HTC Desire HD vs. iPhone 4: Smartphone showdown

I have an iphone 3, have had a serious look and try of a iphone 4, I am yet to be convinced the Iphone 4 is the best out there. I will be waiting on the desire hd and maybe even the z before my next purchase. From this the first real comparison the Derise hd or the z seems the better option. My only issue with them is vodaphone's poor coverage compared to other service providers.

Will wait and see when other carriers get it and the cost.

You just had to make sure you put features that the iphone 4 was best at but couldn't even take into consideration that snapdragon is much faster than ios4 and a4 chip.
iDont:
-Have open development
-Have HDMI out
-Have widgets
-Have drop resistant material
-Have flash support
-Have java support
-Have divx/xvid/divxHD support
-Have features ipod touch doesn't have
-Have no dropping calls problems
-Have a nice OS
-Have more bang for my bucks
-Have a big screen
-Have out of the box support for basics
-Have real multi-tasking
-Have hotspot capabilities
-Have videochat on 3g
-Have voice to text
-Have swype
-Have a removable battery
-Have a non-at&t carrier
-Have interactive video wallpaper
-Have removable storage
-Have faster speed that snapdragon and hummingbird phones

IPHONE = OVERRATED ipod touch that can SOMETIMES make calls!!!!!!

apple lover did this review. really only just touched the surface of each feature therefor couldn't make a accurate judgement.
HTC all the way! its going to be a great phone. i was waiting for something to come out after the iphone that was going to be better im glad i made that decision

@kasjamm

haha!

Also iDont:
- have open 'unwalled' ecosystem
- have DLNA
- have HTCsense.com services to do all the cool stuff outlines in the product launch on the 15th

Why does the smaller dimensions of the iphone make it a winner?
Surely for a multimedia smart phones the bigger the screen the better. 3.5" screen size is a bit cramped these days for, video, photos, net browsing, maps, games, and watching films.

Why all the iphone bashing. As much as I love the HTC phones & I was never a fan of iphone3, I took the plunge to the iphone4. In the 3 weeks i've had it, no dropped calls and no reception issues! All the cooments above I think are by people who never used an iphone4. The 640x960 screen was the killer for me, I never seen such a sharp screen on any phone and in the sun shine its great, no washout.

The most important point that should have been mentioned. Go into your local mobile shop and run them side by side. The Iphone 4 is smooth and quick in operation. If you try the Desire, it's clunky and stuttery. As a result of this, the Desire is likely to drive you mad after using for a while of using it and I'm sure you will be extremelly frustrated..

Hi guys, i've just won the HTC DESIRE hp recently. As i'm now using the iPhone 3GS, i'm letting go the HTC DESIRE at a cheaper price... Any Malaysian here that might interested to buy the hp? I'm selling it for (Ringgit Malaysia) RM1700. Can just email me direct and i will email the photos of the new set.

Thanx

@Dave Your fanboyism shines through.
The HTC phone mentioned in this article has not been released yet... So when you say "If you try the Desire, it's clunky and stuttery"!
Don't you really mean, "I haven't tried the Desire yet, but because its not an iPhone, I'm just going to say it's clunky and stuttery"?

@Zareyn this article is about the Desire 'HD', not 'HP'?
The Desire 'HD' will not been released in Malaysia until late October or early November, so am not sure what model phone your trying to offload.

Cheers

Wow, this is great!
I have been one of the biggest fans of the Nokias of the past (when their Symbian made sense). Since 2006, I've been using iPhone 2g - yes, their very very first model. I had one of the first 10 to be released in Australia and, to be really really honest, I feel even my 4 year old phone dwarfs some of the newer & more trendy phones - in features, looks & the fact that the thing just works! [& that is coming from an advanced business user] This especially applies to newer Nokias, however, I've to admit that new HTCs & Samsungs are impressive crafts, especially with the Android system.

Anyway, I think it comes down to the individual. If you've embraced Apple's ecosystem (iTunes et al), you see that as 'convention' and will not want to change. Besides, you would want to make the most of the apps you've already spent money on (like I have).

