Mobile News

Release Date: October 2010 (exact date to be disclosed later)
Price: $550 no contract

Talk Time: 9.8 hours
Standby Time: 17.9 days

Battery:

Battery life for the HTC Desire Z is definitely good, with a talk time of 9.8 hours. Of course, there are other features and factors that can affect battery life. For example, this phone also has an MP3 player, as well as Wi-Fi — you will definitely see some performance snags occur if you decide to use the camera and the Wi-Fi frequently. When you’re truly concerned about battery life, you will want to make sure that you turn off the extra stuff — it will completely change your battery life for the better.

Memory and Processor Speed:

Memory is not an issue with the Desire Z — with 1.5GB of internal space, you’re pretty much covered. However, for those that have to walk around with a complete archive of everything they’ve owned in the photo, video, and music departments, you’re still covered — the device supports a massive 32GB microSD card. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with the card — you’ll still have to purchase that separately. Still, having the potential for so much on-board space is always a good thing and a memory card should be the first thing you purchase to go with the HTC Desire Z.

The processor is also decently fast at 800 MHz — not as much as some phones, but definitely noticeable in the speed department.

Camera:

The camera is a 2-for-1 deal, with 720p video recording as well as 5-megapixel-cool pictures. Most of the reports surrounding first use of the camera have been positive — for a phone, the pictures are pretty superb. If you’re looking to take professional photographs, well…you’re still going to need a digital camera for that.

Screen:

Screen size is 3.7 inches with a native 480×800 resolution. This gives quite a bit of screen space for movies, pictures, and Web browsing. Since this device is Wi-Fi enabled, browsing will be a joy on such a large screen. While it’s not as massive as some of the other Android phones, 3.7 inches is still nothing to sneeze at.

Form:

What’s interesting about the form factor of the HTC Desire Z is that it’s on a special “Z” hinge that allows for a full keyboard to hide against a touchscreen. This gives you the ability to travel in a compact fashion without losing the features that you love most.  The phone slides up to reveal the keyboard whenever you get the urge to do some heavy texting. Of course, you can always keep the phone closed and use the touchscreen to get around.

Other Features:

* GPS
* Bluetooth 2.1
* Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n

Summary:

While this is still a phone earmarked for the international market first, it goes without saying that US customers will be able to purchase it soon afterwards. HTC is changing things up a bit by aiming for the European market first, but they’re on to something — the European market loves being beta testers in their own right, and their reaction to the Desire Z will make a difference when they get ready to launch a US-version of the phone.

Is this phone for you? Well, the big touch screen may turn off the hardcore physical QWERTY fans, but the reality is that touchscreen is where it’s at, and where it’s going to stay for a long time. Android 2.1 is what’s on the device natively, but a fast upgrade to Android 2.2 (Froyo) is definitely in the works.

This is a phone with a moderate amount of power and plenty of goodies for anyone really looking for something compact that will impress just about anyone they come across.