HTC Desire or HTC Wildfire?

[carolien]

I now have a Samsung Omnia 2, but its awfully slow (if I want to open a thread with about 200 text messages in it, it takes me about half a minute to open the inbox and another 2 minutes to open the thread itself..) and I can choose a new phone with my new abbonnement (is that an english word?). I'm having doubts whether to buy the desire or the wildfire. With the wildfire i'd have to take a 1-year abbo, with the desire a 2-year abbo, so the desire will cost a little more. This will be my first android phone. I mostly use my phone for texting, calling and internetting and at times listening to music or using apps/playing games. The thing that irritates me about my samsung is that it's slow. But when I look at the specs, its processor is faster than the wildfire's. Does anyone know whether the wildfire is faster than the samsung omnia 2? Or does anyone know how long it takes with the wildfire to open a thread with about 200 incoming textmessages?

The most important things about a phone for me are that it's fast (don't want to wait 3 minutes before I can read text messages), that it has a lot of memory for text messages (don't want to have to empty my inbox every week because it's full, I'd love to be able to store over 1000 text messages in my inbox), that I don't have to charge the phone every day (my samsung omnia I charge once in 3 or 4 days, would love my new phone to be able to last as long as this one)

What would you recommend? I have two friends both using android phones for a while now, but one of them recommends the wildfire and the other one recommends the desire, so I still don't know what to do

 

[JohnnyBravo1000]

If you prefer a larger screen and higher spec phone, I would go for the Desire.

If you would prefer to sacrifice the screen size and high specification for a smaller phone, I'd go for the Wildfire.

I currently own a HTC Desire and would have no hesitation in recommending it to others. Its good points outweight its bad points by far.

 

[anoniemouse]

If you prefer a larger screen and higher spec phone, I would go for the Desire.

If you would prefer to sacrifice the screen size and high specification for a smaller phone, I'd go for the Wildfire.

I currently own a HTC Desire and would have no hesitation in recommending it to others. Its good points outweight its bad points by far.

I too have the desire & i would recommend it to anyone.
Personally i have found no bad points.
Carolien as you have the chance to try both phones out, then you should & you can see which one is best for you.

 

[Bren_D]

It comes down to price really. The Wildfire is a lot cheaper to buy sim free and is available for free on cheaper contracts.

But if you read the reviews of both phones, you get what you pay for. The screen isn't as good on the Wildfire, nor is it as fast as the Desire. But I've only played with a Desire, so I couldn't tell you anything about the difference in performance.

If you are after speed, the Desire is probably the better bet, but have a play with both phones as suggested above.

 

[lekky]

It comes down to price really. The Wildfire is a lot cheaper to buy sim free and is available for free on cheaper contracts.

But if you read the reviews of both phones, you get what you pay for. The screen isn't as good on the Wildfire, nor is it as fast as the Desire. But I've only played with a Desire, so I couldn't tell you anything about the difference in performance.

If you are after speed, the Desire is probably the better bet, but have a play with both phones as suggested above.

Exactly, the Desire is a high end phone, the wildfire is a medium end phone, and the prices reflect this.

It depends if you want a high end or not. But the wildfire would be considered at the top end of the medium phones spectrum so its not a bad choice.

 

[Phenomenological]

I was going to get the Wildfire. Then realised that the desire isn't really that much more, and I'd have seriously regretted getting the cheaper phone. I can't fault the Desire in any way. If I'd got the Wildfire, I'd constantly be bemused that I could have gone one better.

 

[jred7469]

I have the desire, My faincee has the wildfire, mum also had a wildfire but she is selling it (PM me if interested only 2 weeks old)

The wildifre is much smaller and lighter than the desire and is still a very quick smooth phone and the screen is more than good enough for phone.

I would never ever swap my desire for one but if the wildfire had been the only option I can't say I would have been too disappointed as they are both great phones

 

[grainysand]

The Wildfire is a budget option. Tiny screen, low specs, probably dubious performance. The Desire is more expensive, yes, but you get what you pay for.

 

[APK]

The wildfire is a "budget" option, and is the choice if you are looking for a cheap contract, I need 5-600 minutes + landlines + a good signal at home so I am paying

 

[Phenomenological]

The Wildfire is a budget option. Tiny screen, low specs, probably dubious performance. The Desire is more expensive, yes, but you get what you pay for.

Rubbish. The Desire and Wildfire are designed for different people. The Desire is made for those who demand high performance and will use the extra features. The Wildfire is still a very nice phone, and having used it I can assure you the performance isn't dubious at all. It's aimed at a different kind of user, who doesn't need the higher performance of the desire, and wants a smaller, lighter phone. And the screen is the same width as the Desire's, just not as high, which for some people won't make much of a difference.

