Day 2 and I have found a problem that might be difficult to live with. 

The volume for the ringtone, notification beeps, phone speaker etc is controlled by a rocker switch on the side of the phone, raised very slightly from the case profile.  I spent day 1 trying to work out why my phone was reverting to silent mode and vibrate mode and at other times was ringing with the volume on max before I realised that the rocker switch was being pressed in my pocket.  It is also annoyingly easy to press the rocker switch when picking up the phone or texting etc. 

So searching through the array of configuration options on the Desire, there doesn’t seem to be a way to disable the volume controls when the screen is on standby.  This seems like an obvious omission that must have come to light early in testing.  It doesn’t seem that I am the only person to find this annoying.  A Google search produced hundreds of similar posts and suggested workarounds.

What I opted to do was to install a free 3rd party app from the Android market place called Volume Locker. 

This utility can’t disable the volume controls, but it adds another step to changing the volume.  When a volume change is made it triggers an event notification in the notification window.  To accept the change you need to click on the volume notification within the configured time period.  If the notification is not acknowledged then the volume reverts to the original state.

After a day of field testing the application it seems to be doing the trick.  I am happy with the phone again.

Out of the box the first urge is to compare the desire with an iPhone. 

As the table illustrates, the comparison makes interesting reading.  There are many similarities – wi-fi, connectivity, weight, size, but there are also revealing differences.  The Android sports a 5MP camera compared to the 3MP of the iPhone, 800 x 480 pixels screen resolution compared to 480 x 320 pixels, 1GHz processor vs 600 MHz amongs some. 

First impressions are good.  A nice sleek phone, solid feel, easy to hold, very responsive, bright screen.  The keypad is a wee bit keen on selecting neighbouring keys but a bit of practice and the predictive text function soon dealt with that.  For smaller fingers the upright layout is fine.  For larger keys just spin the phone round and the horizontal layout presents larger keys.  Not as fast to rotate as the iPhone though, taking 4-5 seconds to redraw the screen.

No cd’s in the box.  Instead, plug the Desire into a laptop and you will find the HTC Sync installation software on the mounted SD card.  A newer version was available on the HTC website so software installed, uninstalled and re-installed.  Not much functionality offered… just sync manager options.

Manufacture	HTC	Apple
Model	Desire	iPhone 3GS
Form factor	Block	Block
Networks	850/900/1800/1900 WCDMA 900/2100	850/900/1800/1900 WCDMA 900/1900/2100
HSCSD
GPRS
EDGE
UMTS
HSDPA
WLAN / Wi-Fi
Weight	135	135
Size (HxWxD)	119 x 60 x 12mm	116 x 62 x 12mm
Battery	1400 mAh	NA
Standbytime (h)	340	300
Talktime (m)	400	720
SMS
MMS
Email
IrDA
Bluetooth
USB Connectivity
GPS
Java
FM Radio
Camera
Camera resolution	5 megapixel, autofocus, face detection, geo tagging	3 megapixels, autofocus
Camera Flash/Light
Video recording
Colour display
Number of colours	16,000,000	16,000,000
Display resolution (HxW)	800 x 480 pixels	480 x 320 pixels
LCD size	3.7 inch	3.5 inch
Touchscreen
Memory	576 MB. Expandable up to 32 GB with microSD card	16 GB / 32 GB
Ringtones / Music file format	MP3, WAV, WMA, MIDI, OGG, AMR, AAC	Polyphonic, MP3
MP3
Games	Yes	Downloadable
Calendar
Voicedialing
Predictive text
WAP version	Android HTML Webkit	HTML. Safari browser
RSS reader
Voicememo
PC Synchronization
CPU	1 GHz	ARM Cortex A8 600 MHz
Operating System	Android	iPhone OS

 ( Full Comparison Table )

The new Logitech Quickcam Communicate Delux webcam arrived on my doorstep on loan from Logitech.  A high quality webcam with 1.3 megapixel sensor (software enhanced to 5 megapixels), built-in microphone, glass lense, face tracking and intelligent light balancing, it aims at the top end of the usb webcam market.   (Mac users need read no further… it supports only Windows XP and Windows Vista operating systems)

Out of the box:   It’s certainly not as neat a solution as having a monitor with built-in webcam, but as webcams go it isn’t bad to look at.  The problem I have had in the past with webcams is their stability on my laptop monitor.  The flexible support on the Quickcam allows to be fitted to any sort of monitor… old fashioned CRT, LCD or laptop screen.  Just bend the arm and the angle can be adjusted to hold it firmly in place in the chosen position.  There is an activity light on the camera to indicate when the device is in use.  There is also a handy privacy shade which can be pulled down to block the lens.  A nice touch… opening the shade can be linked to launch your favourite video application.  The software was easy to install.  The camera configuration steps were simple and easy to follow.  The webcam was up and running within 10 minutes of opening up the box.