For me, I will continue to drift towards Apple's way - for sheer solidarity of Apple products & the fact that they just work. Really, a lot of smartphones do more (& much more) than the iPhone but no one does it in the slick fashion that the iPhone does it in - no sluggishness (yes, not even on my antique phone for most part) & just a great experience.

I just wish they had true multi-tasking but I have a feeling they are not far.

If a truly had it my way though, I'd take a Desire HD with iOS 4 or an iPhone 5 with 4.3in screen.

Cheers,
Nitin Malhotra

That's not a great comparions...

What about simplicity
Appstore
e.t.c

The comparison is lacking prob because the hd desire phone isn't out yet. But why did they make the hd desire only 1.5 gigs?!!even with an expandable card slot...(what is the card slot by the way? is it 32g microsd?). the galaxy is 16g plus 32g card slot (accessed by picking apart the phone with your fingernail) a little bigger memory than the iphone 4. but then again you can subscribe for cloud space with the iphone to give extra room, right?
also, what about a front facing camera? and the demo video of the hd desire just released shows a really amazing hd video on the phone...BUT that looks green screened in and really fake! why don't they show you what the actual screen looks like in an average lit room? same with i phone 4 why don't the demos show you how it looks in sunlight? besides the dual flash on the back it seems that the samsung galaxy is the best contender for the i phone 4. super amoled screen? hello? Even though the Galaxy doesn't have that nice sense ui on the htc phones you can download and switch out what you need. I have been wrestling with making a choice between the original Htc desire, samsung galaxy and i phone 4 for some time and the reviews have them all neck and neck depending on what you focus on. I was going to get the galaxy but i'd basically have to spend hours rebuilding the phone to make it like the htc desire experience...I am leaning toward the iphone 4. i owned about six mp3 players before i got an ipod and then never bought another player again. everything else broke. I had lots of phones and spent money on supposedly great sony erickson phone that was a piece of junk. I want quality , advanced tech, reliability. I don't think this new hd desire is offering enough to out do iphone or galaxy s.

to all three phone makers:
in a post Galaxy s/Iphone 4 era we need: all the features you have now plus: 8 meg camera on both sides, kickstand, camera flash on back, heavy solid sturdy construction, support all latest wirless tech (blu-tooth, tethering, etc), longer battery life,high res screen, flash divx, xvid, and flac. expandable memory card that is easily accessed and quickly swapable as large a capacity that is available (micro sd is 32gigs biggest?), internal memory of 64gig, 1.5 ghz processor.
almost bought the samsung galaxy but in australia we don't get froyo yet. from what i understand its up to the carriers to supply the update (lame). ( i think i phone can be updated via i-tunes by the phone's owner so that is a plus). Froyo is supposed to be 5x better than android 2.1 (eclair) so no use paying for a subpar phone till the update is available maybe by january??? grrr.
will prob / should prob wait and see what iphone comes out w around christmas... you know they will out do everyone and bring something out just before christmas. that's my confused pov.

My brother have HTC DESIRE & I
have Iphone 4 (bought a month
ago) , & i can say that android is
far behind in the race of smart
phones for now against IOS,(no
offense plz) .
Also my brother use my iphone4
more then me ,he play some
Gameloft HD quality games on it ,i
told him alot times that play
games in ur desire but he says the
games qualities&experience is
very bad in Desire & he likes to
play games on my i4 ,seriously the
powerful GPU & most
beautiful&most powerful retina
display in i4 makes the game
graphics same as psp graphics, & i
played some HD games on
android>desire & the experience
was very bad b/c im a iphone
user ,so android didnt catched me
in anyways. It was my
opinion&dont forget that
everybody has its own opinion..
Sorry for my bad english.

I also forgot to mention, the 1.5 GB Rom on HTC Desire HD and the 2 GB ROM on Samsung Galaxy is only meant to store applications (Need to store movies you have a SD Card).

