VS. IN A STEEL CAGE!!!!
There will be endless arguments about this. I know a fair few people who will buy exclusively products made by Apple, and at the same time people who seemingly boycott them, I guess it's all personal preference. I'd like to consider myself a neutral, as while I've no particular leaning either way, I went for the iPhone. My flatmate Rick , on the other hand (who helped me with this review), went for the HTC and after having a bit of a play on it I thought I'd write a review. I've broken it down into a few categories.
Price
Obviously the HTC fares better here. When my contract with Orange came to an end I was offered the HTC as an upgrade for £20 a month and the handset for free. This was a pretty tempting offer as typically with an iPhone you're looking at paying an initial £119 (for the 16gb, £219 for the 32gb) and then £42 a month which is a lot of money. Through various hook ups I managed to secure my iPhone bill at £30 a month (still paying the £119). If I hadn't been able to pimp the system and get this discount I probably would have gone for the HTC. But if you're really that concerned about money you shouldn't be after either of these phones and should go back to pay-as-you-go, you cheapskate!
Winner: HTC
Battery
Even when you smash the internet on the HTC you can probably get two and a half days out of it. The iPhone isn't fantastic but compared to other Apple products I've had in the past the battery life is massively improved. Using the current location on maps really did drain my battery but it's kind of expected especially considering it uses satellite location. I'm calling this one a draw as Apple really have stepped up on improving battery life and with an iPhone any Apple USB is compatible to charge your phone. So, if you're away from home and forgot your charger, anyone with who has ever had an iPod can hook you up with some juice.
Winner: Draw
Size
No one wants to be walking round with a brick in their back pocket giving that obvious bulging, frayed affect to your jeans, clear to be seen by any attractive girls or potential thieves. Both are pretty heavy with the iPhone weighing in 137 grams and the HTC at 135, but the when thickness comes into play, the iPhone takes it, coming in at 2.6 millimetres thinner and while it might not sound a lot, it is.
Winner: iPhone
Display
Simple enough, The iPhone has its 'Retina Display' that provides are really sharp finish, while the HTC has a bigger screen in general. So what do you want, size or sharpness? And if that's not an innuendo I don't know what is.
Winner: Draw
Apps
There are people out there who don't have an iPhone who will tell you, "You can get all the apps you can get for iPhone on any android phone," this isn't true. Apple has many of the apps under copyright so some of these won't be available on any other phones. I find the AppStore a really easy way to find new apps but the Android Market is equally as straightforward. And while the HTC is slowly but surely catching up, as it stands the iPhone is a clear winner on the apps.
Winner: iPhone
Camera
I don't really care about the cameras but I know a lot people who do. The iPhone has a 5 mega pixel camera (which is nothing new to phones I'm pretty sure I had a phone years ago with this) while the HTC boasts 8. The iPhone also has a camera on the front which enables face time and I think the video quality is a little better. I think both cameras are good but I'm giving this one to the HTC.
Winner: HTC
Overall Winner: Draw
Reviews can be pretty meaningless unless you actually use the phone a lot. There may be some problems that don't immediately come to light. So me and Rick got together to give some honest, unbiased reviews. This is consumer research you can trust!
What do I think about the iPhone 4?
I think the iPhone is brilliant and short of a word processing system, I'm of the firm belief you can do pretty much anything that a computer can do. After having the iPhone for two months now there are a few things that wind me up about it. I'm of the opinion that the iPhone is a really good gadget but I feel that it really lets itself down at being a phone, ultimately what it was designed for. The 'grip of death' being a prime example. My girlfriend has an iPhone 4 too and we're forever doing the, "hello? I can't hear you," line and it gets frustrating very quickly. Also, I find the touch screen too dainty and when I'm trying to text I'm painfully reminded of the episode of The Simpsons where Homer makes a call only to be told, "The fingers you have used to dial are two fat." Sometimes, when on the phone my cheek only has to to touch the screen, and it ends the call, stupid phone. Even so, I'm glad I got the iPhone and if I did get the HTC I think I would have secretly wished I'd got the iPhone.
What does Rick think about the HTC Desire?
I have been the proud owner of a HTC for about two months now. Having upgraded from the Nokia 5550 from the stone-age, this was a very steep learning curb. However, with Android's interface had my back right from the start. As a stand alone phone it gets the job done, with minimum buzz on the speaker and the on-screen dial pad meant I could bang in a number easy-peasy. I've not gone through enough Apps to be able to judge the men from the boys, but the Android Market breaks it down with the specifics, price and functionality. It's not all smilies and rainbows though. Connecting the HTC to your PC and the HTC Sense service was a painful process, requirng me to have a googlemail account to even turn it on. I have a problem with Apple products because I believe them to be exclusive to their own software. But when the HTC makes connecting to your laptop about as easy as changing Jeremy Clarkson's mind, makes me question my principles. On the whole though, the HTC has made my foray into Smartphones an enjoyable one. The screen is sharp, the Android interface and Market means I can really personalise my phone. It's heavy, functional, sturdy and means I can call my Dad while handing in my essay in any cafe easy as pie.
It's you're call, people!
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