HTC Wildfire Review

Introduction

The range of HTC devices was running short on budget models. And that’s the main reason why the company produces low-cost solutions from time to time – think of HTC Touch 2 and HTC Tattoo, for example. These devices are simple, compact and moderately functional. However, their start was obviously higher than it should. Roughly speaking, the functional does not match value. Starting price for HTC Tattoo was the same as presented by HTC Wildfire, while with the new smartphone we already have a large amount of memory, better camera, a newer version of the operating system and higher performance.

In fact, HTC Wildfire – a lightweight version of the HTC Desire. Light in the literal sense. Wildfire smaller and lighter, but from a functional point of view there are almost no differences. Let’s look at the main technical specs of the model.

Specifications:

• Form Factor: candy bar
• Materials: plastic, metal
• Operating System: Android 2.1 + HTC Sense interface
• Network: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, EDGE / GPRS, UMTS / HSDPA 900/2100
• Platform: Qualcomm MSM7225-1 processor with 528 MHz
• Memory: 384 MB
• The memory for storing programs: 512 Mb (ROM) + memory card microSD (hot swap)
• Interfaces: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (A2DP), jack microUSB (USB 2.0) for the charge / synchronization, 3.5 mm headset jack
• Screen: capacitive touch-type, 3.2 “with a resolution of 240×320 pixels (QVGA)
• Camera: 5 megapixel with Autfocus and Flash
• Navigation: One Platform Qualcomm GPS chip (support A-GPS)
• Extras: sensor approach light sensor, digital compass, gyroscope
• Battery: removable Li-Ion 1300 mAh

Hardware

The device is running Android 2.1 OS, is based on the Qualcomm MSM7225 525 MHz processor. Overall this mobile device looks very much like its brother HTC Desire, however, is considerably inferior to him in certain technical specs which is not that surprising, given the difference in price.

With dimensions of 106,8 x 60,4 x 12 mm, HTC Wildfire is equipped with a 3.2-inch TFT-touch screen with QVGA resolution of 320 x 240 pixels, microUSB and 3.5 mm audio jack, 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED-flash , Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR, GPS and Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g, and 512 MB of built-in memory and 384 MB of RAM. This means that the device has lots of features to be able to call it a great device.

As from the additional features in the phone we should note the slot for microSD memory cards, G-sensor, FM-radio, digital compass sensor lighting and approximations, the optical joystick and a full suite of applications of HTC Friends Stream (Twitter, Flickr and Facebook). According to the manufacturer they kept their promise of providing a great battery for the device which will make the device functioning even more longer.

And let’s say that I would agree with them. The awesome 1300 mAh Li-ion battery ensures a lifetime of 490 minutes for the talk time , whiele for the standby mode the time goes up to 480 hours. The numbers speak up for themselves.

Design

HTC caught the favor of such an approach to building products, where low-cost models are made in similar design with high-end ones. Previously, the exact same politics where adopted by Samsung which allowed to have budget sliders, resembling the flagships of the time. We are talking about copying the look of the expensive device and transferring it to one of the cheapest.

In the case of Wildfire it comes with a similar design with Android-flagship of the company – Desire. At the same time Wildfire is shaped with smooth transitions planes, such as metal edging around the perimeter of the front side, a similar arrangement of controls. Yeah, the designs of these models are not fully identical, but seeing Wildfire, you surely remember Desire, they are similar.

The body of the device is made of matte, velvety surface which resembles plastic, in the battery cover – a plate of metal edging on the front side and feel of metal. Color options of HTC Desire are rather boring only a few shades of gray. However, such coloring is universal and no one seems repulsive. While the reddish color ( which is available only for a few destinations) option seems to be rather aggressive, but the color still seems to be washed away.

Display

HTC Wildfire is equipped with capacitive touchscreen with a diagonal of 3.2 “and a resolution of 240×320 (QVGA) pixels. The screen is the weakest component of the device, as this is the item with the help of which the smartphones are being classified as affordable. There are a few details that need to be noted.

First, the screen supports multitouch, secondly, working with the screen is no worse than AMOLED-display used in the Desire and the Legend, and thirdly, by the standard (not widescreen) aspect ratio is identical with HTC Hero and Legend, while the diagonal display area of the Wildfire is bigger.

Camera

The device comes with a 5 megapixel camera with Autofocus and Flash. While at the first glance there’s nothing interesting, then there’s something that makes the device to be distinguished. The built-in camera is acquired with a flash, which can be used as a flashlight. This is something new for the HTC devices and thus the enthusiasts are even thinking of getting this item on some of the other devices.

The picture quality is about the same as in Desire. However, to fully test the built-in camera you might try it for your own, but actually the full list of camera capabilities worked rather well during our testing.

The viewfinder is comparable to Desire, which spoils the impression. In addition, low-light shots are often lubricated. There’s even a touch-focus, when you point a finger at screen focus point, while makes the camera usage simply a pleasure.

Software

HTC Wildfire runs on the latest version of Android 2.1 with an updated interface, plus there is also HTC Sense. All together it makes the model very pleasant staff, incomparable with the decisions of competitors.

HTC Sense is a user interface, organized around the contacts, rather than applications. The updated version includes a widget called HTC Friend Stream, which brings together bands with friends Facebook, Twitter and Flickr into one organized flow of updates. In addition to Friend Stream, contacts can be grouped into social groups, such as groups of friends, colleagues, etc.

Sense is not only convenient, but also rather effective. I would highlight the “Smart keyboard” text input which corrects the wrong button-pressing and the number of errors is led to minimal. Of course, the QWERTY-layout is available in both orientations of the body. But compared with Desire there is no interactive wallpaper – for example, it’s when by pressing the circles run on the water, and depending on the music player display corresponds the equalizer.

There are all standard applications (player, gallery, browser, etc.), there is also an online catalog of Android Market. But the file manager since Hero is not pre-installed, you need to download and install it separately. Especially the browser, which adjusts the page to the scope and formats it correctly. And, you can highlight text and then watch it in a dictionary, or send to your friends.

The company couldn’t deal without innovations in the software part. It hardly makes sense to consider the more details of HTC Sense, about which it said a lot. Attention should be paid to the App Share function. HTC Experts concede that sometimes it is hard to find the application in Android Market. Therefore Wildfire has an added ability to share links to your favorite applications with friends, acquaintances or colleagues. It works very simply and seems to be a rather interesting tool.

Concluding Notes

The fact is that this device – as I can remember one of the few smartphones from the company HTC, which is not overvalued at the start, that is, the price / quality ratio for Wildfire excellent even for the “white” option at the beginning of sales. It is cheaper than the HTC Hero, price tag on the level of Tattoo, while Wildfire bypasses both models on all parameters: metal in the body, a reliable optical trackball to control a big screen size, fresh Android OS and Sense UI. Among low-and middle price segments of the Android platform on HTC smartphone is able to generate a furor.

Hopefully, HTC Wildfire will turn into a really hot novelty for this hot summer, because as you know the device got the name based on the survey among the youth.

You can find more review of HTC Wildfire @ TestFreaks.