HTC Desire S vs Apple iPhone 4: Smartphone showdown

Which is the better phone -- HTC's Desire S or Apple's iPhone 4?

HTC's Desire S is the successor to the original Desire, which is currently sold exclusively through Telstra in Australia.

HTC's Desire S is the successor to the original Desire, which is currently sold exclusively through Telstra in Australia.

The HTC Desire, along with the Samsung Galaxy S, is one of the most popular Android smartphones on the market in Australia. HTC has just lifted the lid on its hotly anticipated next-generation Desire, called the Desire S. Does it have what it takes to compete with the Apple iPhone 4?

Read our original HTC Desire review, and our Apple iPhone 4 review.

Check out our detailed preview of the HTC Desire S and see our roundup of the best upcoming smartphones in 2011.

The HTC Desire S has a 3.7in SLCD display with a resolution of 480x800, a 5-megapixel rear camera that doubles as a 720p HD video recorder, a 1.3-megapixel front camera for video calls, and an aluminium "unibody" design that HTC claims makes it stronger than the original Desire.

With this in mind, how does the HTC Desire S stack up against the iPhone 4 when it comes to specifications?

HTC Desire S vs iPhone 4: Specifications

Feature Apple iPhone 4 HTC Desire S Verdict?
Operating system (OS) Apple iOS Google Android 2.4 (Gingerbread) Draw
Display size 3.5in 3.7in Desire S
Display technology Capacitive retina IPS SLCD iPhone 4
Display resolution 640x960 pixels 480x800 pixels iPhone 4
Multitouch Yes Yes Draw
Camera 5 megapixels, LED flash, autofocus, geotagging 5 megapixels, LED flash, autofocus, geotagging, image stabilisation Draw
FM radio No Yes Desire S
GPS Yes Yes Draw
Internal memory 16GB or 32GB 1.1GB iPhone 4
Expandable memory No microSD card slot Desire S
Dimensions 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3mm 115 x 59.8 x 11.6mm iPhone 4
Weight 137g 130g Desire S
Application store Apple App Store Google Android Market iPhone 4
Processor Apple A4 Qualcomm Snapdragon (1GHz) Draw
3G networks HSDPA 850/900/1900/2100 HSDPA 900/1900/2100 iPhone 4
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n 802.11b/g/n Desire S
Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP 2.1 with A2DP Draw
NFC (Near Field Communication) No No Draw
HDMI-out No No Draw
Quoted talk time Up to 7 hours Up to 7 hours 10 minutes Desire S
Quoted standby time Up to 300 hours Up to 455 hours Desire S
Adobe Flash support No Yes Desire S

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Tags AppleAndroidhtcGoogle Androidapple iphoneHTC Desireiphone 4Google Android phonesApple iPhone 4HTC Desire S

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Ross Catanzariti

Ross Catanzariti

PC World
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