The HTC Wildfire S is a tiny, fiscal statement Machine smartphone that helps fill out T-Mobile’s lineup. It runs Machine 2.3 (Gingerbread), which deserves a hallelujah, as bounty of new handsets are still shipping with the dated Machine 2.2 OS, and even the slow-moving, archaic Machine 2.1 in some suitcases. No one will trade in a HTC Sensation 4G ($199, 4 stars) for this phone, but the Wildfire S offers some of Machinery best apps and facial appearance at a particularly appealing price top ($79.99 with contract).
Design, Call Feature, and Apps
The Wildfire S looks like a decrease-end, upset cover map phone, even even if it’s an Machine smartphone. It events 4.0 by 2.3 by 0.5 inches (HWD) and weighs a svelte 3.7 ounces. It’s made entirely of fake, with the exception of the glass cover. It’s a smooth, appealing form factor that may snare many buyers based on advent alone. The 3.2-inch, 320-by-480-pixel capacitive panel itself looks bright and colorful and promptly becomes smooth and right to the upset. The Wildfire S packs a G-sensor, digital scope, proximity sensor, and ambient set alight sensor, just like all the privileged end Machine phones do. Typing on the on-cover QWERTY keyboard was surprisingly simple in both likeness and landscape mode; credit the oversized keys (the tradeoff is that they block a noteworthy part of the cover). Dialing numbers was a modest slow-moving, but it wasn’t unbearable.
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Wildfire S Specifications
- Benefit Provider
- T-Mobile
- In commission Logic
- Machine OS
- Cover Size
- 3.2 inches
- Cover Details
- 320-by-480-pixel, 16.7M color, TFT capacitive upset cover
- Camera
- Yes
- Network
- GSM, UMTS
- Bands
- 850, 900, 1800, 1900, 2100, 1700
- High-Speed Data
- GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA
- Processor Speed
- 600 MHz
Calls sounded clear through an Aliph Jawbone Era Bluetooth headset ($129, 4 stars). Voice dialing worked fine over Bluetooth lacking training. The speakerphone was a disappointment; even at maximum volume, I may possibly barely hear it over my office fan when set to low speed mode. Array life was a weak spot at just 5 hours and 44 summary of talk time in EDGE mode. This upshot would have been fine for HSPA+, but it’s several hours off the average patience of additional Machine phones on T-Mobile’s 2G EDGE network.
HTC’s Sense UI looks nice and astute, with its upgraded apps, seven customizable home screens, and robust contact management. That said, HTC went with an grown-up, 600MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 processor to keep the price down; fortunately, the phone still felt responsive enough for most responsibilities. The FriendStream app aggregates Facebook, Chirrup, and Flicker updates on one page. DoubleTwist is also preloaded, so you get wireless media synchronization with iTunes playlists right out of the box. There’s also Google Maps Steering for free voice-enabled, turn-by-turn GPS directions, and there’s not much in the way of a dissipate of time bloatware, which is fantastic. The Wildfire S has a ordinary cover resolution that offers maximum app compatibility in the Machine Promote, so you also shouldn’t have much distress running any of the 200,000+ unfilled third-party apps.
CD, Camera, and Conclusions
My 32GB SanDisk microSD card worked fine in the microSD slot, which is located bottom the array take in; HTC throws in a 2GB card to get you started. The ordinary-size 3.5mm earphone jack makes finding excellent-sounding earbuds simple. Music tracks sounded fine through Samsung Modus HM6450 Bluetooth earbuds ($99, 4 stars). HTC’s upgraded music player app, with its jukebox-style take in art flow, is as fun to use as always. Standalone videos played smoothly in full cover mode, but transcoding 720p HD records on the glide is too much for this phone. (You’re best off making 320-by-480-pixel versions of your videos anyhow, for various reasons.)
The 5-megapixel auto-focus camera comes with an LED sparkle and face recollection. HTC builds in some clean camera filters and equipment to make the encounter more fun. Test photos were excellent for a low-end phone, although a modest off the mark for a 5-megapixel sensor, with not quite enough top in outdoor shots and too much grain at home. Shutter speeds were a modest slow, chief to a few soft shots. Recorded 640-by-480-pixel videos were quite usable at 19 frames per second; the phone had an overaggressive set alight sensor, even if, as videos went from dark black to brightly lit too abruptly.
At this top, T-Mobile has a slew of commanding Machine diplomacy across the price spectrum. Mind for sales; a excellent part of the declaration administer these days is seeing where the up-front price is for each phone right at the time of buy. The LG Optimus T ($39, 4 stars) feels a modest more solidly built than the Wildfire S and has best voice feature and array life, but it lacks the end’s Gingerbread OS and HTC’s attractive Sense UI enhancements. If you have a modest superfluous cash up front but still want a tiny phone, the Samsung Exhibit 4G ($99, 4 stars) is exceptionally tempting, thankfulness to its 4G HSPA+ data radio, 1GHz CPU, and sharper cover, and it even has Machine 2.3. The Exhibit 4G also lacks HTC’s various UI enhancements, but some users rather that anyhow.