 

[ziggy1024]

... that I don't have to charge the phone every day (my samsung omnia I charge once in 3 or 4 days, would love my new phone to be able to last as long as this one)

Having never used a Wildfire I can't tell you much about it, but if the battery is a similar size to the Desires I would suspect that it'd serve you better. Smaller screen + slower processor = less power used, so I'd hope the battery life would be better. 3 or 4 days per charge on a Desire is just not going to happen...

 

[lekky]

The wildfire is not a budget phone at all, like i said before it is on the top end of the medium performance phones.

The performance is not dubious either. It won't be able to run the top games, because of screen and processor, but it is a good phone.

Not in any way budget.

 

[grainysand]

Grainysand, how can you say 3.2" is tiny ? compared to what an ipad?!! Performance wise it is similar to a hero, my wife and daughter have those, and they cannot be faulted, so I don't think performance will be an issue.

Because it really is? Anything under 3.7 is fantastically horrible especially when trying to type on a virtual keyboard, and then there are games that just won't work very well at that resolution.

Rubbish. The Desire and Wildfire are designed for different people. The Desire is made for those who demand high performance and will use the extra features. The Wildfire is still a very nice phone, and having used it I can assure you the performance isn't dubious at all. It's aimed at a different kind of user, who doesn't need the higher performance of the desire, and wants a smaller, lighter phone. And the screen is the same width as the Desire's, just not as high, which for some people won't make much of a difference.

Yeah? Come back and tell me how well that puny thing runs real Flash in the browser when it gets 2.2, assuming it ever will. Does it even have a GPU? As far as Android phones go, it is very much a budget option, just like the Magic/mytouch was. IMO the price difference isn't large enough to warrant picking it over a Desire (especially subsidized) unless you're a masochist.

 

[junkiepilot]

why dont you check out the Legend? thats a nice comprimise between the 2

 

[JsT]

I was going to get the Wildfire. Then realised that the desire isn't really that much more, and I'd have seriously regretted getting the cheaper phone. I can't fault the Desire in any way. If I'd got the Wildfire, I'd constantly be bemused that I could have gone one better.

Me too, I chose the Desire and haven't regretted it for a second.

 

[Phenomenological]

Grainysand, you appear to have come over to the desire forum specifically to be confrontational. We know what we're talking about. The Wildfire isn't designed to do the things you're suggesting. A Ford Mondeo is a fantastic car to drive, very safe, and very affordable. It won't do 200MPH - But the people who buy it don't care. Ditto the Wildfire. It does everything most people need very well. It's a very capable and well designed phone. Stop being elitist.

And incidentally, the iPhone is a 3.5 inch display and that sells, ironically, like wildfire. Your statement about screens below 3.7 inch being horrible is absolute crap. I've used the wildfire onscreen keyboard, in portrait mode it's totally identical to the one on the desire which is very usable, and in landscape mode the keys are really quite nicely spaced.

 

[anoniemouse]

As they say, you pay your money & make your choices.
Always go for the phone that does what you want, look at the various reviews round the internet so you can make an informed choice

 

[grainysand]

Grainysand, you appear to have come over to the desire forum specifically to be confrontational.

You're trying too hard to be offended.

It does everything most people need very well. It's a very capable and well designed phone. Stop being elitist.

How is it elitist to point out that you get what you pay for, which is nothing but simple fact? The Wildfire is this year's Tattoo, manufactured to penetrate the scrape-the-barrel market segment and serve HTC's need to have a finger in the low-end pie, nothing more. I doubt they care terribly how badly it performs. After all, the Hero near the end of its life wasn't doing too well. Sense by itself is a memory bloat.

And incidentally, the iPhone is a 3.5 inch display and that sells, ironically, like wildfire.

It's actually wider than a N1 at 3.7 (the N1 being longer). That makes up for quite a bit when typing in portrait mode, and it helps that the iPhone's soft keyboard is pretty decent. I, of course, am a Swype believer so it's neither here nor there--but I've tried typing on a Hero and all I wanted to do was fling it at the wall.

 

[FelixofMars]

I thought the wildfire is just a reskined tattoo, even the specs suggest that much as they are pretty much identical.

 

[anoniemouse]

I've tried typing on a Hero and all I wanted to do was fling it at the wall.

If you want awful for typing try a resistive screen, got one on my lg renoir that i thought was good.
Then i got the htc desire, the renoir screen is like comparing a pre 1990 skoda to a rolls royce

 

[Phenomenological]

You're trying too hard to be offended.

I didn't say I was offended, I just disapprove of the way you sometimes seem to phrase things.

