The HTC Desire Z is one of HTC’s newer mid-range Android releases. Running on Android 2.2, the Desire Z sports a relatively straight forward design that’s pretty compact for slider keyboard device. Once again we noticed the capacitive buttons instead of mechanical (yes, we know we mention this a lot but we really do prefer mechanical buttons) but on the Desire Z it tended not to be too much of a problem, as they had a much smaller surface area than usual and were thus more difficult to tap by accident.
Getting Started With the HTC Desire Z
Setup, as always, is simple; just a few easy prompts and you're on your way. We recommend connecting your device to a computer as soon as possible just in case there are any updates you might be missing out on with the stock standard software. There, sadly, isn't a Gingerbread update available right now, but if you're reading this from the future (as you almost certainly are) then it's a good idea to check anyway.
Of course the Desire Z, being an Android device made by HTC, is running the Sense user interface (UI). Sense is a fantastic interface and we really can’t stress that enough. It’s easy to navigate, generally causes very little lag and has some great options for customisation.
Hardware
We were surprised to find that the Desire Z, despite its 800MHz processor and Sense UI, seemed a little jerky when scrolling through the menus. There’s also a slight delay between tapping on an application and it launching. It wasn’t much but it was definitely enough to constantly remind us that we were using a phone, rather than let us simply become immersed in the experience.
Being a pretty straight-forward handset the hardware keyboard is definitely the key feature of the Desire Z and we’re happy to say HTC have done a pretty good job here. The sliding mechanism is firm and seems like it would last a fair bit of punishment before dying. When sliding out the keyboard it snaps in to place with a satisfying thud and remains quite stable while you’re using it. The keys themselves are responsive and have a pretty optimal level of resistance when being clicked. As always the slider keyboard has pros and cons as it allows the user use of the entire screen while typing but significantly adds to the thickness of the device.
The 3.7 inch display is great and boasts HTC’s now standard (yet still very clear) resolution 480 x 800. Colours come out well and blacks are pleasantly true. HD video also comes out well and with a good number of frames per second which makes for a pretty smooth viewing experience.
Below the screen are, of course, the capacitive buttons we mentioned before and down yet further is a trackpad. Now we've never really met someone who uses a trackpad on a capacitive multi-touch phone and while we're sure they're out there we still don't fully understand the point. The trackpad on the Desire Z is certainly responsive and accurate, but we just didn't find ourselves feeling the need to use it. Ever. It ended up feeling like a bit of a superfluous add-on that didn't really do anything but increase the overall size of the device. It certainly didn't ruin anything or detract from the overall experience, but we would definitely like to hear from anyone who uses trackpads in the comments what they believe the positives are. We're always after fresh views on technology so please don't be afraid to tell us your opinion.
Unfortunately and surprisingly, as with the HTC Desire HD, the Desire Z’s battery life is somewhat underwhelming. With the Desire HD we could understand how it wouldn’t quite last a full day at medium to heavy use due to the large, 4.3 inch screen. However, the Desire Z faces exactly the same problem, but with a 3.7 inch screen instead. We understand that a little extra power is going to be required to run a mechanical keyboard, especially one with lights underneath, but having to ration battery power on a device this small did feel a bit silly.
Web Browsing, Photos and Tethering With the Desire Z
HTC’s browser was great as usual. Still a bit of an issue with Flash lagging rendering a little, but it’s preferable to not having Flash support at all. The keyboard definitely came in to its strength here, as maintaining full view of the screen while typing is amazingly handy in a lot of situations. Email was another strength of the Desire Z for the same reason, as were sms and Social Media updates.
The 5MP camera takes good photos, but nothing to write home about. The LED flash helped for shots in low lighting. One thing we especially liked about taking photos with the Desire Z was the dedicated camera button on the site. It wouldn’t unlock the device, like with the HD7 or other WP7 phones, but it does take you straight to the camera if the phone is already unlocked. Dedicated camera buttons like these not only make it easier to take photos quickly, but also make for steadier shots.
Of course, when tethering to a computer the Desire Z offers the standard 5 HTC Android options. They are:
- Charge only: Just charges then phone without sharing information with the computer.
- HTC Sync: Syncs your contacts and calendar.
- Disk Drive: Mounts as a USB disc drive. This option is fantastic, easy to use and extremely useful as it effectively eliminates the need to use USB keys and makes for extremely easy media transfer.
- USB tethering: Shares your phone’s data connection with your computer or laptop.
- Internet pass-through: Shares your computer’s internet connection with your phone, saving you money on data costs and increasing internet speed while tethered.
The WhistleOut Opinion
That’s just about it for the HTC Desire Z. All up it was a pretty solid little phone that had its good and bad points. The Sense UI, as always, was a plus. However, we were a little bit disappointed with some of the jerkiness and delays we experienced when using it. There’s also the greater issue of battery power, which we still find confusing. As usual it wasn’t much of an issue for us as one of the plusses at sitting at a computer all day is that you can just plug your handset in at lunchtime for some extra juice. We don’t really think that light to medium users will have too much trouble with power management, but if you like to tinker on your phone to and from work, especially on 3G, then it’s going to be important to keep your power levels in mind.
The QWERTY keyboard worked fantastically and really did add something to the experience. It’s not too different from the other QWERTY keyboards out there, but it’s nice to have an option for a Froyo device running Sense that has a slider keyboard. Overall we’d definitely recommend the Desire Z to anyone looking for a slider phone, just keep an eye on that battery bar.
