HTC Desire Z Sim Free Mobile Phone

Ok so I have been using my HTC Desire Z for about a month now and I have done a number of comparisons agains other smartphones and all I have to say is this is how smartphones should be.

Funcionality: This phone has some very cool features, the keyboard is brilliant, it has a nice 5mp camera with a flash which can also seperatly be used as a torch - very handy. The camera will also record 720p HD video and the frame rate is very impressive. It has a good quality lense too so the still pics are sharp, crisp and very detailed.

Ease of use: Its very easy to use, the built in keyboard makes it even easier. As a matter of fact, i am typing this review up on my Desire Z as we speak! Web pages are easier to browse and access than any other device ive used, except for my laptop/pc. With the use of Flash 10.1 you can now view almost any web page you want and view all its content from YouTube to BBC iPlayer which is great!

Styling: Personally, I think this phone has the looks. Its no thicker than an iPhone 4, no bigger either and the titanuim shell which surrounds its screen and covers the battery makes it look the part. Aside from the dedicated camera button, the volume buttons on the other side and the 'track pad' this phone has no other visible buttons, until you open up the keyboard. This gives it the look of something very serious and hi-tech. I will say however that this phone is a little weighty, its definitely something you can feel in your pocket. Some people may not like this, I do however. I like being able to feel my phone in my poket, I get worried if i can't!

Ok so to sum this phone up - it looks beautiful, has a good battery life and will do everything an iPhone will do, and more. Lots more. This is definitely a phone for people who want something more than just a fancy looking device than can send/recieve calls/texts and can browse the internet. This is a device which keep you entertained, occupied, and connected to everyone - everywhere. Its brilliant!

I chose this phone to replace my old G1 Google Phone - I haven't used any other smartphones though to compare. I have had mine for 24 hours.

For me the HTC Desire Z is like the culmination in one product of everything that a smartphone should be. If it has drawbacks or oddities, I can't see them. Some of the online reviews say the hinge of the phone is flimsy, it does look flimsy but it feels solid enough and my guess is that the fact it's made of aluminium means the moving parts can be smaller and narrower.

The battery life is pretty decent - after a day at work the G1 used to run down completely even on standby but this is still on 90% or so.

They have put loads of thought into how it connects to everything else, if you charge it from a computer's USB port it can connect itself to the internet through the computer. It finds nearby wireless access points and uses them in preference to the mobile data tariff. It has automatically cross-linked all my contacts between my Gmail account and work email. The camera is good, although I am no expert and other phones may have better. The keyboard is a bit smaller than the one on the G1 but it is perfectly good, and the touchscreen made me realise that actually you can type on them. Call quality is good.

There are loads of features and apps I haven't used at all yet such as navigation / maps but this phone does everything I need it for brilliantly and I would recommend it to anyone else who like me is seeking a PAYG Android smartphone with a qwerty keyboard, or something to replace a G1.

This is my first smart phone and I'm impressed. I didn't want to get an iPhone as I don't like being tied to iTunes, which I have had problems with. I also use google apps across several PCs and Windows Media Player quite extensively. So I waited a couple of years to make this purchase. Meanwhile the rest of my mates and family have iPhones.

So how does it compare?

Well first off I chose the Desire Z rather than the HD as I like the keyboard. The iPhone does not have this option (Though the gossip is they are thinking about it now). The keyboard is great. A good compromise between space and function but my speed and accuracy of typing are both improved. The numbers are on the same row as letters but they work around that quite cleverly. If you don't care about the keyboard get the HD. There were worries about the mechanics of the keyboard but it seems sturdy enough to me.

Obviously the latest Android and HTC front end provides a simple interface and the MARKET is where you get apps - so far my 11 year old tells me he has found all the same games on MARKET as his cousins have on the iPhone so he is happy too! (In fact I have to fight to get my hands on the phone). I downloaded blogger and now with the great camera and flash I can blog direct off my phone as easily as from a PC - it works seamlessly. It also integrates with my google apps, mail accounts and my google calendar seamlessly - this alone makes life a lot easier.

Email was simple to set up with several accounts and gmail is integrated so you get little symbols appear when mail arrives in your gmail as well as an on screen display of pop mail arriving. The only thing I don't like about email and text is the way you select the 'view' of inbox, outbox, sent, all - could be a little easier but it's a bit of a nit pick.

I like the way you can choose if and when to use wifi and also the phone network for data. For me it's important that the phone does not use up bandwidth on my data tariff unless I want it to - this is is easy to control.

I was impressed that when I went into MUSIC it found my home PC and NAS (both have my CDs stored on them) and offered to allow me to play from either. This is fantastic, so now I'm playing music anywhere in the house with total control over what I listen to - clearly the sound is not fab (it's only a phone after all) but it's easy to have something playing of my choice. Of course you can also load music direct to the phone and listen with your headphones that come supplied but I like having access to my total music collection too.

Battery life is better than expected after reading tons of poor reviews - but I do charge every night now compared to every few days with my old phone.

It does TONS more of course and I was annoyed that there was no manual either supplied or on the htc website but in the last few days a really decent one has shown up there which I am working my way through.

All in all it seems like iPhone has some serious competition now and with the various Android app sites growing and more people now using android phones than apples ones I think this is the place to be, for me anyway.