• Big daddy
  • From the side
  • Music maker
  • Big brother
  • Z is for?
  • Ah! That's what Z is for
  • Flat as a tack
  • Familiar face
  • A pattern forming
  • More than one way to skin a cat
  • Connected
  • Nav, man
  • Toll collector
  • CoverFlow cool
  • Silky shooter
  • HTC Likes
Prev Next
1 of 17

HTC Desire HD and Z: hands on

If we're honest, the entire internet had a pretty good idea of what HTC had planned for its launch, but that didn't make it any less fun to play around with the Desire HD and Desire Z.

HTC's Desire HD (left) and Desire Z (right).

Photo by: HTC

Big daddy

If you're familiar with HTC's last half-dozen releases, then you'll see the similarities immediately. The Desire HD is exactly what the HTC HD2 would look like if it was running Android 2.2, but hey, we're not complaining.

Photo by: CBSi

From the side

There's not much in the way of external switches and keys on the Desire HD. In this image you can see the volume rocker.

Photo by: CBSi

Music maker

As expected, a 3.5mm headphone socket. Not as expected is the position: in the middle on the bottom of the phone.

Photo by: CBSi

Big brother

There's something about the extruding camera that makes us think someone back at HTC HQ is watching our every move. This shooter has an 8-megapixel resolution.

Photo by: CBSi

Z is for?

Zoologist? The Desire Z is the same size and shape as the original Desire, but manages to look completely different; thanks mostly to the black, square optical mouse on the front.

Photo by: CBSi

Ah! That's what Z is for

HTC calls this the Z-hinge, a nifty feature of engineering that lifts the screen as you slide it to sit flush with the keyboard.

Photo by: CBSi

Flat as a tack

HTC's lead designer explained that the Z-hinge was created so the screen would be completely out of the way when the user began typing on the keyboard.

Photo by: CBSi

Familiar face

Like the Desire, the Z has its 3.5mm headphone socket on the top of the phone beside the standby key.

Photo by: CBSi

A pattern forming

Also like the original Desire, the Z has a 5-megapixel camera with an LED flash.

Photo by: CBSi

More than one way to skin a cat

Unlike previous HTC Androids, the Desire HD and Z will both have interchangeable skins. Applying one will change the wallpaper and appearance of the top and bottom taskbars.

Photo by: CBSi

Connected

This is the interface for the new media-streaming software.

Photo by: CBSi

Nav, man

The new car-panel interface with huge button shortcuts to maps and points of interest.

Photo by: CBSi

Toll collector

Viewing the maps is free, and you can download maps from all around the world for no extra charge, but if you want turn-by-turn directions you'll have to pony up an as-yet undisclosed subscription price.

Photo by: CBSi

CoverFlow cool

Give Charles Dickens the same funky treatment as Hendrix and Pearl Jam. The new Kobo ebook reader app allows users to add annotations, define words, highlight passages and use a "Featured in bookstore" button to find new books to download.

Photo by: CBSi

Silky shooter

HTC has given the camera software a mild makeover, adding a range of filters and making accessing certain options easier than before.

Photo by: CBSi

HTC Likes

This was a pleasant surprise. HTC Likes is a new app that lists some of HTC's favourite apps on the Android Market.

Photo by: CBSi

REVIEW

The most beautiful phone ever has one wildly annoying issue

he Samsung Galaxy S8's fast speeds and fantastic curved screen make it a top phone for 2017, but the annoying fingerprint reader could sour your experience.

Hot Products