakness is - it has a simpler processor (600 MHz versus 1 GHz) and a more modest display resolution (480x320 versus 800x480). But in addition to the price, Legend can also boast a body made from a single piece of aluminum and extremely interesting ergonomics.

Appearance of HTC Desire

Since everything in the video does not look the same as in the photo, it is worth watching a short video demonstrating the appearance of HTC Desire.

The Desire case looks good - strict and presentable. The display has a 16:9 aspect ratio, which makes it suitable for watching television series rather than movies. In this case, the picture fits completely on the screen, leaving no black bars. The screen itself is a little more easily soiled than other touch phones. The screen is bright, but in bright sunlight, which can only be found in summer, it still fades and loses only to TFT displays with a mirror substrate. The front panel is edged with plastic that imitates metal very well (I wouldn’t be surprised if it is metal, although it’s unlikely), and the lower part with the keys is covered with soft touch material - the best thing that is used in phones (not counting all sorts of insanely expensive materials like Liquid Metal) .

The back cover is completely covered with soft touch; it is very easy to detach - just hook it on a special cutout. And at the same time it fits well, without unpleasant gaps and cracks.

In profile, the phone looks even more graceful in the photo than in life and seems thin, although the hand in which the device lies does not seem so. The design of the sidewalls is full of Android asceticism - there is only a key for adjusting the volume. At the top there is a power button (it locks the display and switches phone profiles), at the bottom there is an open (one is tempted to write “all the winds”) microUSB connector. I liked this work solution even more than the plug - I often have to connect my phones to my laptop not only for charging, but also to take screenshots.

The camera module looks neat; to the right of it there is an additional speaker (there is only one, there is no stereo sound), which is used to play music and video.

There are four hardware keys, two located on a single rocker key. Why this particular pair was chosen and what the search has in common with returning to the menu of the previous level, I still don’t understand. In the center there is a pressable select button, inside of which an optical joystick is mounted. For a touch screen, this is clearly a redundant control element; I like it less than the trackball, although I don’t use either one equally - with a capacitive display it’s much more pleasant to scroll through everything with your finger.

The “radiator” grille of the speaker for calls consists of two parts. Maybe it’s worth introducing some kind of branded fashion for such an element? What the hell is not joking - BMW and Mercedes do this?

The cover, as I already said, comes off easily (although out of habit you are constantly afraid of breaking it, however, many phones now open this way). More elements are visible inside than in the tightly closed Legend, but, frankly, there is nothing special to consider.

The battery lies in its compartment like a glove and can be removed only in one way (you can’t just turn the device over and see how it falls out on its own). By the way, this is not very good for falls - the batteries are specially designed so that when the phone falls, they knock out the cover and thereby extinguish kinetic energy. The battery is also not installed strictly vertically, but at an angle. You need to bring it under a special protrusion made of translucent plastic, located near the contact group.

Dust, the eternal companion of phone camera lenses and speakers, is also present here. But not as much as it could be. By the way, in this photo you can see the second slot (on the left) for the battery.

To remove a memory card or SIM card, be sure to remove the battery - it blocks any movement of the cards. The memory card “sits” on a spring, and the SIM card is easily removed - just move it - it is almost half open. The translucent plastic at the bottom serves a rather decorative function.

Comparison with Samsung Galaxy S

Since I had the opportunity to compare both devices, which are direct competitors, I did not fail to take advantage of it. The Galaxy S is a little larger with its 4-inch display and appearance very much reminiscent of the iPhone. Its belonging to the Samsung tribe, however, is easily revealed by the central key of a recognizable shape - a rectangle with rounded corners.

The back cover of the Galaxy S is more easily soiled and a little glamorous - the design is reminiscent of the covers of Samsung R series laptops. It looks more beautiful, but is less practical to use.

Size comparison of HTC Desire and Samsung Galaxy S. Samsung is a little larger, but overall their sizes are comparable and they feel the same when carried in a trouser pocket.

