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HTC Wildfire S Mobile Phone Specification

new HTC Wildfire S Mobile Phone
Most popular reviews last year was the HTC Wildfire, which just goes to show that although flashier handsets get all the attention, it's budget smartphones that most of us actually buy. Available for as little as £15 per month on a two-year contract, the Wildfire certainly attracted a lot of attention - and we hope that this updated Wildfire S can continue the tradition.

At first glance it may look similar to its diminutive predecessor. It's certainly still a compact phone, measuring just 101x59x12mm - that's smaller in every dimension than the original. However, HTC has removed the optical tracking device from the bottom of the handset, which was very handy for making precise edits to text messages.

The body has been totally redesigned and now has a 'unibody' sculpted from a single piece of metal. This makes it feel far sturdier than the original. Admittedly it's a little heavier, but only by a measly 13g.

Screen size is unchanged at 3.2in, but the resolution has actually doubled from 240x320 up to 320x480 (153,600 pixels compared with 76,800). This single move eliminates our key criticism of the original design, which made reading text problematic and left pictures and video lacking in detail. The new screen isn't exactly cutting edge, but it doesn't feel like a major compromise. Plus, it's far brighter than the original.

Processor speed is also up from 528MHz to 600MHz. This may not sound like a big jump, but we suspect the processor design may also have changed as the handset felt snappy and responsive compared to the old Wildfire. RAM is also up from 384MB to 512MB, so there's more space to run multiple apps. The sample we saw was running Android 2.2. The camera remains at 5-megapixels, with an LED flash alongside.HTC Wildfire S Mobile Phone 2011

That's the new Wildfire S, then, and in many ways it resembles the excellent HTC Legend (owned by a number of the Expert Reviews team). It matches the Legend for screen resolution, build quality and processor speed but is lighter and more compact.

The Legend is now ageing, so the Wildfire S , despite its upgrades, will certainly maintain the brand's budget standing. It should make a great entry level Android smartphone, but it will live or die based on its price. At £15 per month, it will fly off shelves, but at £20 it may struggle to compete with older, more powerful handsets.

Release date, as with all of HTC's new handsets, is Q2 2011. That's between April and June for those that prefer not to use marketing speak.[www.expertreviews.co.uk]
HTC Wildfire S Mobile Phone
Specification


Operating System Android OS
Style Full TouchSreen
Screen Size 3.2in
Height 101.3mm
Width 59.4mm
Depth 12.4mm
Weight 105kg
Screen Resolution 320 x 480
Touchscreen Yes, glass capacitive
Talk Time 430m
Standby Time 570hr
Internal Storage 512GB
Memory Slot microSD up to 32GB
Camera 5 Megapixel
Front Facing Camera No Megapixel
Video Camera 720p HD @ 25fps
Camera Flash 1 x LED
Coverage (Band) Quad
Bluetooth Yes
Radio No
WiFi Yes
3G Yes
Email Yes
3.5mm Headphone Jack Yes
CPU 600MHz Qualcomm
App Store Yes, 100,000+ Apps
USB microUSB
Physical Keyboard No
GPS Yes
Available Colours White and Silver, Mauve and Pink, Black
[www.trustedreviews.com]

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