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Bell HTC Desire Z Review
The Desire Z is one of HTC’s latest Android offerings, which sports a 3.7” super LCD capacitive touch screen and slide out QWERTY keyboard. The Desire Z is approximately 2.38” (wide) by 4.69” (tall) by 0.56” (thick). The touch screen has a resolution of 480 by 800 WVGA and has pinch-zoom capabilities.
AESTETHICS:
One of the first things I noticed about this phone was its weight, since when you first pick it up, it seems a lot heavy than most smartphones on the market. The Desire Z weighs in at around 180g; however while sliding open and typing on the phone, the heaviness is quickly forgotten. One of the reasons for the added weight is the solid design of the device.
The phone is covered in a light grey brushed aluminum bezel, while the front of the device sports four touch key backlit shortcuts for Home, Menu, Back, and Search, as well as an optical trackpad for navigation. The shortcut buttons are very responsive; however the trackpad does not feel as smooth or comfortable as my trusty Blackberry.
SIDE NOTE: With the trackpad on the bottom of the device, I often found my finger sliding off the device when driving to scroll down through various menus – slightly annoying.
When it comes to the hinge and keyboard of this device, my opinions were inconsistent and inconclusive. Initially, I felt that although the hinge was an innovative aspect of the phone, I was uneasy about the durability of the hinge. Often times, the hinge felt loose and unstable while sliding the keyboard open. Even when in the closed state, it never felt like the hinge was fully in the “closed” position. However, as I continued to use the device, these feelings started to weaken and my experiences became more enjoyable. Another reason for a more enjoyable experience was the keyboard. This blacklit, QWERTY keyboard contains smooth, rubberized, and elevated buttons which are generously spaced apart for even the largest of fingers. Even though the buttons are nicely spaced out, the keyboard still gives off a compact and sleek feel. (See a video demo of the hinge test here)
SIDE NOTE: When the screen is slid above the keyboard, the keyboard is fully visible and accessible, while the screen is fully locked in place, without worrying about the screen crashing down on your fingers.
The back of the phone houses a battery cover and 5MP camera. The camera comes with a nice, bright flash, and the quick processor allows the camera to almost instantly auto-focus, record, etc. The Desire Z’s camera is also capable of 720p HD video recording, geotagging, face detection, and has other built in effects including depth of field, vignette, etc. The battery cover is easily removable by sliding down a small button on the back, and I cannot tell you how happy I am to see this. On most of my old phones (LG Dare, Samsungs, etc.) and even my current Blackberry, I spend numerous occasions trying to slide the batter cover on and off by lining up specific groves, while praying that I did not send my device flying across the room.
PERFORMANCE:
The HTC Desire Z boasts a CPU processing speed of 800 MHz, Android 2.2 (Froyo), 3G+ (HSPA+) capabilities of up to 14.4 Mbps (download) and 5.76Mbps (upload), all while being powered by a 1300 mAh battery with up to 590 minutes of GSM talk time, and/or 430 hours of standby time.
In order to use this device, you must navigate using the touchscreen, and I must admit that it is one of the fastest and most responsive touchscreens I have ever used. It was easy to navigate through the device, messages, apps, etc with the pinpoint accuracy of my finger. Even typing on the virtual touch keyboard was fast and impeccable.
The battery life did not exactly match the specs given by HTC but was very reasonable considering messaging, phone calls, web browsing and application activities. Therefore, the battery life can be taken “as advertised”, especially since almost all phones across various manufacturers cannot reach their apparent “specs”. I was also unable to hit the 3G+ speeds that HTC advertised. I live in Toronto and was operating on the Bell Mobility Network, and using the Speed Test app, I was able to hit around 5-6 Mbps (download) and 2-3Mbps (upload) consistently. The Desire Z also has Bluetooth 2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate, with support for A2DP wireless headsets, FTP and OPP file transfer, in addition to IEEE 802.11 b/g/n WiFi capability. The phone also comes with an 8GB microSD card, which is capable of storing and installing apps thanks to Froyo 2.2 support.
SOFTWARE:
This being my best HTC and Android device, I must say that I was quite impressed with the user interface and navigation experience. The HTC Sense UI is very clean, and well structured, while also coming pre-loaded with many apps and features to serve the vast majority of mobile users’ needs. The FriendStream feature allows the user to pull data from their various social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) into one common view.
