HTC Wildfire review
The HTC Wildfire is HTC’s latest budget Android phone, but does it rectify all of the HTC Tattoo’s problems?
The HTC Wildfire brings the looks of the Desire, with a budget twist. It runs perfectly well on Android 2.1 and battery life is ample. However, the screen is the Wildfire’s biggest failure and if you do stare at text all day, you may find that you have to step up a notch to the HTC Desire or even Legend.
Another area where HTC has scrimped a little is in the processor, packing the standard Qualcomm MSM 7225 528MHz, which is the same as the Hero. Some could judge scrapping the 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon powerhouse as a major issue, but we found it to be just as snappy as the Desire.
This could well be because there isn't such a large, high-powered screen to support, or it could be that the Wildfire just manages processes better, but swapping between apps wasn't a problem. Nor did we experience delays within apps.
The one foible we found with the processor though, was that the accelerometer sometimes struggled the flip from landscape to portrait. Although this wasn't a major issue, it could become one if you have a short fuse.
A handy extra you get with the HTC Wildfire over the HTC Desire is that it offers a turn to mute option, which could prove a useful feature for meetings. If a call comes in while you're busy, you can simply turn the phone over and the ringer will mute. We found it to be very responsive and a much better way to ignore a call rather than pressing the call end button.
RAM also loses out here. The Desire includes 576MB RAM and 512MB ROM, while the Wildfire's memory is stepped down a notch sporting 384MB RAM and 512MB ROM. There are no massive detrimental effects that we were able to identify although with permanent usage you may find it doesn't perform as well as the Desire.
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