From what i heard HTC Desire is supposedly to have a 2GB Rom capacity, with 500 MB alloted for applications (in built applications) and 1.5 is upto the user (nobody i repeat nobody would fill in 1.5 GB applications on a phone its almost equivalent to storing 500 applications or even more) So it dont make a difference as such

Use the SD Card

I use the Desire and im quite pleased with it- many apps to choose from and downloading music is easy.

Not used iphone before so cant really comment on that but I have heard that any music on the phone has to be installed from itunes at a cost where as desire you have an app which downloads it free to your sd card.

Only thing that annoys me with desire, is yes it has an expandable memory slot but you can only save photos and music on it.
The supposedly 250 internal memory is rubbish- I have only a few apps on there and it says full and I always have to uninstall them to free up memory.

I was a Nokia N95 8Gb user before and found that you could download and install memory apps to the phone which gave you the option to save either to phone memory or sd card. The desire does not. I think a lot of desire owners are having the same problem.
Apparently there should be an upgrade to sort this- still waiting

Apart from that I love my HTC, works for me and has everything at hand when I need it. Its very easy to use and plenty free apps to download

i am neither htc or apple user but been looking for a review that will swing me in a direction. This review has definetly thrown me in the htc desire hd direction even though this review was done before the phone has even come out.
It seems to me that alot of people just stick with iphone because they will buy a phone because its really to keep up with 'fashion' and the trend is iphones!
I am not a sheep but i really want a phone for its functionaity.
My nokia n97 should be first burnt and then smashed to peices.

iphone is still the best for me. I bought all the models of iPhone, from to 2G to 4. i bought also the htc touch, it was a crap! I just wasted my money buying it. After using it for more than a month it stopped working. I brought it to where i bought it then I waited for more than two months only to return it again to the seller, they couldn't fix it. I swore not to buy anymore htc phones. Nothing beats iphone for its multi usage. Name it, business, music, and so on and so forth. And Htc has no ipod!

I have been a mac user and the iphone syncs so perfectly. I am wanting something different however. after 3 iphones I would like to use the HTC HD. wondering how it will sync on my mac with my contacts, itunes, mobileme, etc..etc...

When the bleep is this phone coming to Australia, ive been waiting almost 4 months for either the N8 or the HTC??

ARRGGGHHH

for all those boasting about the iphone 4, how much better it must be, (which is silly since the desire hd isnt even out yet) you must all be on this site because youre scared that a new phone might be released that is genuinely better.

If it was clearcut that the ip4 was better this comparison wouldnt exist. It seems like you all still need to be convinced that there is something good about your iphones, I suppose you may also be here because youre tired of unitasking?

ip4:
- antenna problem. Speaking as an elec engineer, if the guys at apple couldnt fix that problem, iphone users i think you have something to worry about

-nothing new. Its just a 3g or 3gs with a fancier cover and slightly nicer screen. The screen is something, but thats about it

-apple still using a built in battery. Seriously?

-apps: they are decent and there is a sea of them, but i can sense that apple will slowly and discretely start upping the prices which will trap all iphone users. Another money making ploy. Android on the other hand genuinely wants to improve phone functionality, hence the open handset alliance. Not to mention that android is based off linux. Watch the programmers swarm in and leave iphones behind. Better yet it will keep competition high and prices low

-unitasking. speaks for itself. Even my old n95 can multitask.

-unbreakable glass? read this: http://mashable.com/2010/10/13/iphone-4-glass/

conclusion: its looks are better than its performance.

HTC Desire HD:
- the auto ringtone adjustment if the phone is in a bag or pocket is impressive and innovative design

-DLNA capability - I was surprised that the n95 had tv out possibility, HTC takes it a step further

-HTCsense, what everyone needs. Locate your phone when lost or stolen! Lock it remotely! Use it to send messages if its at home! I think the only thing it doesnt do is blow up the phone if its in the wrong hands (HTC take note). Should have been invented years ago. Not to mention that its free, and has all the other benefits of syncing the phone.

-Android: open source capability will see it soar.

-Memory: disappointing that its 1.5gb, but microsd use solves the problem. This will mean that reformating the phone will be easier, just remove the sd card to save your pics and music.

-GPS (Locations): finally a phone that sounds like it has a promising system that wont drop out.

-Bigger screen, divx capabilities, and flash. Awesome.

Watch below if you're not convinced:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozmMH9dYqnc&feature=player_embedded

I think the Desire HD will be the best phone to hit the market since the nokia n95 that came out in 2007. The n95 was robust and reliable, and can actually still be compared to smartphones out today 3 years on!

Finally a phone that will be fresh, innovative and smart, exactly what a SMARTphone should be. Oh, and it can multitask properly.

Within the duration of my initial purchase contract I was issued four iPhones. Each one was a dud in its own special way, replaced by Apple with, you guessed it, another dud iPhone.

I'm keen to get my hands on the Desire HD to see it up close and play with it. If it lives up to anywhere near the hype then I'll buy one.
Apple had their chance, and they blew it......FOUR F@%#N TIMES!!!!

Your all noobs, u buy a phone to ring people, quit winging and buy a 12$ nokia

Agree with you 100%

Dun...you're the noob
You USED to buy a phone to ring people...now you buy a mobile communications device to stay in contact and connect with the world...

Such cynicism always escapes me...

As for the review...iPhone wins in categories which don't really make any difference...HTC HD has more power, more flexibility (not hard when comparing to an Apple product), more potential!

iPhone user: Oooo, look at my pretty screen...
HTC user: Oooo, look, I can make a phone call without using iTunes...LMAO

I have not used iPhone or Ipod before. Now I have my HTC Desire HD for few days. I like it so much. The screen is awesome. After I use this screen, I dont want any screen smaller or bigger. That's perfect. I also like: Wireless Hotspot, Quick browsing internet, wonderful personalizing. I can see the wireless is somehow faster than my laptop internet. Now I only think about how to maximize my time to use this smartphone. This is a excellent smartphone I never can imagine, so I use it when ever I have a free time so the battery is last quite soon. I probably buy more charger and by a car charger very soon. This smartphone nearly replace my laptop. Before I use my laptop all the time. I am extremely happy with this phone...

I had a play with a Desire HD on the weekend. Finally I have found a genuinely good phone to replace my Nokia N95. The HD was easy to use, fast, intuitive and what a great screen. Now, as I am already a Vodafone customer, I have to get through their red tape so I can get the phone.

I own an iphone 4, all I can say is I purchased this for business use.
What a mistake, I have to charge it atleast twice a day, at least with an android phone you can carry pre charged spare batteries, you cant even get to the iphone battery, (just came from the world of Nokia where batteries last minimum 5 days so im shocked at this) also if anything goes wrong with the phone i have to make an appointment with Apple, ive done this 3 times & the usual wait is 5-7 days. Either there are 2 many problems overwhelming Apple stores or they dont have enough staff (Let me tell you they have plenty of staff, so i think they are overwhelmed with a poor phone design)...
This company specialize in computers, not phones, its a great phone but the battery cant sustain the functionality of the phone so whats the point? Well after complaining to Apple they say turn of the wifi, turn off the blue tooth and it goes on from there, whats the point in having the phone if i have to turn off all the features of the phone to sustain the battery life???
Now ive done all that its as good as my old Nokia 5110 from last century....
They have lots of problems from the proximity software to I have to connect it to the itunes store to do anything.... they tell you everything is stored on itunes, well lose your phone and see how useful that is, or try getting your phone contacts from itunes while the phone is flat, you cant.
Not impressed an dregret ever getting one, its probably really good if your a stone games enthusiast but as a business phone it loses my vote as well as many others i have spoken to, after a quick survey on facebook, everyone i know with one is on their second or third replacement due to ongoing problems the phones seem to have.
No wonder the iphone 5 is coming out so quickly, Apple hang your head in shame for releasing this toy of a phone and at over $1000, its not worth the money....

guys whu u mucking around apple and htc is owned by one owner... check on the net

Jane r u serious??

Hahahahaha, HTC is a Taiwan PLC and Apple is a US PLC...but they have the same owner...technically you are correct...shareholders own the companies...

But to say they are the same owner....ummmm, no.

For those who don't know, PLC is a Publicly Listed Company

After using HTC Desire HD for about 1 month. I have to say that this smartphone is so powerful... Just perfect for me... I do Netbank, applying job, surfing internet, GPS, share internet to other... All is just very quick...

@ Jaden, are you using it on the Vodaphone network and is it reliable?

Both of them are best devices at the market. I think its up to your needs. DHD has no limit in internet and has very good camera. Also it has very easy for any kind of file transfer, but battery life is short, on the other hand you can charge it everywhere with usb. İphone looks much pretty and easy to use. But doesnt support flash for internet surf. İts shame any file transfer with itunes. Battery life and resolution is better than DHD. DHD is much bigger screen but lower resolution. So its depents on your needs and enjoy...

I just Brought a HTC desire HD to prove to my friend that HTC's are better then Iphone 4's (one of which he owns), and even he agrees!
Iphones are for conformists! who wants to go through itunes for everything??

iphone SUCK.... I have used 3G and 3GS.... both of them I have to get repair else where... the lcd display will just stop working one day even you do not have drop it into the water.... so dont talk with your iphone in the rain or dont put it on the table when dining. Havent tried iphone4 but i assume it will be the same beside the more costly repair bill due to the HD lcd

The iPhone is like a fine bottle of wine. While HTC is some cheap bag in box crap.

I had to send two iphone 4's back due to lack of reception. Seriously great phone but no good when you cant make or receive calls and yes I tried the correct covers but made no difference. I need something so think I will try the HTC hopefully the apps are close to good and the reception is better or wait for the iphone 5 which I am told march april 2011. Any one know about the reception on the HTC

Jeff: Reception is very comfortable and good unless ur in a place where signal strength is low, I can say not as good as Nokia N95 but it does picks up the reception.

I am using a Desire HD, I have used the Iphone4 as well, all i found in Iphone4 was same infrastructure since it came out first with a better screen and a little high processing speed.

the display is gr8 but das abt it.

Technicaly and flexibility wise u can do anything with the HTC Desire HD. Plus all the free good softwares u can download on a finger tip .

All my friends are impressed and i got a user base of HTC around me, those who dont wana nag about the fancy Iphone screen. Bring something more then the screen out and then we can call it a competition.

Iphones are good for kids and teenagers or fancy lookin women, but for tech geeks Htc and andriod rules.

But orrsre, who doesn't like goon?

iphone 4 all the way. apple iphone 4 is not a regulur cell phone unlike the hd desire. the hd desire is a regular cell phone just like any other but with some features and quality. The iphone 4 is meant for a regular phone and a HUGE entertainmnt center. Iphone 4 has a better appstore, nicer ipod(or mp3) and has a better, stiffer, nicer, deisign quality. Apple will always be in everybody's hand, arms, and pockets. dont get me wrong i LOOOOVE the HTC desire HD buuuuut im an apple fan and will always be one untill someone makes a more awsome game player, many great apps, and a never beatable ipod. Steve jobs can put alot more stuff in his iphone 4 but he is taking his time step by step to make the best gadgets in the world.

P.s. i bet you steve jobs can make a iphone with a halogram coming off the screen if he wanted to. But i bet hes saving that for 2015 :)

P.s.s dont forget that you can also use android on the iphone 4 if you jailbreak it

Hello
I have the Desire HD for about 2 weeks and i can tell you it is better than iphone 4 , i was one iphone lover but noew i changed my mind, why...
1. Faster 768 mb ram
2. Bigger screen
3. 8 mp camera
4. Support Adobe Flash for web browsing
5. Support mp3,avi,divx etc etc
6. Great for games , i can even play playstatin games with emulator
And if you ask my friends who have iphone, they eill say the same words like i mentioned.

I own both a Mac Book Pro and an iPod but I just couldn't see the benefits of buying an iPhone... I currently have an HTC Desire HD and it does live up to the hype. I understand the irony in using Apples trademark line against them but the HTC just "works" too. And as far as I'm concerned, I think Androids open source approach has massive potential for future development of applications and widgets.