The Mail app handles emails very well, and offers support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, POP3, and IMAP. The emails are handling in a nice UI with the ability to quickly send or receive an email at anytime. The Messages app allows the user to quickly send and receive text messages using the slide out keyboard, or a virtual touch keyboard on the screen (depends on user’s preference). Threaded conversations are supported.
The Browser on the Desire Z is very fast and loaded complicated sites such as tsn.ca and mobilesyrup.com with ease. The pinch-zoom support is very handy and gives users the ability to zoom anywhere and anywhere.
Another offering from HTC is the ability to backup all data, contacts, messages, pictures, etc. through registering at their website, www.HTCSense.com. Through registration, you can also sign-up for tracking, in the event your phone goes missing.
Other features/apps include:
• FM radio (headset required as antenna)
• Voice Recorder
• News Reader
• Adobe Reader
• Latitude
• QuickOffice
• Navigation
• WiFi Hotspot
• Separate App Store for additional purchases
CONCLUSION:
Overall, the HTC Desire is a great phone from top to bottom. The sleek and durable design combined with the elegant and user friendly interface make for a great device and gift idea for the upcoming holiday season.
The large screen with touch capabilities makes using the device very enjoyable since there is little fuss. Videos and maps are clear and vivid on the 3.7” screen and the slide out keyboard allows for convenient user input.
The HTC Desire Z is currently available with Bell Mobility in Canada, under the following pricing structure:
• $499.95 (no term contract)
• $474.95 (1 year contract)
• $449.95 (2 year contract)
• $129.95 (3 year contract)
Discussion
37 comments for “Bell HTC Desire Z Review”
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I am loving this phone. Would like to see a bit more juice in the battery but overall, the phone is GREAT!!!
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Great Review. I’m using the HTC Desire and jealous of you right now.
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Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
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@ Eliot C.
Call time is in minutes, standby time is in hours… minutes<hours
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Re: Elliot C.
The review is correct as it states up to 590 MINUTES talk time and/or 430 HOURS of standby time. At first I thought the same until i read it again.
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I wish the price would drop to near what the Desire at TELUS is at
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James,
You probably pay more due to the physical keyboard and WiFi N capability..both which are no available on HTC Desire..
It is rumored that HTC Desire HD is coming to Telus, so I would wait and see…
http://www.maggadget.com/android-warriors-htc-desire-vs-htc-desire-hd-vs-htc-desire-z/
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If you go in a Source store you can have it for 79.95$ because they give a 50$ in-store credit
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Does Bell hinder the device in any way by locking out features?
Can you use the turn by turn mapping from HTC Sense, or does Bell make you use something else?
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Bell did not really hinder any features that I was aware of…
And I was able to use the navigation app that came pre-loaded on the device…
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There are two mapping applications. One is Google Maps. It is free and has free turn-by-turn navigation. There is actually a separate icon to go directly to navigation instead of having to go into maps and then selecting navigation.
There is also a second mapping/navigation app on it, but you have to pay for it. I have seen some previews of it. It has a helicoper view where if you are currently navigating, you can fast forward through your route to see what’s up ahead. I didn’t try it since Google Maps does everything I need.
I used Ovi Maps on my old phone. The one feature I liked in Ovi Maps that is not available on Google Maps is lane indicators. The lane indicators was very useful as sometimes the road bends and you may not know which lanes end or exit until you get close.
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Bell loaded up the device with a number of bloatwear apps including their own Navigatiion app. They removed the HTC Locations App and Car Panel. The Locations app allows for pre-download of maps so you do not have to use up data streaming maps. Very frustrating
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gettin this for $350 unlocked! BOSS!
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Where can I get it for $350 unlocked? Would possibly like to upgrade from a Nexus One.
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Yep, I’d like to know too.
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Good review, but how much storage does it have?
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Randy, comes with 1.5GB internal, comes with 4GB microSD card, but is capable of reading up to 32GB microSD card
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FYI: The device comes with an 8gb (not 4gb) micro sd card.
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Totally envious. I was seriously thinking of getting it (and might still be ’cause I want the QWERTY keyboard) but got myself a used HTC Nexus One. Totally lovin’ it.
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Looks great. I’m currently in love with my HTC Desire from Telus, and would have no need for the physical keyboard (love my virtual keyboard). But anyone who prefers a physical keyboard would be foolish to not consider this phone!
