If phones could make babies, then this
HTC Wildfire would indubitably be the love child of the
Desire and
Nexus One. But of course, the humdrum reality is that 'tis just an Android 2.1 replacement for the entry-level
Tattoo -- same 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7225 processor, 3.2-inch 320 x 240 capacitive LCD touchscreen instead of 2.8-inch resistive, 384MB RAM instead of 256MB, and a 5-megapixel camera instead of 3.2 (although quality matters more, obviously). So can this affordable handset provide enough bang for the buck to satisfy Europeans and Asians? Can the aging processor keep Sense UI well oiled? All will be revealed after the break.
Hardware
At first glance, the Wildfire's a pretty handsome and familiar-looking device, but if you're not a fan of this subtle brown finish, there are three more
color options. You can see several elements borrowed from the company's two other Android handsets -- touch buttons and the reassuring back texture from the Nexus One, although the buttons don't work as well on the big daddy; optical trackpad, earpiece, chin, and body frame from the Desire (read: not unibody à la Nexus One). The back is styled like the
HD2 with a wide metallic band, but it's not the metal that you take off for the battery bay -- the actual cover needs to be peeled off with some effort from the top (like the Desire). When held in hand, the phone feels like a shorter Desire but equally as sturdy.
The chin below forms part of the back cover, but this is where we spotted the Wildfire's first physical flaw: we saw an uneven cut between the body frame and the chin. This does no justice to HTC's impressive build quality on most of its other devices, but as an entry-level device, we'll need to go easy with this level of detail. Swinging around to the left side you'll see the shiny volume rocker -- which feels well-built -- and micro-USB port, and on the back you have the five-megapixel camera sandwiched by the loudspeaker and LED flash.
To meet the lower price point, HTC's opted for the good ol' LCD instead of AMOLED on the Wildfire. Sadly, the infamous mirror effect is still present albeit not as strong the Desire's and the Hero's. See for yourself in the video below where we compare this with the screens on the Desire, Hero,
Dell Streak and
iPhone 4 (HD playback highly recommended for more realistic results). Whilst on this topic, we're also a bit upset that due to the low 320 x 240 resolution, some apps -- including
our own -- did not appear in the Wildfire's Market. Ah, the good ol'
fragmentation problem. For future reference, potential Android users should look at devices with a minimum resolution of 480 x 320 to get the most support.
Performance
The Wildfire's been given the same HTC Sense UI blessing as its other 2.1 siblings -- highlights include Leap for switching between homescreens, FriendStream widget for stalking your friends, an intuitive text highlighting tool (which is dangerously similar to the iOS's), built-in Flash Lite, and a keyboard that many have shown preference to over the stock version. Like the Legend, live wallpapers are -- no pun intended -- sensibly disabled on the feeble Wildfire. Still, we noticed the occasional hiccups every now and then, and we've had a few crashes from the internet browser plus the slow camera app. Looks like the CPU's the main culprit here, considering the Legend also rocks 384MB of RAM but doesn't suffer from such issues. On a similar note, Flash web content took minutes to load on the Wildfire, and even if you have the patience, the low frame rate leaves a lot to be desired. You can see this demoed in the video above.
Despite the list of issues, we managed to get almost twelve hours of battery life on just 3G data connection, while enjoying the occasional music, photo-snapping, video recording, Twitter, FriendStream, and web browsing. Pretty impressive considering we only got about eight to ten hours on our Legend (also donning a 1,300mAh battery but with a newer and supposedly more efficient CPU) -- perhaps HTC's AMOLED screens do suck up a fair bit more juice than LCDs. Adding to the list of positives are the vast range of supported audio file formats, stereo Bluetooth audio (which worked flawlessly for us), and built-in FM radio. We wouldn't recommend using the rear loudspeaker for audio entertainment, but the supplied handsfree kit's pretty decent -- too bad it isn't the noise isolating-plug type, nor did its mic perform well in our noise test (but the phone's built-in mic wasn't any better, as demoed in the earlier video).
We've already praised HTC's multimedia apps in our Desire and Legend reviews. Nothing much has changed for the music player -- still as intuitive and stable as before. On the other hand, the gallery app is notably slower at loading pictures, and video playback is much worse -- we can understand that 720p playback isn't feasible with the old CPU (in fact, all our 720p clips froze up the gallery app), but with 640 x 480 MP4 clips coming out at low frame rates, you'd have to wonder who on Earth would buy this when there are featurephones that can do much better. Sorry HTC, but this smartphone ain't working out for us.
Moving on to the keyboard: if you ask the Android community, many would say HTC has one of the best virtual keyboards, but we have a feeling that the Wildfire won't make it to the list. No, it isn't to do with the slightly more crammed keys -- we were still able to type well with that; we're just annoyed by the slow response to our typing. That said, we must commend HTC for yanking the hide keyboard button -- the Back button below the screen does the job anyway -- to extend the space bar, plus the keyboard settings button now prompts a customizable list of international keyboards for quick switching. Not that this means we'd be less frustrated by the laggy keyboard, though.
