NOT AS WILD AS DESIRE

The HTC Wildfire is a toned-down, lower midrange version of Android’s recent release – the HTC Desire. This model allows people who either do not require all the extensive applications and specifications of the Desire or cannot afford such a jam-packed phone, to get a taste of an up-to date HTC phone.

The main focus of the Wildfire is communication from all areas, with heavy social network integration with sites such as Facebook, Twitter and even Flickr for images. The only noticeable downgrades from the higher model Desire are the poorer quality display and lower CPU. The handset itself is stylish and compact, featuring the premium finish and similar design of the Desire.

As with many Android powered mobiles, the HTC Wildfire includes a plethora of personalisation options such as the clock widget which offers twelve different styles of clock for your home screen. Some of the widgets available differ in function, such as the Twitter widget which allows you to browse updates on one version and tweet only on the other. These can be used alone if you have a particular preference for your Twitter usage, or both can be used to allow full functionality. Basically, the applications and tweaks you can use on your HTC Wildfire are almost endless and you can really get stuck in to making the phone as individual as its owner.

The contacts menu on the mobile allows you to choose from numerous functions – from reading text messages in the form of conversations from each contact to reading your favourite contacts’ Facebook updates. The highly integrated system allows you to deal with all aspects of communication such as email/SMS/MMS in one place, meaning the phonebook of the Wildfire is a complete hub for keeping in touch with friends and family.

Unlike some phones that are available at the moment, the HTC Wildfire fortunately shows no connectivity or reception issues and the call quality is generally very good, with brilliant volume levels and voice quality.

However, the HTC Desire’s traits being squashed into a significantly smaller model and downgraded somewhat is bound to leave the model with numerous downfalls. Firstly, the screen image is nowhere near as effective as that of the Desire, given the 1.1-inch screen size difference and that Android operating systems do not run to the best of their ability on QVGA screens. This means that applications that you would run on the HTC Wildfire are not going to look as crisp and appealing as they would on a HTC Desire model.

There is no capacity for the increasingly popular feature of video calling on this mobile and, therefore, no forward facing camera is included either. This sets the handset back as most successful smart phones on the market have video calling capabilities including the immensely sought-after iPhone 4 with FaceTime.

Additionally, the phone does not allow for voice activated calls which is a downfall for those who use their mobile frequently whilst driving, as they could initialise a call hands-free, had the mobile voice dialling.