Telstra’s HTC Desire — Q&A / Requests

So a few people have contacted me for some extra stuff they want to know about the Telstra HTC Desire, so thank you to those guys for writing it. If you have anything you want me to try out or any questions you want answered. Let me know in the comments.

Disclaimer: I have been given the HTC Desire to review free of charge. These comments are all my own doing, I am in no way flattering Telstra.

So hit the “Read more” button to get into it!

Contents

• Best Browser
• Best RSS Reader with Google Reader sync
• Social Networking Applications
• Switching between 3G & WiFi
• Installing/Updating Applications from the Android Market
• How many apps can it hold?
• Game interactions
• Will you hack/root your Desire?

• A: What’s the best browser? Rendering time, Flash, Javascript, Caching, etc..

Q: I have 5 browsers installed to test:



• Dolphin Browser HD
• Multitouch
• Allows you to fake being a Desktop or iPhone
• Gestures
• Themes
• Internet – Default
• Multitouch
• Allows you take fake being a Desktop
• Flash Lite 4
• Google Translate, Dictionary & Wikipedia integration
• Skyfire
• Pseudo Flash
• Allows you to fake being a Desktop or iPhone
• Multitouch
• xScope Lite
• Cool UI – Looks like Chrome
• Multitouch
• Allows you to fake being a Desktop or iPhone
• Themes
• Opera Mini 5 beta
• Fast, thanks to it’s Image Quality settings
• Very sleek UI
• No Multitouch
• Stiff scrolling

Now I had each of the browsers run this test, to see how long it takes to render (yes, all browsers hava Javascript & Caching, some better than others).

• Dolphin Browser HD: 14.22 seconds
• Internet – Default: 16.675 seconds
• Skyfire: 18.841 seconds
• xScope Lite: 24.485 seconds
• Opera Mini 5 beta: 2.146 seconds

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• Q: What’s the best RSS Reader? Google reader sync? Cache XML for offline reading

A: I currently use NewsRob which syncs directly with your Google Reader account and pulls down all your feeds and caches all the XML so you can read the feeds offline. It also has tons of settings for you to play around with. The pro version unlocks all the features including a widget for the homescreens :).

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• Q: What’s the better of the Social Networking apps for both Twitter & Facebook?

A: There are way too many to give you an idea of all of them, but I will list the ones for Twitter, as the offical MySpace & Facebook apps are the best for their networks.
Twitter Apps:

• Twitter (Official)
• Touiteur
• Tweetcaster
• Twidroid
• Seesmic

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• Q: Is there any issues when switching from WiFi to 3G and vice versa? I hear it sometimes doesn’t connect.

A: Although I have never had this problem myself, I do know some people do have it. Mine takes maybe a minute and half (at most!) to go from 3G to WiFi depending on reception.

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• Q: What’s the User Interface like when updating/installing an Application from the Android Market?

A: Funny you should ask, as I actually have 3 apps that need updating. See the screenshots & captions below to see for yourself how to go about it.

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• How many Applications can you install on it?

A: The Desire has 100MB to install Applications on. This would equate to around 33 Applications if they are 3MB each. Which isn’t a lot at all, but with the upgrade to Android 2.2 (Froyo) later in the year, you will be able to install some apps on to the SD Card to save internal space.

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• Q: Find a game that requires input and see what happens. Aiming a weapon, etc

A: I have a few games on my Desire that require multiple types of input. For example Wings of Steel, it’s flying combat game. So you can fly by using the accelerometer (literally moving the device to turn) and pressing on the screen to shoot. I also have another game called ToonWarz. It requires Multitouch to play. So you can Strafe with one finger, shoot with another and use the accelerometer to turn left & right as well as up and down.

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• Q: Will you be rooting your Telstra Desire after the two weeks?

A: Hell yes. For many reasons, but the number one will be to get rid of these stupid Bigpond Applications. Seriously, I can’t tell you enough how useless they are.

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I hope that answered a few of your questions. I am more than willing to answer a few more in the comments below. Alternatively you can head over to Telstra Exchange and ask your questions there.