[Puer Aeternus]

I just got my HTC desire this week, I LOVE IT!
Not wanting to become a iZombie, I spent 2 weeks researching smart phones and settled on the HTC Desire. At the time I was researching, it seemed to be the top Smart phone on the market (Samsung Galaxy might take the spot next). Android has finally matured and the Desire really shows that.
Anyone else here have one or planning on getting one?

[Nechen]

I plan on getting one with US Cellular here in the states. I played with one in the corporate store and loved it.

Only word I could find to describe it was "sexy" - although the only problem I see with it is the puny little 1400mAh battery inside it.

Gonna wait 'till Seidio comes out with a battery for the Desire before I buy one

[Puer Aeternus]

battery life is a bit weak but ive only had it a few days now and still tweaking it. Ive read that once you learn to manage the apps the battery lasts about as good as the average smart phone. When i get over the novelty of it, im sure ill have less apps running and stop using the live wall papers, then ill see how the batteries last. Its a great frigging phone, nothing but positive things to say!

Good little thread on battery usage

[Puer Aeternus]

Power Extended battery..LOOK'IT this beast!

[dg170775]

Just ordered the HTC Desire HD that I should get my hands on beginning October..
It's on a contract with T-Mobile UK...
I was that close to buying the Desire, and then I did a bit of research on Desire HD, that HTC recently launched ..
Better features over the Desire:
1. 8MP Camera, with twin LED Flash, 720p Video Recoding (5MP on Desire)
2. 1.5GB Internal Memory (512MB in the Desire), 768MB RAM (576MB in the Desire)
3. 4.3" Screen (3.7" on the Desire)
4. Android 2.2 (Froyo) preinstalled (Desire can always be upgraded to Froyo)
5. Faster 3G of upto 14.4Mbps (upto 7.2Mbps on the Desire)
6. Better battery (1230mAh)

Considering that Android 3.0 is round the corner, and they have said that 3.0 will require the device to have a few features as standard, like 1Ghz Processor and at least 587MB RAM, etc. So, Desire HD would be more future proof, compared to Desire, at least on the RAM front.

[Puer Aeternus]

good choice! The Desire HD was not available when I got mine..we likely wont see one in Canada for awhile anyways. Thats always the way aint it...you research, shop, get the best piece of tech at the time and in my case, weeks later the HD comes out. Another factor in getting the desire was the great plan I got and the cost for a3 year term. The Samsung Galaxy was comparable but it woulda cost more and so far the desire still seems to be winning the review war. Report back when you get your HD... a mini review might in order?

[dg170775]

I can understand..
Like I said, I was on the verge of going for the Desire.. and HTC launched the HD
I guess a little luck was on my side, as the launch was in London and I happened to see the launch live ..
Since then I've been waiting for a contract to be released, and now, I've pre-ordered
But, you're right .. Desire's the better phone in most reviews today.. And I've seen the Galaxy first up, it doesn't look as good as the Desire ..

[Puer Aeternus]

Just picked up an Otterbox Case today!!

I ordered it yesterday, arrived today I was really impressed w/ the shipping from the U.S to Canada..no hassle w/ duty and super fast!

The case itself...SUPERB totally worth the extra bucks. I had a generic Blue Gel Shell on it before and ghetto screen protector. I was a little embarrassed to show off my phone. The Otter box is a bit thick but sure looks good and I feel a lot more secure about my phone being protected from drops and scratches.

[deathman20]

Originally Posted by Puer Aeternus

Just picked up an Otterbox Case today!!

I ordered it yesterday, arrived today I was really impressed w/ the shipping from the U.S to Canada..no hassle w/ duty and super fast!

The case itself...SUPERB totally worth the extra bucks. I had a generic Blue Gel Shell on it before and ghetto screen protector. I was a little embarrassed to show off my phone. The Otter box is a bit thick but sure looks good and I feel a lot more secure about my phone being protected from drops and scratches.

I got the defender case as well for mine and while its very nice, I hate the plastic screen protector that came with it. I couldn't stand it after a few days I took the case off my phone and plan on returning it. Love the case but the screen protector blurs, really tones down on the screen colors and its staticy as all getup on it. So things get in by the buttons and it sticks there. Opening the casing to remove them is a PITA.

With your desire how much ram shows up on your system? I know it should have 576Megs of ram but mines only showning 406megs.

[Puer Aeternus]

i loked up ram usage and it seems the part you see missing is either reserved for the OS or video. Its not a flaw. What version are you running? Mine is android 2.1...apparently 2.2 is out and that allows you to install apps directly to your sd....thus freeing up some of that internal memory which on my phone..is running dangerously low. My update to 2.2 is carrier dependent.

Oh...on the topic, I read a really good article on "app killers" for android. The assumption is that the background apps eat up your battery usage. Reality is android 2.1 is very good at handling background apps and its ok to keep them running. After uninstalling my "app killer" i saw a dramatic increase in battery life. The app killer caused more drain on my phone than the apps themselves. When I find the link ill post it here for other Desire users to read.

[deathman20]

Ahh, makes a little more sense. Was trying to figure that one out and couldn't had me stumped since part of the OS is running on actual memory I can kill if need be.

I'm running 2.1 right now, though going to be jumping to 2.2 think soon with a new rom that hopefully they got some of the kinks out of. I can't wait to get to it since my network US Cellular will be some time before we see it.

Currently running a modified rom to use Apps2SD so I can install more programs. The crappy 512Megs of ram really sucks on it :/ Wish I had what my friend does is 8Gigs internal like on his Increadiable, that thing has 6.5Gigs of free space to play with.

[JCLW]

I have an 850/1900 Desire running official 2.2. Pretty neat device. I'm moving up from a 6yr old Nokia candybar phone so it's quite the difference. Somehow I doubt the Desire will last 6 years

I don't have a data plan - just WiFi. I think the Wifi drains the battery faster then 3G data so I just toggle it on/off as I need it.

What are your favourite/most useful apps? So far I have downloaded:
- Google Earth
- Google Sky Map
- GPS Status
- TaskPanel (application switcher/killer)
- WeatherEye (weather network widget)

The other one I've install is Hidden SSID Enabler. Has anyone figured out a better way to connect Android devices to networks with hidden SSIDs yet?

[deathman20]

BTW, Wifi drains the battery far less than 3G. Almost by 1/3 if not more at least under the 2.1 update. Though if you are out and about, wifi might drain it more, at least for me if it can't lock on Wifi it will enable 3G again and the battery will be going down with both of them enabled. I know 2.2 is suppose to be much better but waiting for a rom to take care of that for me.

Best example I can last a day on 3G, and could last a full 48 hours on wifi and use the phone decently.

As for SSID Enabler, if not mistaken my home network is hidden and had no issue connecting to it.

[JCLW]

I hardly used WiFi today (and no GPS at all) and currently have ~75% battery left as of this evening.

I cannot connect to my router (WRT54GL running DD-WRT v24-sp1) if I disable SSID broadcast. It will connect within 10secs if I re-enable it. If I disable SSID broadcast while the Desire is connected it looses the connection immediately.

[Puer Aeternus]

My most used apps are:

ZOMBIES LIVE!
retro Cam
Adobe Reader
google maps!!

Ive got a lot more apps but they are more of a novelty and fun to show friends.

The one app that is the holy Grail for me is a Good Call Display Program.
I thought I could save a few bucks on my bill by not having Call display and using a free google app. However, non of the ones I tried work. I plead complete ignorance on this...Why dont they work?

OH JCLW..Ditch the task Killer app! Read my post above about app killers.

[JCLW]

Which carrier are you with? Just tell them you want call display for free.

I kind of like TaskPanel because it lets me switch between apps quickly, particularly if they are not on the home page. I've only had the phone for a week, but it doesn't seem to negatively impact battery life. In fact it seems to improve it when I use the autokill function. Maybe it depends on what apps you are using.

I still can't get it to find networks with hidden SSIDs - at least not mine. I'll try and find a chance to play at a friends house next week.

[Puer Aeternus]

Originally Posted by JCLW

Which carrier are you with? Just tell them you want call display for free.

I kind of like TaskPanel because it lets me switch between apps quickly, particularly if they are not on the home page. I've only had the phone for a week, but it doesn't seem to negatively impact battery life. In fact it seems to improve it when I use the autokill function. Maybe it depends on what apps you are using.

I still can't get it to find networks with hidden SSIDs - at least not mine. I'll try and find a chance to play at a friends house next week.

I wish I could find that article about Android and multitasking. In summery, android is very good at multitasking and the background apps are in a rest state when not in use. Essentially, Android does not need a task killer. Since I uninstalled my task killer app, ive noticed better battery life. Oddly enough...the task killer app used more power than leaving all my apps running.
I use my phone quite a bit and dont notice any slowdowns or major battery draw.
As far as call display for free...I guess if I was signing up and in a position to negotiate my contract..its possible. Ive got a really good student plan for $55 w/ 1 gig of data, unlimited text, 200 min, unlimited min after 6pm and weekends and unlimited to 10 people of my choice. I assumed when I signed up I could get an android app for call display so i did not push it for my contract. Do you have a negotiating trick for getting free Call Display? I am w/ TELUS

[deathman20]

Using a task killer rips battery life apart unless its a specific app that you kill that is still in the background. Really any app in the background doesn't use any CPU power at all, just sits there idle til the OS decides its time to really kill it.

If you kill tasks and something forces it to restart your using a lot more battery power then letting it idle during that time.

I tried task killer, and without it battery life nearly doubled and I was just killing a few programs, but they would constantly restart.

[JCLW]

How long have you been with Telus? Call Loyalty & Retention and ask for the Voicemail/Caller ID package for free. I pay $42 (inc fees + taxes) for 500 outgoing, free incoming, free long distance, caller ID, voicemail, etc. No SMS. No Data.

Everyone seems to have different ideas about task managers. The one I am using does not seem to be a battery hog at all - I worked yesterday and when I got home I still had 82% battery remaining.

[Puer Aeternus]

I just signed up w/ them...its not even been a month yet.