Engadget: Review – HTC Desire S Smartphone
Reviewer Vlad Savov likes the aluminum unibody construction of the HTC Desire S and concludes it’s a better choice than the more expensive HTC Incredible S, even thought its camera isn’t as good and screen isn’t as big.
“This time last year, HTC had two Android smartphones for the mainstream: the 3.7-inch Desire, outfitted with the latest and greatest, and the 3.2-inch Legend, which was humbler in specs but offered the novelty of an aluminum unibody construction. After seeing that strategy pay off handsomely, the company’s come back in 2011 with a similar proposition. The 4-inch Incredible S is now the higher-end device, while the 3.7-inch Desire S is the smaller, aluminum-shelled handset. What’s curious this time, however, is that the Desire S has exactly the same 1GHz Snapdragon inside it, the same graphics, same WVGA resolution, and the same 768MB of RAM as the Incredible S. Throw in the fact it comes with Gingerbread preloaded and a few new tweaks to the Sense UI and you’ve got to wonder if this might not be the more, um, desirable of HTC’s new Android duo. Only one way to find out, right? Full review after the break.
HTC Desire S review
HTC is rightly proud of its aluminum unibody construction method. It goes beyond what other manufacturers do — such as Nokia with the aluminum-clad N8 — by using just one piece of the lightweight metal, which is wrapped around the phone’s internal components and acts as both its case and frame. On the Desire S, there are a couple of plastic-covered rear compartments, one to accommodate the 5 megapixel camera, LED flash, and loudspeaker, and the other to permit access to the 1450mAh battery and SIM and MicroSD card slots. The latter chunk of soft-touch plastic also acts as the Desire S’ antenna. You might expect the move to a metallic construction to incur some penalties in terms of weight and bulk, but the Desire S is five grams lighter than the original Desire at 130g (4.59oz), 4mm shorter at a height of 115mm (4.7 inches), and just slightly thinner and narrower than its predecessor. Another appreciable upgrade over the original Desire is that the display now sits closer to the glass at the front of the phone, eliminating what was a noticeable distance between the two on the older device.”