Another short video with both smartphones. A small note about the Samsung Galaxy S interface: we had a non-sale sample on hand and in the final version the integration with social networks looks better - logically it should be done exactly the same as in the Samsung Wave S8500. Apparently, at that time the interface for Android was not yet completely polished. Plus, claims about switching layouts in Swype turned out to be unfounded - the layout there is switched by simply moving your finger from the i icon to the icon with the layout (it is y or q, depending on which language is activated).

Interface and applications

You can read more about the new HTC Sense interface in the review of HTC Wildfire, so I won’t dwell on it any longer. Let's consider only the most interesting - regarding Desire itself. I had Desire with firmware 2.09.405.8 on hand, but while working with Desire a more recent version 2.10.405.2 was released with bug fixes, which I immediately installed (it seems that beautiful site icons appeared in the RSS widget, I didn’t notice any other changes) . Another interesting difference is that the running applications manager displays the last 8, rather than 6, running programs.

List of installed applications on HTC Desire. Among the interesting ones are the News applications (this is an RSS reader, it is also available in HTC Legend) and News and Weather (plus weather). Both have a widget option to install and use on your desktop.

One of the key differences in Android 2.2 is the ability to use your phone as a Wi-Fi router. You can connect up to 8 devices and manage the number of connections.

Updated Google maps. New layers appeared, including plugs. It doesn't work as well as Yandex yet. Traffic jams. The whole point, apparently, is still in the small number of devices that transmit movement data in real time. Voice navigation is still not available, but there is simply a step-by-step list of actions.

Google Labs has also appeared on the maps, allowing you to activate experimental features. Just for those who like to tinker with the settings and experiment (fully in accordance with the general ideology of Google and fans of its services).

When you connect Desire to a computer, you can select an operating mode, including USB tethering, that is, the function of connecting to the Internet via your phone. Very convenient - because the phone is recharged at the same time. The access point is activated from the wireless connections menu.

New in Android 2.1 is the ability to use animated desktop wallpapers.

An interesting mode with Google maps - your movements are displayed on a map, which becomes a desktop. It's a pity that you can't scale the map at this time. (Updated: you can, by double tapping in the current location you can zoom in on the picture, it doesn’t work in the opposite direction).

A very interesting proprietary application for working with RSS. Allows you to add new feeds not only by directly entering the address, but also to search for the desired feed using keywords. For example, you can add an RSS feed by simply entering the word gagdget in the application's search bar. You can also search for news by creating your own RSS feed in Google for any word. And read any news on absolutely any topic that interests you.

If you wish, you can use a ready-made catalog of RSS feeds, but there are only sites in English (although the catalog itself is translated into Russian). However, I found several sites that I already read every day in RSS out of professional necessity.

This is what news looks like in the form of a list or as a separate message. The “Read whole article” button launches the browser, which is sent a link to the full text. Any link can be sent by mail, posted on Twitter or Facebook by pressing a special key.

This is the news I quickly collected using the word gagadget. It is clear that we are read and mentioned somewhere in Asia.

Long news lists can be sorted in descending or ascending order. And one more thing (an important nuance that affects battery life) is the frequency of news updates by the phone.

This is how you can add an RSS feed to our site - you need to enter not the full access address to our RSS broadcast, but just a keyword, after which the smart program will show all the possible feed options that it finds.

The second application, “Weather and News,” does the same thing. The difference is that a weather forecast and other news visualization are added. As well as other pre-installed themes. But all the news there is already “ours”, because the clever search algorithms of Google itself are used.

The settings of this application are a little more detailed than those of regular News.

Pay attention to two important things - the menu already has the “Ukraine” theme and you can create any themes yourself. Just a real find for any news seeker on the Internet!

The list of news looks a little different than that of “News”; the page contains information about 5 news (that’s why you need a resolution of 800x480 - so as not to strain your eyes!) You can navigate through the bookmarks with topics by moving your finger across the screen.