Pro: the ease of use was certainly impressive but these days most webcams are pretty much plug and play.  What sets this webcam in a price point or two above most of the competition (at £54 it is one of the more expensive webcams on the shelf) is the quality of the whole package.  The image itself is excellent, and with built-in mic, it is a small self contained unit.  It has a good solid feel to it.  The face tracking is a feature I have found to be very useful in practice .  If  you move, the camera pans and zooms to try to keep you centred in the frame.  Colour is good, light levels seem to adjust nicely, still images are quick and easy to take.  A fun addition to this is the animated avatars which can follow your face movements and expressions.  If appearing to others in your messenger program as a talking reindeer isn’t quite you, there are plenty of live avatar characters to choose from   

Con: Not many cons to mention.  The price is high but the quality is there to match the price.  Resolution, image quality and easy of use are maybe things worth paying a little extra for.  If you want to buy one camera that you will be happy to use then this is one worth looking at.

Price	£54.00
Pro	Neat, robust,
Con	Price,
Comment	I am not rushing out to buy one. I’ll wait till I can buy a new laptop with a built-in webcam
‘Need’ Rating

Summary: Good quality lense, neat video/audio

More Info / Where to Buy

• Logitech QuickCam Communicate Delux
• QuickCam Delux from Amazon

OK, so the Tefal Quick Cup maybe isn’t everyone idea of the perfect birthday present, and to be honest I did have a few moments of doubt myself after I ripped off the wrapping paper expecting to find some fancy ipod speakers.  It does have a button though, and it does have a light, so it didn’t take long to come round to thinking that I should give this gadget a chance before growling.  As the name suggests, the Tefal Quick Cup will give you instant hot water at the press of a button.  No more waiting for kettles to boil.

Out of the box: The packaging was easily removed to reveal the base unit and removeable water reservoir.  The water filter was obviously meant to click into the water reservoir somehow but we were forced to refer to the instructions before we could work out how to attach it.  Having to refer to instructions can take the edge off a new toy but the pictures were easy to follow and we were soon back on track.  The unit is a little smaller than a kettle and sits easily on a kitchen worktop. 

Pro: Simple design with no fiddly bits.  The water reservoir holds 1.5 litres of water and lifts off the base easily for refilling.  Returning it to the base is equally straight forward; with the curved sides of the reservoir leading it down onto it’s attachment.  Press the button and within 3 seconds you have either cool filtered water or filtered hot water.   The crescent shaped reservoir has a lid to prevent dust, flies etc from contaminating the water.  Again, it is simple to remove and fit.  A light on the button flashes when the filter needs to be replaced… they say approx every 6 weeks.  Replacement filters are around £5 each and are available from many outlets. 

Con: It’s not the quietest gadget in the kitchen.  The noise came as quite a surprise as for some reason I expected it to be almost silent.  I tend to prowl the house at strange times of the night and I did wonder if the noise would be enough to wake up the family in the early hours of the morning.  So far so good.  Nobody has complained about loud chuntering sounds.  There is no reservoir water level sensor.  If you don’t have enough water, the system continues to try to draw water up through the filter, increasing the noise levels even further.

Summary:  The auto mode measure is just right for a mug but it’s easy to top up in manual mode, but f you’re making coffee for more than a couple of folk then you probably want to fall back on the old fashioned kettle.  Not recommended for anyone trying to cut back on their tea or coffee intake… it’s too quick and easy!  I think it’s proved useful enough to justify the £2000 HydroTap for next years birthday

Price	£49.95
Pro	quick, easy, energy saving
Con	quite noisy
Comment	it found an unlikely need but now I do need an instant hot water gadget
‘Need’ Rating

More Info / Where to Buy

• Quick Cup on Tefal website
• