Some information for HTC Desire owners

 
In keeping with my purpose for putting up this blog, here are some useful links for HTC Desire present and future owners.

 
Top Accessories For HTC Desire
http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/blog/2010/04/top-10-htc-desire-accessories/


 
The HTC Desire Section on the HTC Forums
http://www.htcforums.com/desire/


 
The HTC Desire Page on XDA Developers
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=594


 
And a secret key sequence for accessing the extended settings of the HTC Desire:
From the call screen, use the keypad to enter the following sequence:
*#*#INFO#*#*

Shopping for a new Android phone

New Phone Shopping
For work reasons I had to get an Android phone so for several days I went on a research frenzy, learning as much about Android phones and the choices available.
Now I have to admit, I went into this research with a favorite in mind, the Samsung I9000 Galaxy S. So there was a wee bit of bias and I was basically looking to add just a few more positive comments to confirm my choice so I could hightail it to the nearest Samsung shop.
But in order to give my choice a semblance of being "well-thought out", I had a short list of three choices

1. Samsung I 9000 Galaxy S
2. HTC Desire
3. Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

The specs of these phones are very close to each other. In terms of screen size, the Samsung and Sony have 4 inch screens while the HTC has a 3.7 inch screen. They all have 1 GHZ processors, the HTC and Sony are Snapdragons while the Galaxy S is a Hummingbird. 2 of them have 5 Megapixel cameras (HTC and Samsung) while the Sony has an 8 Megapixel camera. All are capacitive touchscreens. Their cash prices are within 5k of each other.
But for comparisons sake, here are best "zero interest" prices, though the period is different for the Galaxy (all prices in Philippine Pesos):

1. Samsung Galaxy S – 33,000 ( 3 months)
2. HTC Desire – 31,000 (12 months)
3. Sony X10 – 31,000 (12 months)

A disclaimer of sorts, before the purchase, I had 1 phone from each of the manufacturers being evaluated. I have an Omnia 2, HTC HD2 and a Sony Ericcson P1 ( I actually have 2 more Sony's, a K810 and a W850).
The reviews are all over the net and I will just post the links later, in the meantime here are the final pros and cons about each phone which I used to finalize my decision about which to choose.
SAMSUNG GALAXY S    

PROS:

1. The Super AMOLED screen the best, by a big margin
   
2. Hummingbird processor, coupled with graphics processor makes it theoretically faster.
   
3. HD recording (but all 3 will be equal when they are upgraded to Froyo 2.2)
   
4. Largest onboard storage (16 gb)
   
5. Long battery life
   

CONS:

1. GPS performance is mediocre at best
2. No camera flash
3. Phone is prone to pausing and delays
4. Problems synchronizing with Windows using KIES
5. Plasticky feel, build quality is not as sold
6. Quality control issues
7. 
   
   Some apprehensions about Samsung support
   
   
   

HTC DESIRE

PROS:

1. Excellent and mature interface (HTC Sense)
2. Solid build quality
3. Good track record in customer support
4. Excellent GPS performance
5. Froyo 2.2 OTA update available now
6. Fast and responsive

CONS:

1. Battery life is quite short
2. Camera is nothing to write home about
3. Small memory card (2 GB)
4. Limited memory available for applications

 
SONY XPERIA X10

PROS:

1. Best camera by a large margin
2. Scratch resistant screen
3. Good battery life
4. Good GPS performance
5. Solid build quality

CONS:

1. No FM radio
   
2. No smart dialing
   
3. No multi touch
   

After going over all of the reviews, I finally decided (with some reluctance) to get the HTC Desire. As I said earlier, I went into this exercise wanting the Galaxy S, having been salivating over it for the past 60 days or so.
However, the 2 major deal breakers for me were the crappy GPS ( my Omnia 2 has mediocre GPS too) and the build and quality control issues. When you pay 30k ++ for a phone, you expect everything to work. The E72, one of the phones on my shortlist of wanted phones, or even my E71, have much better GPS performance than the Galaxy and the build of the E series is reknowned.
So being the proud owner of a new HTC Desire, do I regret the decision?
I most definitely don't. The phone is awesome, and it feels so solid. In fact, it has replaced the Omnia 2 as my main phone. I still have the Omnia 2 but it has been demoted a bit to the less-used sim.
I only have one regret – I should have gone to the Android OS much earlier. So far, the OS has been really great, fast and stable. The programs included in the stock package are excellent and the free apps via the app store are quite competent.
There are a few areas where Android still has to play catch up, which is in the multimedia and connectivity with MS Office applications. For instance, the sound of the Omnia 2 is well ahead of the Android pack and the storage space of 16 GB for programs under Windows Mobile 6.5 is unheard of in stock Androids.
I must confess though that I have decided to get one more Android phone in the near future. And yes, it is the Samsung Galaxy S. Before you point out that I had criticized the phones value for money, let me say that the reason I will get it is because of a serendipitous sequence of events where I will give up my Sun broadband sim which has been performing dismally ever since I got it, and an irresistible offer from Globe where I can get a great data and voice package while ending up spending less.
Hopefully I will have the Galaxy S in a few weeks and once I do, I can do a real life comparison of both devices.
Lastly, I am tempted to get the X10 too, because of its great camera. That's how much I like the Android system.
But Nokia has the N8 coming up and from all indications, this is the best camera sensor ever. It packs a digicam sized sensor in a smartphone! But that is another story which I will post here in the future.
In the meantime, I am loving my HTC Desire more and more each day and won't trade it for anything else at this point.

 
Links to the reviews:
From GSM Arena
Galaxy S
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9000_galaxy_s-review-478.php

Desire
http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_desire-review-468.php

Xperia X10
http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_xperia_x10-review-463.php


 

 

 

 

 

 

New E71 Software Now Available - Changelog Here

Was synchronizing my E71 when I got a pleasant surprise - I got a message that new software for my e71 is now available!

My previous version was 410.21.010 and the new version is 500.21.009.

I am upgrading right now and will be posting my initial impressions after I try it out.

Stay tuned.

Here is the changelog:

Change Log for Nokia E71:

NEW FUNCTIONALITIES:
Following baselines/functionalities have been upgraded.
•    Maps 3.03 Lite which has Free Navigation support
•    Music Player upgrade
•    Quick Office v6.2 which has Office 2007 support
•    Ovi Store upgraded to 1.6.0.18 and Download! Removed
•    Lotus Notes traveler v8.5.1 -> Localization support is present only for 10 languages.

CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS:

•    Windows Live removed from the memory card
•    Ovi Suite included in Memory card
•    CS Helps baseline upgraded to fix localization issues
•    Start Up settings baseline upgraded
•    Ovi Store Link provided in “Set Up Internet Telephony”
•    Download! removed
GENERAL
•    Portuguese Localization issues fixed
•    Functionality improvements in E-mail configuration
•    Qwerty keypad improvements

CALL HANDLING
•    Emergency call termination with RSK key corrected
•    Corrected Bluetooth link drop when an outgoing call is made in a carkit

CALENDAR/CLOCK
•    Fix for Israel written instead of Jerusalem in World Clock
•    Corrected Argentina names issue in World Clock
•    Corrected localization issues in world clock

BROWSER
•    CMCC Java application download corrected
•    Fix provided for accessing a link that has appended space characters

EMAIL
•    Fix provided for selecting desired mailbox when multiple mailboxes are configured

QWERTY KEYBOARD
•    Key mapping issues fixed

MESSAGING
•    Nokia IM chat: Localization support provided for Malay and Indonesian languages

A New Object Of My Desire - The Samsung Galaxy S

It is so hard to turn a blind eye to all these newfangled stuff coming around.

Maybe I should stop reading my RSS feeds because knowing what's on the horizon tends to create a feeling of anticipation despite trying to pretend that I don't need anything new.

Case in point is the Android invasion. I have been wanting a Android for the longest time but I am stopped in my tracks each and every time I see the memory on the phones. I wanted the HTC Desire even before it hit the Philippine shores and now that it's here, I saw the spec sheet and all my desire faded away.

The problem now is that I went to Globe Trinoma last weekend with my eldest daughter, a sort of Daddy day with her. My purpose there was to just load my Gcash account to keep my prepaid line alive but I always get the latest matrix from Smart, Globe and Sun whenever I am near their shops. Call it a sort of technological masochism.

So I get the matrix, then I also collected the brochures - yes it's like an addiction, and I make the mistake of picking up the brochure of the Samsung Galaxy S which is currently a Globe exclusive.

My first reaction when I read the specs was THIS IS IT! My Android phone has arrived.

Why is this the case? Well my problem with the other Androids had to do with the small onboard memory. This Samsung I9000 Galaxy S has 2GB ROM, 512 RAM and 8 or 16 GB Storage in the phone. Not unlike my Omnia I8000 which is 16 GB of pure bliss.

Some other great features of the Galaxy is the screen which is 4 inches worth of SUPER AMOLED. Granting, it is a bit less than my HD2 which has 4.3 inches of screen real estate but that's a bit more than the I800 at 3.7 inches.

Fast forward to today. In an attempt to make my vision board work overtime, I downloaded many photos of the phone and read all the reviews.

GREAT! One review states that this is probably the BEST PHONE IN THE WORLD!!! How can I resist??

Come August 2, the exclusivity of Globe will end, which means that my friendly neighborhood cellphone store will put it online at outrageous prices. If I can resist it for a few weeks (which is easy because I have no money to buy it anyway) the price will go down by about 20%. I can't wait....

Footnote: My only worries about the Android has to do with proper syncing with Office 2010 in a way that will not screw up the data on my Windows Mobile phones. Thankfully, the HTC HD3 is on the horizon and is one of the incoming Windows 7 smart phones. With all these new phones, the Iphone 4 is going to get a run for its money.

Some links:

GSM Arena Galaxy S Page

Mobile Phones UK Review Of the Galaxy

GSM Arena HD3 Rumors Page

The Sun Broadband Wireless Speed Of The Day

Gave Sun a couple of days to do something but to no avail.

Here is the SBW Scorching Speed Of The Day

SBW Sun Broadband Wireless Mounting User Complaints

Digitel and Sun have apparently been turning a deaf ear to the growing multitudes of people complaining about their service. They have lost so many subscribers already and they still have not pulled their ads, nor fixed their problems.

Read all about the user complaints here:

Sun Broadband Wireless Users Thread on TipidPC


THE SCORCHING SPEEDS OF THE 3 MBPS SBW SUN BROADBAND WIRELESS

PLEASE SHARE YOUR COMPLAINTS, EXPERIENCES AND COMMENTS ABOUT SBW SUN BROADBAND WIRELESS IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.

I'll send the forum links to SUN to see if they can do the decent thing and act on our complaints once and for all.

SBW Sun Broadband Wireless - The Punishment Continues

I haven't written in a while about SBW or Sun Broadband Wireless, but that's not because there was no problem, but because I was happily using my 2 MBPS PLDT that I hardly used my SBW.

The times that I used it though, were sobering reminders of how bad their service was, a fact that I remember with anger, whenever I pay their 1899 bill every month. I have a 3mbps plan and they are giving me speeds that are SLOWER THAN DIAL UP!

So from this point onwards, I will keep on posting my speedtest everyday, until I either get the speeds I am paying 1899 for (3 MBPS) or Sun refunds my money which I have been paying for over a year.

One last point, this is really maddening because I do a lot of business with Sun, paying 6 thousand pesos monthly to them. I can take the occasional bad connections with SUN but the SUN Broadband Wireless is something I cannot take and it makes me feel that I am being cheated every month. How much is my internet worth??

0.19 MBPS for 1399??