Much has been made of the HTC Desire HD, whilst its sister phone, the HTC Desire Z, has been left out in the cold, the ugly sister of the HTC Desire range. But how different are the two phones? How do they stack up? We’re pitting the HTC Desire non-identical twins against one another to see if the HTC Desire HD really deserves to be seen as the stronger sibling.
Screen
This is where the HTC Desire HD really comes into its own. It has a 4.3” touchscreen, with 480 x 800 WVGA screen. In comparison, the HTC Desire Z has a more standard sized 3.7” screen, with the same resolution as the HD. It might not sound like much, but holding the two phones in your hand, the extra bit of screen makes the Desire HD feel like it’s nothing but screen, where the Desire Z is decidedly less exciting.
Winner: HTC Desire HD
Typing
The key difference between the two phones, and what HTC admitted was pretty much the sole reason for the existence of the HTC Desire Z, is people’s tastes in typing. Typing blind or on the move with a touchscreen can be incredibly hard, whereas it’s much easier to feel your way around with a keypad. But this is all a matter of taste: what you sacrifice in ease of use with the HTC Desire HD, you lose in screen size and beauty with the HTC Desire Z.
Winner: A matter of taste
Check out the HTC Desire HD Facebook fan page now!
Camera
One of the key differences between the HTC Desire HD and the Z is in the inbuilt camera. The HTC Desire Z has a 5MP snapper with AF and flash, where the HTC Desire HD has dual LED flash and an 8MP camera. Both though, have 720p HD Video recording.
Winner: HTC Desire HD
Battery
HTC is often lambasted for the poor battery life of its devices. Here, it looks like those wanting to get more action out of their HTC might think about lumping for the HTC Desire Z. It has a marginally better battery than the HTC Desire HD, with 1300 mAh, where the HTC Desire HD has 1230 mAh. In real terms though, this means that the HTC Desire Z gets 590 minutes of talktime on GSM, whereas the HTC Desire HD gets 550miutes. So the difference is just over half an hour, which isn’t much, and will barely show with varying use of the device.
Winner: Even Stevens
Other
Since the HTC Desire HD and HTC Desire Z are so similar, it’s worth looking at the small stuff too. The HTC Desire HD has a 1GHz processor, while the HTC Desire Z packs 200 MHz less. The HTC Desire HD weighs in at 164g, while the HTC Desire Z clocks in at 180g with its extra hardware. RAM is better for the HD, with 768MB in comparison to the Desire Z’s 512MB.
Winner: HTC Desire HD scrapes through
Conclusion
The HTC Desire HD is being treated like the prettier sister in this pairing. The HTC Desire Z has had very little attention since its launch, but it is a little clunky, and not half so easy on the eye as the HTC Desire HD. When the sisters go head to head, it largely comes down to taste: would you prefer a larger phone, with a larger screen, or a hardware keyboard in a standard smartphone size? Ultimately, neither is a head above the other, although the HTC Desire HD packs that extra pinch of processor speed.
What do you think? Drop us a line in the comments!