Camera
Just like any other HTC device, don't expect mind-blowing picture quality -- especially in low-light condition -- from the Wildfire's five-megapixel camera, but indoor shots like the one above look pretty good. As for outdoor usage, the still camera either struggled with the white balance or consistently under-exposed the shots. Still, they are nowhere as bad as the videos recorded -- they're capped at a 352 x 288 resolution with a sad frame rate, and you'll get an even lower frame rate if you record in the dark. What a bummer.
Wrap-up
Well, we didn't have high expectation for the Wildfire to begin with, and having played with it we were even less stoked. In general, this handset's seriously lacking in multimedia features, and then we have the screen problem plus the occasional lag. That said, we can't really walk away hating the Wildfire in its entirety -- the battery life's good, plus it is after all a £230 ($346) device if bought off the shelf, or for free on T-Mobile's £20 ($30) per month two-year contract. In comparison, the Legend's about £360 ($542) SIM-free, but it's also available for free on Vodafone's £20 plan with significantly fewer minutes. Needless to say, your choice will greatly depend on your phone usage and carrier preference, but we'd gladly sacrifice some call time and go for the faster AMOLED-donning Legend. If you're looking for a basic off-contract Android smartphone but still want the Desire / Nexus One look, then the Wildfire's the way to go. You'd just quickly realize that you want more.
posted June 28th 2010 4:08PM
That's quite a petite phone. I'm looking to go T-mobile and get a new handset while I'm at it, and this is one of the phones on my list.
@longcat
:o
@longcat
It would be interesting to see how far this phone's processor could be overclocked to help deal with some of the more demanding functionality...may be something to think about.
@longcat the new samsung i think i will get.... nexus one is one of the best phones you can get today.... only phones that top it are the evo and droid x..... the nexus has been out for a long time and all apply could do is get a 1gz processor? and its not as big as the evo either.... it runs flash very well... its alot more customizable than any iphone to date.... but the samsung galaxy packs that and more i like the front facing camera.... this phone is nice too
"....and a 5-megapixel camera instead of 3.2 (although quality matters more, obviously)"
I completely and totally agree with that statement, but is it just me not being able to recall this, or did Engadget never say this until iPhone 4 came out? I've seen the gallery and vids of the iPhone's camera and camcorder functionality, and I agree, it's better than my Evo's photos. I can see the graininess in my 8 megapixel photos. I just don't ever recall Engadget saying "quality matters more" so often until the new iPhone came out.
It's as if the writers of these blog entries feel "insecure" about the iPhone's lower megapixels, even though they're right. :P
@ravissimo went backwards and saw these comments in the "Nokia muses on grip styles..." blurb...
@spartandre217 "That's one of the funniest things ya know. When people used to say that phones had better resolution than the iPhone they were completely ignored by engadget, now they're doing screen resolution comparisons."
@JXCGunrunna "It is like browser tests. Engadget did a browser test on every phone that came out and compared it to the 3GS. they do not do that anymore since Android phones are faster."
so I guess my theory of not recalling hearing "quality matters more, obviously" until the iPhone 4 came out wasn't so far fetched...
hey look at that, i just agreed with myself...
@ravissimo
To be fair though, not many handset manufacturers have come out and said they purposely went for quality over the megapixels in recent years, likely due to the massive misconception by the average public that more megapixels equal a better camera.
I've been very impressed by the reviews on the HTC EVO and with the sprint $69 plan it sems like a no brainer for me. What many don't realize is you can get an application that will turn this phone and other smart phones into a wireless credit card machine!
(http://www.prestigemerchantservices.com)
This is great for anyone who accepts credit cards on the go (i.e. plumber, consultants, selling outdoors etc.).
this is not a high-end smartphone so i dont think it will sell as good as the evo
@statickeith and although the stills look good, video SUCKS! very low according to 2010 standards. So I dont think people will buy it even at this low price. There are better phones one can get at the same price.
@statickeith Your a genius
@That guy 2 you're*
@statickeith
look at the comparison of all three.
look how nice the nexus ones screen looks compared to the wildfire.
@That guy 2 I think it will sell way more than the evo /s
@webmastir You're annoying* haha jk
This is the first time in recent memory that Engadget has done a review on a product I had never even heard of. I guess you could say it lived up to its hype.
320x240? In 2010? Yikes.
@Leindurstit
Putting that screen resolution on an Android device is an insult to the platform...
@Plazmic Flame
No disagreement there. I like the design of the phone, but that resolution is pathetic. The UI might scale OK, but everything else will be horrible to use.
@Plazmic Flame
the xperai mini is the same rez yet somehow on that smaller screen i find it perfectly okay.
that phone still sucks though. but i guess, if the pixel density is there, 320 x 240 can be done.
@Plazmic Flame In some ways, it's also a credit to the platform (still insulting to it). Also, some will cry fragmentation, but people will never go far out of their way to support this so no worries there.
Anyone who buys this likes the look, in a baby step kinda way, and/or wants to be an AINO (Android in name only).
