HTC Desire VS. Google's Nexus One: A Review

The Nexus One by Google has been called the most successful failure in history. While it was a triumph of technology, the marketing, or lack thereof, was left it out in left field. The HTC Desire suffers from no such problems, though. This is a mainstream product available on the T-Mobile, Vodafone and 3 networks in the UK and there was an unlocked version released as well.

Juiced Up Nexus One?
You could say the HTC Desire is just a "juiced up Nexus One," and many people are saying exactly that. Nevertheless, they are wrong. First, the Nexus One was a technological success and no one can deny that although Google's decisions regarding the marketing and distribution may have kept the sales under 150,000. Nevertheless, that notwithstanding, it is a wonder of a smartphone and the HTC Desire is not just simply a jazzed up Nexus One but an evolutionary step in the realm of smartphones.

Mine is Bigger than Yours...
The HTC Desire is big and beautiful. In fact, one of the biggest things going for the HTC Desire is its looks and style, as it has both in spades-and then some. The iPhone 3G is no longer the prettiest prospect in the park. There are, of course, other aspects to the HTC Desire. Unfortunately, for the completion (including Google) the beauty is not skin-deep. This smartphone is gorgeous to the core.

Nevertheless, let us start with the outside. First thing to know about is the Optical Trackball. This may be a barrier for some that "just don't like that kind of thing." Nevertheless, when taken together with the physical buttons for the primary home functions it does form a much better user experience than the Nexus One.

Sense UI Envy
This still does not take into account HTC's own Sense UI. Anyone who owns an HTC smartphone and has seen its Sense UI in action, you already know this may be one of the most innovative advances in phone OS's ever. No, the Sense UI is not a separate OS but rather a Graphical User Interface, or GUI, which sits on top of the actual OS, which is Google's Android in this case. You are starting with the most advanced operating system in the first place and then adding a User Interface on top of it that adds all the best features that could possibly be added.

From its appearance to its gestures and the multi-touch control, this Sense UI would make it worth buying almost ANY phone at almost ANY price as long as it was installed. Lest we even begin to mention that Flash Lite is installed and works OK; there are a few complaints regarding the actual performance, but side by side to the Nexus One the HTC Desire's performance is killer by comparison.

Guts & Glory
As to the guts, well the HTC Desire and the Nexus One are almost exact clones; the only difference is that the HTC Desire has 64 MB more RAM than the Nexus One does, for a total of 576 MB altogether, while the Nexus One only has 512 MB. That makes the HTC Desire a big winner. Why? With the innards inside of the HTC Desire and the Nexus One almost exactly the same, the outward appearance of the HTC Desire is so much better in this writer's opinion and more advanced, the Nexus One would be a non-starter in any race against the Desire.

There is one other caveat regarding the HTC Desire, which is the battery cover. This a real pain in the a** to open. By comparison, the Nexus One is a dream with the simple, easy slide style back. The Desire is complex and requires a thumbnail and the patience of a saint, let the kid at Best Buy do it for you.

Could You Speak Up?
There is one feature that the Nexus One has that the HTC Desire does not, a noise cancellation microphone. In spite of that fact, the HTC unit still out-performs on the call quality score. The screens of both units are AMOLED and the Desire wins by a nose with a higher pixel density, although both are poor performers in bright sunlight.

You should keep in mind that the battery life is not quite as good due to the higher demands so do not be disappointed. Generally, you will find that you can get six to eight hours of normal use. The simple fact is that the HTC Desire is a killer product and beats the Nexus One (and maybe even the iPhone) easily.

References & Resources
HTC: Desire Specifications
HTCSource: Unlocked HTC Desire Now Available
HTCSource: Vodafone, T-Mobile, 3 line up to offer HTC Desire