I had iPhone 3gs before and now HTC. IPhone is fashionable but HTC wins in functiibaluty.

The iPhone 4 is much better than the HTC Desire HD.
It´s display has a much higher resolution and the 1 Ghz A4 cpu is up to 50% faster than the desire's 1 Ghz snapdragon cpu. The iOS response is smoother and you benefit of much more apps in the app store. Such things like the missing hdmi output, no fm radio and others are not so important for a smatphone.

Well firstly, you gotta realise is that the HTC is considerably cheaper then the iphone 4. Also, android is far more flexible with its apps then the iphone 4, and the thing that seals the deal for me, is well.....

FLASH!

hi guys y don't you try for free iphone 4. just click this link and rock and roll :)
http://www.YourFreeiPhone.com/index.php?ref=6790932

I have used the HTC desireHD and I own the iPhone 4. It comes down to this. The HTC wins over a jailed iPhone 4, but a jailbroken iPhone 4 takes the win hands down. EVERYTHING can be reprogrammed and customized using a simple program such as iPhone browser to modify root files, app names, app icons, background, notifications, etc. Between Cydia and the app store, the amount of apps available for iphone crushes any attempt at competition by the android market.

@Mr. Madeira

You are a false information spreading idiot.
Every site that's done speed tests on these phone has had the Desire HD kick the crap out of the iPhone4.
Congrads on having more apps.
Unfortunately like Nintendo so many of them are shovelware and a waste of money.
Take a moment to wipe Steve Job's sperm off your cheek and actually do some research.

I have the Desire, and think its awesome - I only have two complaints - screen washout in sunshine - and battery life.

even with advanced App killer shutting down everything, and all non essential devices turned off, I'm getting less than 5 hours business use out of a charge.

HTC Need to produce a bigger battery for this phone if they want to seriously contend with the I.

As for everything else, they are both great devices, with great environments, bitching over the small print is pretty petty IMV!!

I own a macbook pro and don't particularly want to get an iphone4. Interested in the HTC desire HD but unsure of how well it will sync with my macbook pro. Anyone out there have any feedback for me?

This was definitely written by an iPhone lover...i have a HTC and its pretty damn good. It does way more than an iPhone (but iPhone does have a better music playing system, I'll admit) and nevertheless the processor makes everything a million times better. And may I ask why the Apple store gives the iPhone a win? The only reason iPhones have so many better apps is because it is WAY overrated and by making apps for iPhone do the app creators make money..if everyone starts buying HTC the android market will have better apps :D

I have to lulz, at all the comments on this wall. I have an iphone yes. and its not just the screen. im not dissing HTC. because ive never had one.. but dont diss an iphone. i dont have reception problems. unless im already suffering one bar (weak reception zone anyone would have kinda areas). I jailbreaked and all the free apps are nice. and no you dont have to do everything by itunes. but its nice to be able to easily backup everything. I had an android phone. a droid.. hated it with a passion. misclicked a hella lot. and with an iphones touch screen, i never missed a button.. its whatever you perfer i suppose.

@Peggy Oooo... that's what I really wish to find out too! According to my friend who uses the desire HD, but not a mac user, there's no issues no matter what laptop/desktop you use. But I really wish to hear from a mac + desire hd user... :)

After I read all those comments up above, I really got confused which one I should choose.

I'm about to buy an HTC Desire within hours, hope will not be regret about my decision.

just got the htc desire hd and it is brilliant, i used to have an iphone 3 and i will never look back

Its like all apple products. You are limited by having to use apple "stuff" where as everything else has many more options. I can borrow my mates samsung charger for my Desire HD when I visit.
And again, like all Apple products its a comparison of a "cool" and "hip" Apple and a functional, multi optioned, customizable and memory upgradable product.

Even though the battery doesnt have the same life as the iphone, I have a 2nd battery for my HD that I can swap in whenever I like.
I bought my HD overseas and telstra had no probs in setting the APN stuff for me with no questions.

Why be a slave to a fashion item when you can be a user of a truely great item??