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Man, the pics on this review are fresh! That TSN page is from this morning. In fact the video on the right side of the screen is still on the top of the queue as I type this.
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I have this, unlocked on Rogers. It’s a fantastic device. The only problem I have is the backlight on the capacitive buttons sometimes don’t come on, but it’s no biggie. Of course, battery life is always an issue, but this is more of a handheld computer than a “phone.”
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Your back light is controlled by the ambient light sensor. If there is enough light, it will not turn on. If it is not turning on in a dark environment, you can either exchange the device or call HTC and try to recover the OS.
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How long does the battery last? I get two days and a bit out of my iphone 4 but having used the HTC touch pro 2 I would only get about 1 day.
So would I be closer to 1 or 2 days with this device? I have gmail on push and two imap accounts checking every hour but some light surf/facebook/twitter during the day.
Can you tether via bluetooth?
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Nick,
I did not test tethering over bluetooth as there is WiFi Hotspot to share your 3G connection over Wifi for up to 8 devices…
And as for battery, you should come close to 2 days…depending on what sites you surf, have flash running, emails with attachments etc…
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So does the canadian version come preloaded with the map and htc locations….. i dont think it does. i even tried the ” lost phone recovery” option on the htcsense.com site and that didnt work. it didnt even show my location or map.
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It does not come with the map / HTC Locations, Bell has replaced with its own navigation app. Go to XDA Developers Forum, they have detailed instructions on how to load a stock version of HTC Sense UI with Locations & all the other goodies. I did this and have to admit I was quite disappointed with Locations. You have to pay & subscribe for voice navigation. The interface is not that much better than Google Navigation. Unless you are traveling & roaming frequently (pre-load maps, save on data roaming), I would suggest to use Google Navigation, free and just as functional.
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I’m just itching to move up to the next great HTC Android phone (I’d really like a 4.0-4.3″ screen and a front facing camera) that comes out on Telus.
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looks kinda ugly still
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I used the HTC Legend before buying the Desire Z. The Legend has one of the best physical designs ever but I found it difficult to type on the screen.
Oddly enough, the increased screen size now makes onscreen typing more comfortable and probably faster than the pullout QWERTY.
However, the Desire Z is lightning fast with almost no need to free resources via an app killer, which was necessary on the Legend.
Right now, the only thing that might make me jealous is the Desire HD.
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Anyone else having their Desize Z locking up while the screen is off and the phone is locked?
I’ve had it happen twice and one time I had to remove the battery to get it to start up. The second time while trying to get off the case I had on it I held down the volume button for an extended period of time and got into some android/firmware type menu that allowed me to “reboot” the phone.
This makes me nervous as I’m know for being the lucky one to always get the 1 lemon in a box of 100 perfect products.
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They for got to mention as soon as you go into a building, you lose the signal. I’ve had friends in the same building with blackberries and an LG rumor, the BlackBerry shows full bars and the LG getting 4 bars. Also,the battery drains very quickly. I also own a blackberry, and you know how big their manual is. I had no problem getting through it at all. However, HTC, seems to be written in the Queen’s English. And so, and in some places only gives you half instructions, I’ve only had the phone a month and I am so sick of it. I’m ready to throw it up against the wall. $500 doorstop. As far as I’m concerned, when you can make a phone call on your phone is not a phone, to me. The way I look at it. It is shame on them, but if I ever bought another one. Shame on me. And how about this policy of Bell’s not returning the phone for exchange after you have 30 min. That’s just a sham, but you don’t find that out until you go back to the store. There’s an old Jewish saying half the truth is a full lie. They just did a good job of marketing this phone does show up in the end to be exactly what it is.
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Question, were your friends that had blackberry and LG with Bell too?
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I want to the Phone so badly, but hate this company so much F*** You Bell!
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Man I love this phone,the way its design and its fast, but I want to know one of the security feature , its keep saying disable pattern, and I wont be able to change from PIN to pattern.any clue?
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Anyone having bad reception with this phone with Bell? A friend of mine got the HTC Desire Z from Bell but had to switch to Blackberry Torch.The reception was very bad with the HTC Desire Z at his home or any big buildings, but the blackberry works fine.
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Had a blackberry and could make font bigger; can’t figure out how to do this on my htc desire z…otherwise love it!
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