Why choose the HTC Wildfire?
The range of handsets on the market powered by Google’s Android is now pretty extensive and among its number you can count some of the most powerful, multi-featured devices available, but a lot of these devices come with suitably high price tags. Price is the drawback in the current economy and the premiums tied to these gadgets can be eye-watering. With that in mind let me introduce you to the HTC Wildfire.
This Android 2.1 device aims to wrap-up everything a new smartphone user could want in a small, evenly powered little device and put it in the palm of their hand without breaking the bank. It comes with all the widgets, apps and games that you can shake a stick at and even if you’re buying it sim-free you’ll still have change from £150. Yes, you read that right.
For that sort of money you might expect a device with watered down performance but that isn’t the case with HTC’s Wildfire. It most certainly isn’t a slouch when it comes to its power-plant, offering the new revision of the processor used in the hugely popular HTC Hero, which clocks in at a respectable 528MHz, 384MB RAM and 512MB ROM. With this on-board you can run all the widgets and apps you like and even multi-task, which is a function that you won’t find on smartphones that cost 4 times the price.
You don’t get stiffed on the multimedia features either. The Wildfire comes packed with a 5-megapixel camera with flash, geo-tagging and smile detection, which is perfect for taking shots on the go and posting them to your favourite social-networking sites, a job which is made insanely easy by the integrated functionality for Facebook, Twitter and Flikr. Considering the price point of the device the camera is great, although it does suffer from the same shortcomings as its big brother, the Desire, such as shutter lag and a flash which will make your friends look like you’ve antiqued them with self-raising flour. Though these foibles don’t ruin the overall performance and outside in daylight the device will take rich, nicely coloured images.
With the Wildfire you’re also treated to Flash enabled browsing with multi-touch support, which again, is something you won’t find on more expensive devices. You can connect to the web via 3G (up to 7.2mbps HSDPA) and also Wi-Fi (b,g) so you won’t face a huge bill for downloading content if you choose to forego a web-data bundle.
The Wildfire is a great entry-level phone but as you’d expect there are some niggles and the biggest of them is the QVGA screen, which really doesn’t do Android justice and sets your web-browsing experience back a good deal. But if you can live with a less than ideal screen the Wildfire should definitely make your shortlist. It’s compact, lean and exceptionally well crafted for a budget smartphone and even with its annoying QVGA display still holds its own against newer budget Android devices, such as Sony Ericsson’s X10 mini and LG’s Optimus.
Overall the Wildfire makes a great device for newcomers and seasoned users on a budget will likely agree that the specification is nothing to be sniffed at. So if you want to dip your toe into the Android pool, or if you fancy saving a few quid and maybe snagging yourself a free-gift to go with your mobile contract, give the Wildfire a punt!