How is it elitist to point out that you get what you pay for, which is nothing but simple fact? The Wildfire is this year's Tattoo, manufactured to penetrate the scrape-the-barrel market segment and serve HTC's need to have a finger in the low-end pie, nothing more. I doubt they care terribly how badly it performs. After all, the Hero near the end of its life wasn't doing too well. Sense by itself is a memory bloat.

You aren't saying you get what you pay for, you're saying anything less than the best is awful, for example 'Fantastically horrible' and 'puny'. Which is rubbish. The wildfire provides a very good phone for those with a lower budget who don't need the extra features. It's basically a small desire with less impressive hardware inside it.

It's actually wider than a N1 at 3.7 (the N1 being longer). That makes up for quite a bit when typing in portrait mode, and it helps that the iPhone's soft keyboard is pretty decent. I, of course, am a Swype believer so it's neither here nor there--but I've tried typing on a Hero and all I wanted to do was fling it at the wall.

The Wildfire is the same width as the desire, so the portrait keyboard is identical, which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned. The Hero is an entirely different phone with a different sized screen and probably a different keyboard, so it isn't really relevant here. The wildfire IS a scaled down desire. Same styling, same width, same software. It's just slightly less powerful and has a shorter, lower resolution screen to keep the price down.

 

[grainysand]

You aren't saying you get what you pay for, you're saying anything less than the best is awful, for example 'Fantastically horrible' and 'puny'. Which is rubbish. The wildfire provides a very good phone for those with a lower budget who don't need the extra features. It's basically a small desire with less impressive hardware inside it.

Sorry no, I'm not talking about anything less than the best. The N1's specs are six-months old. Half a year is forever in the world of mobile technology. It's still not outdated exactly, but with Hummingbird-powered Galaxy S and OMAP-fueled Droid X, it's no longer "the best" (do you realize how weak the GPU in the Snapdragon is?). Try "anything less than the second-best," which is literally third-rate.

The Hero is an entirely different phone with a different sized screen and probably a different keyboard, so it isn't really relevant here.

You... do... realize... that the Hero is a HTC phone, right? Sense, same HTC IME keyboard, 3.2 inch screen, same rubbish processor? Am I being unusually opaque here? Am I saying something very difficult to understand? The Wildfire has a bit more RAM, but that doesn't mean jack until it gets 2.2 because it's running an old kernel.

The wildfire IS a scaled down desire. Same styling, same width, same software. It's just slightly less powerful and has a shorter, lower resolution screen to keep the price down.

"Slightly less" is a comical assertion; it's running on a chip that was already outdated last year, and by this point is an antiquated piece of crap. Yes, I am saying you get what you pay for, and in this case what you get happens to be really, really terrible shit. Some people might not need all the features of a high-end phone, but I don't think anyone wants to put up with a laggy device (and yes, under load, the Wildfire will become sluggish).

Add up the data plan, which I suspect is no different from that of a Desire, and you're in not just for pain but also not paying that much less.

 

[Phenomenological]

Sorry no, I'm not talking about anything less than the best. The N1's specs are six-months old. Half a year is forever in the world of mobile technology. It's still not outdated exactly, but with Hummingbird-powered Galaxy S and OMAP-fueled Droid X, it's no longer "the best" (do you realize how weak the GPU in the Snapdragon is?). Try "anything less than the second-best," which is literally third-rate.

Give me a break.

You... do... realize... that the Hero is a HTC phone, right? Sense, same HTC IME keyboard, 3.2 inch screen, same rubbish processor? Am I being unusually opaque here? Am I saying something very difficult to understand? The Wildfire has a bit more RAM, but that doesn't mean jack until it gets 2.2 because it's running an old kernel.

The hero runs a different version of sense to the Wildfire and Desire.

"Slightly less" is a comical assertion; it's running on a chip that was already outdated last year, and by this point is an antiquated piece of crap. Yes, I am saying you get what you pay for, and in this case what you get happens to be really, really terrible shit. Some people might not need all the features of a high-end phone, but I don't think anyone wants to put up with a laggy device (and yes, under load, the Wildfire will become sluggish).

Outdated compared to what? Most people are still using normal 'dumb' phones. For anyone upgrading from one of those, the Wildfire will be an enormous step up. Try looking at things from a perspective that isn't so limited. I'm sorry but your attitude to anything but the most recent technology is laughable.

 

[TheTrueSpin]

For god's sake you two... give it a rest.

I'm sure the Wildfire is a nice enough phone, but it is not nearly as good as the Desire. For some users it will be more than enough, for some it will not. End. Of. Story!

 

[Phenomenological]

For god's sake you two... give it a rest.

I'm sure the Wildfire is a nice enough phone, but it is not nearly as good as the Desire. For some users it will be more than enough, for some it will not. End. Of. Story!

Thank you. Been hoping for the voice of reason for a while now! I normally try not to get into these things, but sometimes it's easy to get immersed.