[BGY11]

Starting November 3rd, Bell Mobility will be offering the HTC Desire Z Android smartphone. This unit is similar to the T-Mobile G2 device. Here's the main specs for the Bell version:

• Android 2.2 (Froyo)
• 800MHz Qualcomm CPU (2nd-gen Snapdragon core)
• QWERTY "Z-Hinge" keyboard
• 3.7" 480x800 Super LCD Capacitive Touchscreen
• 1.5GB internal memory + 8GB bundled microSD memory card (expandable to 32GB)
• HSPA+ support (up to 14.4mbps)
• 802.11n Wi-Fi support & Wi-Fi hotspot capability
• 5 megapixel camera with flash / 720p camcorder
• HTC Sense 2.0

$129 on a 3-year contract
$499 to purchase outright

Definitely glad to see Bell getting a Froyo-based handset; especially now that the Telus HTC Desire has been upgraded to Froyo and we're still waiting for the Samsung Vibrant to be updated.

The Z-Hinge keyboard does concern me a bit, since I know that some T-Mobile G2 users have reported issues with the hinge being extremely loose. Hopefully HTC has reinforced it a bit for our units. Aside from that though, I really like the look of this device.

I really like the HTC Sense 2.0 features; especially the ability to remotely ring, lock, or wipe the device without any other applications. Hopefully it doesn't slow things down too much, since it actually does seem to offer some fairly useful features.

Overall, I think this will be a great alternative to the Samsung Vibrant that Bell also carries. The screen is slightly smaller, but it does seem to be a more durable device.

 

[habskilla]

Picked up one of these tonight. I'll play with it a while then comment.

 

[BGY11]

Looking forward to your feedback on this one. I'm considering grabbing one of these off-contract.

 

[habskilla]

We took an iPhone 4 out for a spin first. Owning an iPod, I knew how to navigate around. The iPhone was impressive. We thought there would be no way the Desire Z could beat it. We kept an open mind and took it out for a spin. Well, the Desire Z is terrific. There are many many reviews out there so I'm not going to another one. What I'll add are things that tipped the scale towards the Desire Z.

No iTunes! I hate iTunes. I hate having to use that app to sync my iPod.
Flash support. Nice being able to go to tsn and watching videos.
Optical button on the front.
This one surprised me. Better mp3 sound. Same songs, same ear buds. Z has better sound.
Great add-on widgets
Slide err pop out keyboard.
htcsense.com - Gives the ability to track, call, wipe and install apps remotely.

Dislikes
Speaker on the back of the phone.
Have to press the top button to turn on the phone.

 

[x katt x]

I love this phone so far. I am so glad I went with this over the BB Torch or Samsung Galaxy S , my other two possibile phone choices.


Dislikes:

End call is a touch screen button, which is really annoying when I want to disconnect the call quickly. ( Apparently theres a way to root your phone to change this, but it voids your warranty? )

The default alarm sucks if you just want the alarm to dismiss and not snooze. I ended up just installing a different app for my alarm, Extreme alarm free, and I can now autodisable and disable with the power button.

Tons of useless preinstalled apps I can't uninstall.

Favorite things :

no itunes, so it's very plug and play
tons of free apps
SNESoid app <3