subject: A Review Of The Brilliant Htc Desire Z [print this page] The new Desire Z from HTC will appeal to smartphone lovers who frequently use their handset for e mail and messaging facilities thanks to the excellent slider designed Qwerty key pad that it boasts.
The Desire Z is one of the rare breed of top end handsets that actually feature a keyboard. The familiar keyboard layout benefits from one or two handy additions. A search button certainly saves time, and there are also two keyboard shortcut buttons. The presence of a tab key also saves lots of time when it comes to filling in forms. The keyboard comprises of four rows of keys which seem to be well spaced out. The mechanism itself seems solid, and rather than using the runner system adopted by many brands, this one lifts up and arcs into its resting position. Battery life on the Desire Z is impressive. The battery itself is a 1300mAh lithium ion unit that can give the user up to 430 hours in 3G standby or alternatively 6 hours 40 minutes talktime. In practice, the phone should last a good two and a half days of average use. Performance wise the handset is less greedy than the Desire HD which was released at a similar time. Running with just 512MB of RAM, the 800MHz processor seems ample for everything you ask of it. The phone performs at a lightning pace, and putting the higher specification Desire HD to one side, this model is still one of the top specification phones available. 1.5GB of internal memory is available for storage of files and data, and a micro SD card slot leave potential for expansion if necessary.
The HTC Desire Z offers users a great range of multi media features. The camera facility produces great results, with images appearing clear and full of colour. At 5 million pixels, the resolution is fairly standard for smartphones. An autofocus ensures that snaps remain as clear as possible, and an LED flash is always an advantage for darker conditions. The handset can also geo tag photographs, placing a geographical location on your images. Video footage certainly impresses, thanks to the excellent 720P HD capture. This produce a very high standard of footage, in keeping with the current range of home televisions available. A RDS FM tuner means the user can listen to radio stations instead of their own media files, however should you want to stick to your own music, MP3 and eAAC+ are amongst the host of formats that are supported.
The HTC Desire Z builds upon the great foundations established by the original Desire, and adds an excellent keypad into the equation, resulting in an all together impressive handset.
