It’s really crazy what drives people to buy stuff.  I’ve been holding off making the leap to a Smartphone and was researching different products.  I actually read an article on Reuters reporting that people would buy the iPhone4s to commemorate Apple’s founder, Steve Jobs (recently deceased from cancer).  While I’ve always been intrigued by Apple products I never made the leap off my PC to a Mac. So I didn’t have that emotional connection to the death of Mr. Jobs that was driving people to buy(or pre-order) the iPhone4s. That said, I was originally introduced to an iPhone by my sister-in-law and have to admit, thought it a pretty cool device.  Still, I just wasn’t ready to jump into the Smartphone arena until my chunky old Samsung made its last call. I admit, I looked at the iPhone first, followed by a Samsung Galaxy and finally the HTC Desire.  The HTC was the final choice and I haven’t regretted it yet.  Here are some reasons I chose the HTC Desire over the iPhone.

HTC Desire Winning Point #1: More Intuitive User Interface

I knew I wanted something that was intuitive.  I didn’t want to spend hours on the Internet in forums trying to figure out how to do something on my new Smartphone. I did not find the Galaxy very intuitive.  I just couldn’t get the hang of how to move stuff between desktops.  In fact, this was a chore with the iPhone too.  Scrolling back and forth between 5(android) and 7(iPhone) screens was really inconvenient.  I only need 2 desktops and finally had to have the rep show me how to move apps between the screens on the iPhone and Galaxy.  Then she showed me the ‘pinch’ move on the HTC Desire. The HTC Desire user interface is a lot more intuitive and easy to use.  HTC call the UI “Sense” and it allows you to “pinch” the touch screen so that all the screens appear as thumbnails.  You can easily pop back and forth between the thumbnails to get to the app you want to use.

HTC Desire Winning Point #2: Touch Sensitive Keys and Optical Track Pad

I knew I was going to struggle transitioning from a phone with big fat keys that I could press and feel the response.  The HTC Desire doesn’t include a physical keyboard.  However, it does have four keys that control the home, menu, back and search function.  Those keys, along with the optical track pad made it easy for me to select menu items and feel the little click that a physical key provides. So far, the first week with my HTC Desire has been a gentle and friendly transition away from my old fashioned Samsung mobile phone.

HTC Desire Winning Pint #3 Value for Money

I would not go so far as to say the HTC Deisire is a cheap phone, but it does represent good value for money. I used this site which lists some great HTC Desire Deals to find the best contract prices on offer at the time. If you compare the prices of the Desire to other Android phones, then it is one of the more expensive phones around, however, it is way way cheaper than the iphone. If you are going to compare the Desire to other Andoid phones, then consider the build quality. The quality of HTC phones is very high, certainly higher than some other vendors of android phones.

DrawBacks of the HTC Desire

There is only one criticism I have of this phone and that is its size. It is a lot bigger than most phones and that makes it awkward to carry in your pocket. It is almost as big as some of the smaller Android tablets now on the market. This is only a minor issue for me personally, but I can see size putting some prospective customers off.

Overall though, a great phone for the money, highly rated!