HTC Desire Z fully tested and reviewed
Smartphones
28/03/2011
The touchscreen HTC Desire Z is back from the lab clutching good scores for using the internet and its music player, but it just misses out on Best Buy status.
The Desire Z weighs in with a respectable 64% making it one of the best Android phones we’ve tested. Its slide-out keypad makes it a decent option if you are looking for a device with a full Qwerty keypad as well as a touchscreen.
Running on Android Froyo (2.2), the Desire Z features HTC’s Sense interface and is another addition to the impressive Desire range.
Available free on contracts from £20, check out our full review.
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Vynor Hill
I have one of these Desire Z’s. On the downside, the battery is poor, needing constant recharging even when not used. I’ve tried switching off various apps (like bluetooth) when not required but see little difference. The other problem is poor phone reception. My old phone received rock solid Vodafone here, but this (according to the Carphone Warehouse) hunts between 3G and 2G, leaving me without a signal at times. On one occasion I had to remove the battery in order to get the phone signal back. Once only, the screen started to hop around, move from one screen to another and the cursor wouldn’t stay still when typing. I hope this doesn’t happen again.
In the middle, sound is reasonable – what do you expect from a phone speaker – Hi fi??. I took photos with it and some were o.k, but others were spoiled by the autofocus, which didn’t. Internet is quick on wifi, though it can’t play some videos and refused to interact with a build a car screen on one manufacturer’s web site.
Images are crystal clear, the querty key board is great, it’s why I bought the phone. Touch screen is sensitive too, but, it is all too easy to touch something and get a surprise. I like the touch pad at the bottom for fine movements when icons are too small on screen to be touched accurately. The diary feature is good and I use it regularly. Maps are also useful, but I think that GPS is better on dedicated devices and wouldn’t use the phone for this. I think your score is about right, but not quite for the reasons you give. Its weak phone signal is the poorest feature, and for a phone of this price and quality that’s surprising.
claire richmond
I am very disappointed with my desire Z phone , mite not keep it as it cost more to keep it as I’m charging it every yes every god dam night !!!!!!!! Very p…… off with it but nothing will help me pay with the cost of charging it every night !!!!!!! Thanks for listening .
mkbatman
would be nice to get a decent test series on smartphones and usage versus charging – so if I am playing a game/listening to mp3′s or google mapping how long will I get as a comparative versus just having it there as a phione and niot using it
bob
the battery on all HTC sucks, but … does it suck better or worse than iphone, for the same usage, that is the question!
Jon Barrow
Hi Bob.
In our internet battery life test the HTC Desire Z lasted slightly longer than the iPhone 4 (173 minutes vs 166 minutes).
We test each phone by connecting them to a special web page that regularly updates and run them till the battery expires. This is over 3G rather than wi-fi and is performed with the screen set to maximum brightness.
I hope that helps,
Jon
Gwen Cooper
I have an HTC Desire and I agree with the previous comments about the batteries. Why doesn’t HTC supply a spare battery and charger for the phones if they cant provide better batteries? that would alleviate the problem, although it is not an ideal solution
Garry Sibbald
Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto,
Everyone in the thread so far has raised valid points. I have purchased a HTC Desire and whilst I am very impressed with the capabilities of the phone, the battery drain is even worse than I thought – and yes I did do my homework first and read the reports but I am finding that battery life gets low after only a few hours, far less than I was expecting. I thought the battery would at least last a working day! I now carry around a spare battery just so I don’t get caught short, but this is not ideal. The focus for new products has got to be on improving the battery life as I am sure that more and more of us will put more importance on this area in future.
Tim Gee
It looks like battery life is a big issue and not just with phones but all gadgets out there.
See Patrick’s piece on our sister site Which? Conversation.
http://conversation.which.co.uk/technology/battery-life-portable-technology/
Kit Byatt
Agree with the above – great features but dodgy battery life. I deliberately opted for this phone because I wanted keyboard input (I’ve never yet found a keyboard to match up to my old Psion 5mx!) and my previous Nokia n97 mini’s keyboard was too small and stiff to be really useful.
I’m happy to work round the battery issue – using profile managers to switch off wi-fi & bluetooth when not needed, apps to reduce the screen brightness, and charging regularly. A spare battery might well be worth investing in, too.
Overall, after 3 weeks, I’m happy with this unit – the keyboard works well for me and I’m happy to work around the battery exigencies! There is still much for me to discover about how to get the best out of it, and there are great apps (many free) out there to improve its functionality.
dean
I think it is a piece of the proverbial.
However, only if it is flashed with a network ROM and not an HTC stock one. Not only do you get better battery life, but you can actually receive calls and text messages, if you have an HTC stock ROM.