No one cares lol. Great review engadget!!
@Megazine If Engadget didn't review it all the iPhone haters would scream about bias.
@grub Are you finished?
free, two, one
haha
Seriously guys; Starbucks with a Macbook? Isn't that a bit of a Cliché.
@Professor Hubert J Farnsworth
It's the iLife©!
@Professor Hubert J Farnsworth
and a coffee and a smoothie!
tisk tisk engadget.
;-)
@Professor Hubert J Farnsworth
How else are they supposed to pick up chicks?
@Slick
Ahahahah!!
This phone makes my Motorola CLIQ look good.
Lame i really wanted one of these
I'm growing tired of Sense UI, although I really enjoy the Android Platform. Hope HTC switches it up in the future or Gingerbread just turns out to be bad ass.
The htc keyboard is definitely by far the 2nd best, when on the incredible or probably the desire, but on this or the droid eris it's terrible, it's laggy and inaccurate, even on the incredible it takes a teeny bit of getting used to, but the iPhone keyboard is definitely the best, I like the layout and the no vibration, and the fast multitouchness of it, and the ability to hold a vowel like a and get options for àâäæãåā, no need to really bash this phone on the review, it's not supposed to be amazing, just pretty much ignore it
@That guy 2 I hate to ruin your fanboy parade but the HTC keyboard can have the vibrate disabled in keyboard settings. I disabled it on my droid eris and they keyboard is now very responsive, I would say it is on par with the iPhone.
@That guy 2
"but the iPhone keyboard is definitely the best, I like the layout and the no vibration, and the fast multitouchness of it, and the ability to hold a vowel like a and get options for àâäæãåā"
Well i can tell you on the Desire, vibration is an option, when you hold a letter you get the options just how you like them, If you don't like the layout just get another :D
@That guy 2 Yah I knew you could turn it off, the reason it slows it down is cause it can't vibrate as fast as you can type, but my main points were that it is not as accurate, and I don't like the layout as much, although it is clearly very similar, just stop saying fanboy, everyone, it's pissing me off, especially when people invent like Sony fanboys or water fanboys or something, "you think water is the best just because they say you need it to survive, well show you by not drinking water for a month" rip random guy
@MrJimlad Hmm I knew you could do that on android I don't know why I said that, maybe there's less options? Or maybe I just wanted to make symbols for fun, either way, I think htc did a good job on the keyboard, well thought out unlike the droid where it's not usable in any orientation or slide in or out, with vibrate it's slightly improved buy generally it's barely less laggy than the eris
@That guy 2 Thats odd. At first when I got my Incredible I might have agreed with you on the vibration causing lag. But now that really doesn't seem to be the case. In fact I tend to type faster with it on because of that feedback. I type slowest with no feedback and a little faster with sound feedback but in some situations the noise is loud and annoying. My work area is very quiet. But anyway it doesn't lag for me and has the functions you mention. I believe some may find the iPhone keyboard to be better actually because of the slightly wider screen in portrait mode. I think the Android manufacturers have been more concerned about landscape media and shave that little bit off the portrait width.
@Blaque14K Yah I meant to say that too, the iPhone is wider and shorter than android phones, but I was mostly talking about the eris, the incredible's vibration keeps up usually, I like the iPhone clicks, same effect, personal preference, and again, I just like the slightly different layout, and autocorrection/prediction is amazing on the iPhone and the spell checker is a great feature
It was between the HTC Wildfire and the HTC Aria for me. I'm definitely getting the Aria and rooting it now.
@oahceasgnikgneas
Agreed, the lack of resolution and mhz seems to be hurting this phone. All reviews I've read say the Aria never stutters and is just as small as this phone is. Hopefully I can get an Aria in August when I switch networks.
Great budget smartphone for someone who isn't a power hungry/"my video must be crystal clear" freak. Looks like it'll get the job done while turning eyes. I expect this to be a huge hit with Tmobile just like the Kin will be with Verizon when its fully marketed.
@whitesoxing Or a "my phone needs to at least function well somewhere freak"
That's a nice revision of the Nexus On--- I MEAN phone.
I wonder when Engadget will finally first research before writing the reviews. For example that your app didn't appear in the market has nothing todo with the resolution of the phone. Google needs to activate the market for every phone version separately and apps that are encrypted need a special activation there. For example at the launch day of the Legend or the Desire there weren't all apps available too but it got activated withing 2 or 3 days.
Second the price you're mentioning: It's official retail price is 279€ in Europe *including* VAT. So without VAT it's around 220€ or 270 USD. Street price will probably be around 249€ with VAT or 200€ without VAT which is around 250 USD.
@ArticiaS The Legend had missing apps because of a camera bug. HTC had to release a patch for that.
Is it just me or did the Dell Streek win the outdoor screen test? :)
@Plazmic Flame
I've seen other video of it in the sun and yeah it looks pretty stellar
http://www.streaksmart.com/2010/06/dell-streak-sunlight-visibility.html
@Plazmic Flame
yep it took the piss.