HTC Wildfire review: First look

The HTC Desire is probably the most sought after HTC Android device to hit our shores and understandably so. It's the most powerful, best specced and impressive device to date, so no wonder HTC has introduced the lower-range doppelganger in the form of the HTC Wildfire.

If you quickly glance at the Wildfire, it does look identical to the Desire - especially if you've picked up the brown or black version of both.

The Wildfire features a softouch top and bottom on the back with the same metallic panel as on the HTC HD2 in the centre.

There's a slight kick at the bottom of the Wildfire (not as pronounced as the Legend or Hero), and an optical trackpad right in the centre, below the screen, that is smooth and easy to use as you'd expect.

The display isn't OLED, but feels large at 3.2-inches, with QVGA resolution. It makes typing, whether in landscape or portrait much easier than on smaller-screened devices such as the HTC Smart.

Eric Lin at HTC told us at the launch of the device that opting for QVGA resolution over HVGA was one way that the manufacturer has cut costs to make this phone much more affordable compared to the Desire.

The Wildfire operates on Android 2.1 (although it could be upgradable to 2.2 Froyo, depending on when Google releases the new OS), with the newest version of Sense running atop. This means there are all the bells and whistles of the Legend and Desire, including Friend Stream, animated wallpapers and better Exchange functionality.

One of the most exciting sounding features of the HTC Wildfire is the ability to share your downloaded applications with friends. This happens through the App sharing application built into the Wildfire. Tap on the icon and you're taken to a list of applications installed on your phone. Next, you can choose how you want to share it - whether by social networking (Twitter and Facebook), or via email or text. When you send it off you your friends, they'll see a link to the Android Market where they can download it from.

It's a little disappointing that you can't actually send the app itself, but this is something HTC can not work around as the Android Market is controlled by Google, therefore the store's framework would have to be tweaked to allow purchases outside of the Android Market.

The HTC Wildfire is designed for those who want a smartphone but can't afford more expensive devices such as the Legend or Desire.

Facebook is integrated into the phone so not only does your contact's Facebook profile picture show up on the screen along with their name, but so does their current Facebook status and their birthday.

The HTC Wildfire features a pretty respectable 5-megapixel camera with flash, and it performs on par with the flagship HTC Android devices, although the flash can be a little over the top when taking close up shots.

The processor is speedy, despite only being Qualcomm's MSM 7200A 528 MHz processor (the same as Hero), which is handy for a smartphone running on Android.

HTC's Wildfire has been designed to correct some of the errors with the budget Tattoo, and on first glance, it really does bring HTC into the budget Android market.

It's attractive and although the screen may not be as high resolution as on the flagship HTC Android devices, it does a pretty good job for those who like a spacious keyboard for texting, tweeting and Facebooking.

Take a look at our HTC Wildfire hands on photos and video preview.