Pay attention to how much information fits on a high-resolution display (the browser supports Flash). In vertical orientation.

And horizontal.

Benchmarks and watching videos

Note that the Desire running Android 2.2 optimized performs better than the Galaxy S running 2.1. True, it is logical to assume that Galaxy S with 2.2 will show even more impressive results. In any case, today HTC Desire is the most productive Android smartphone presented on the Ukrainian market. Graphics performance in the benchmark shows 28 frames per second, which is less than that of the Galaxy S, but still high enough for comfortable work and smooth video in dynamic scenes.

Desire's video playback capabilities are exactly the same as Legend's. That is, DivX is not supported, but you can install the free program RockPlayer, which does a great job of doing this. However, the processor does not handle HD video (you can watch it, but the picture is still jerky). But you can easily watch a movie from a 2.2 gigabyte file. However, scrolling does not work with a file of this size. But if the file size is less than a gigabyte, you can easily scroll the movie back and forth by moving the player slider. While viewing this heavy file at maximum volume and brightness settings (with Internet access turned off), the fully charged smartphone worked for 4.5 hours. This is approximately the time that it can work at maximum Internet load, when 3G is activated, push e-mail, Twitter, Facebook are updated, and other services are used, including maps. However, such capabilities are typical for any Android models - none of them survive until the evening. In a less gentle mode, of course, everything is not so bad, the main thing to remember is an important thing - battery life depends on the number of simultaneously used Internet services, the frequency of their updates (everything must be counted - running applications and all active widgets). Also, using a 3G channel also consumes more energy than EDGE. For whom this is critical - in the menu you can choose only to use a regular GSM channel when the data transfer speed does not go beyond EDGE. It’s quite enough for Twitter and the weather, but heavy sites will be uncomfortable to watch and will take a long time to load.

Camera, examples of videos and pictures

In short, Desire's camera is its weakest link. The interface is completely identical to that of Legend and Wildfire (for those interested, see the Wildfire review for details). Only small items have been added - for example, a face recognition mode (maybe it needs additional processing power of the processor?)

Video can be shot in 720p - this feature has appeared in the new firmware. Initially, the video limit was at 720x480.

The photos Desire takes are simply amazing. Even managing the white balance settings, which helped me in Wildfire, doesn't help. Perhaps some things can be improved, but you have to come to terms with this - the camera is in no way Desire's strong point.

You can see more examples of pictures in a separate photo gallery on Torba. The video capabilities can be called mediocre for 720p and good for a phone in principle. In theory, a device that costs more than 5,000 hryvnia could shoot better, but Desire has no positioning as a camera or video recording. Therefore, unlike photography, you can still come to terms with this.

Bottom line

Before us is one of the most interesting smartphones of 2010 in general and Android smartphones in particular. It has a display with a resolution of 800x480 and allows you to use Internet services as comfortably as possible, from weather forecasts to social networks and just websites. Add the signature HTC Sense interface that makes work fun. Responsive capacitive screen (you can even type text from a virtual QWERTY keyboard in vertical orientation, which is uncomfortable in 90% of touchscreen devices) and high performance. Live firmware update - this is the only Android device officially sold in our country that has already received an update to 2.2 Froyo. And a drawback. perhaps one is a weak camera (if it weren’t for it, I would have given the victory in the battle with the Galaxy S to the HTC smartphone with a pure heart). In general, I simply have no other choice - HTC Desire deservedly receives the editors' highest award gg- "Editor's Choice".

9 reasons to buy HTC Desire

1. Already released Android update to 2.2
2. Powerful 1 GHz processor
3. Superior HTC Touch interface
4. A large number of pre-installed widgets
5. Excellent address book integration with social networks
6. Capacitive display with 800x480 resolution and multi-touch support
7. WebKit 3.1 browser with Flash support
8. Case with soft touch coating
9. LED camera light that can be used as a flashlight