HTC Desire Z - When Z means a keypad

BUILD & ERGONOMICS:

We received the review sample of HTC Desire Z in a very small ordinary looking box which was a letdown and we are hoping that the retailing packaging will be more attractive. The charger comes with a detachable cable that can also be used as a data cable. The phone weighs about 180 grams making it quite heavy. The colors of the phone were a big turnoff. It was grey with a brushed aluminum finish. However the grilled earpiece was very neat and the square-shaped optical track pad were definitely eye catching.

We found a slight gap between the screen and metal bezel which will be very difficult to clean. The aluminum bezel is slightly raised to protect the screen but makes it very uncomfortable for the user. The 3.7 inch SLCD has white backlit keys and on the top we find the display lock button. It supports a USB Port, 3.5 MM Jack and the camera button and on the opposite sides.

We can open the battery cover with a switch just below the camera button. The battery was just 1,300 mAh compared with HTC Desire which supports a 1,400 mAh unit. Above the Micro USB Port we find the volume rocker making it pretty unusable. The trackpad is a delight and very sensitive to use. It acts as a button as well but if you plan to use it with the QWERTY touchpad it is inconvenient.

The much talked about keypad has very small flat keys which are difficult to use. The keypad has to be lifted and the display has to be moved to the right after that from the left the keypad appears which we found a little too weird to use. The onscreen keypad feels cramped though it is sensitive to touch. The fact that it has a QWERTY keypad is more of a hindrance as it is difficult to use and will take some time getting use to.

FEATURES:

The HTC Desire Z has Adreno 205 graphics with 800 MHz processor and 512 MB of RAM make it pretty powerful. The SLCD helps in saving power but the display is nothing out of the ordinary. This HTC Phone supports a 5MP Camera with LED Flash. The UI named Sense is very fast, institutive and a pleasure to use. The Android 2.2 UI is very evident with its large number of available settings and has access to more from the Android store. It comes with a large number of pre installed applications like Facebook and Twitter. It has HTC's Friend Stream which delivers updates from different social networking accounts in a single screen.

PERFORMANCE:

The HTC Desire Z takes about 5 seconds longer to boot up than the HTC Desire HD. If you open 5-6 applications the phone may become slightly slow. The SLCD is very clear and legible. However the original S-LCD screen on HTC Desire was definitely better. The Desire Z supports good voice clarity in zone 1 & 2. However in zone 3 we found additional noise and tone was also mechanical. The handsfree is very loud compared with the loudspeaker which gives horrible music output. The fonts are better on the HTC Desire HD compared with Desire Z and legibility in also poor in bright sunlight.

The 5MP Camera was a pleasant surprise and clicks some nice shots with detail and minimum noise. The LED Flash is very powerful but not as good as Xenon. The music quality is relatively decent compared with other phones like Sony Ericsson X10i or Samsung Galaxy S.

VALUE:

We were impressed with the HTC Desire we reviewed sometime back with the Android 2.1. The only criticism was the plastic feel and lack of a hardware keypad, other wise the features are well rounded with decent battery life and the SLCD Display is pretty cool too.

VERDICT:

Priced at Rs. 25,590 it offers good features. The few faults we found are a little annoying and could take time getting used to. You can go for Desire HD or Samsung Galaxy S if you are willing to shell out a little more. However if you are not deterred by the quirky QWERTY Keypad the Desire Z could be the perfect phone for you.

HTC Desire Z - When Z means a keypad