HTC were the last major manufacturer to announce their new handsets at this year's MWC. As it turns out, the wait was more than worth it. The Taiwanese company had three very nice devices in stock for us.
HTC booth at the MWC 2010
The HTC Desire, HTC Legend and HTC HD mini are all fine full-touch phones with sleek design and extensive functionality.
HTC Desire
The incredibly cheesy porn-starlet name aside, HTC Desire is a great device. Sleek looks meet great performance to create a package that is really hard to resist.
We are certainly impressed by the large AMOLED display. It sure is short of the Samsung S8500 Wave incredible blacks, but otherwise quite a match. We are not sure how it will handle exposure to direct sunlight but inside the Barcelona Fair halls it looks just great.
As was to be expected from a capacitive unit, response is excellent and there is multi-touch support too.
HTC Desire (codenamed Bravo)
In spite of our worries, the phone fits nicely in the hand and isn't too big to handle at all. Of course, it's no LG Mini but some good use of space makes sure the 3.7" display doesn't become a burden for the HTC Desire.
It was a short time we spent with the HTC Desire but it doesn't take long to convince anyone in the qualities of the 1 GHz Snapdragon CPU. The Desire is among the snappiest devices out there even though its display resolution nearly steps over netbook territory.
Unfortunately, the rumors about the HTC Desire (or Bravo as it was known at the time) capturing 720p video turned out wrong. It's not that D1 resolution at 30 fps is bad, but it certainly isn't top-notch.
The trackpad is a nice touch to the HTC Desire. It works fine and gives you an alternative way of browsing your homescreens for example. Unfortunately the trackpad itself is well on the small side and doesn't quite provide high precision.
And here goes a user interface demo to get you better acquainted with this new Android.
HTC have added a few new touches to their proprietary Sense UI that comes preinstalled on top of the Android OS 2.1. The Leap view is the nicest of them, allowing you to make all seven homescreens visible at once by a pinch, and decide where you want to go next.
HTC Legend
HTC Legend is the living proof that a handset can update its predecessor in almost all ways possible. It's lighter, slimmer and more powerful than the HTC Hero, and it looks way better.
The seamless aluminum unibody is absolutely impressive and while the Legend pays its respects to the original Android styling, the chin at the bottom is a very subtle accent rather than a prominent birthmark.
HTC Legend
The HTC Legend also packs an AMOLED display which, while maintaining the HVGA resolution of the Hero's TFT unit, has much deeper blacks and so much better image quality. Being so punchy and all it also contributes to the phone's general look, touching a soft spot in every geek's heart.
While our first impression might be a bit misleading, with the sample units lacking any extra software to slow them down, the HTC Legend performs above expectations. Getting the CPU from 528 to 600 MHz doesn't seem like too great of an update but the Legend definitely feels snappier than the Hero.
HTC Legend
The final hardware upgrade that the HTC Legend brings is the amount of RAM, which is now increased to 384 MB. We are in no position to judge the effect of that yet, but it should make some difference too.
On the software side of things, the Legend comes with Android OS v2.1 and the new version of the HTC Sense UI. You can check out how this new combo looks and feels in the short video below.
HTC HD mini
Now, we don't know what started it but every self-respecting maker now seems to want a mini in their portfolio. Looking at the HTC HD mini raises another interesting question - what's HD got to do with the whole thing.
HTC HD mini
It's not the screen resolution anymore (not that it was on the original HD but it was so much closer) and it certainly isn't the video, so it's puzzling indeed. But let's not get picky here - it's still better than Desire.
The guys at the HTC booth were all trying to convince us that the lower screen resolution will offset the slower CPU so no difference in performance should be felt between the HD2 and HD mini.
HTC HD mini
In all honesty, there is some difference but in simple tasks (like telephony and messaging) and menu navigation it's negligible. Of course it's all downhill from there when you start opening applications that are harder to swallow but we still think the HTC HD mini pulls off a pretty decent performance.
It's the only new Windows Mobile announcement by HTC at this MWC but it too packs the Sense UI like the two Android phones. Of course the difference in the user experience is there for everyone to see but Sense certainly makes the WinMo feel cozier.
And here goes the third and final video that we took at the HTC booth.
HTC Smart (BREW platform)
The HTC Smart has the company's proprietary Sense UI preinstalled on top of the Brew platform and will run on a 300 MHz CPU. RAM is 256 MB, while the display measures 2.8" in diagonal and sports QVGA resolution. Good news, 3G is also on the list.
HTC Smart
HTC are obviously keen to introduce their proprietary Sense UI to a wider audience and the Smart might just be the right way to go. Currently, there aren’t any affordable handsets running Sense and that is really pretty limiting.
The HTC Smart runs smooth despite its modest 300 MHz CPU but its screen is pretty much disappointing. The user interface is simplistic but not always perfectly logical so it might need some time getting used to.
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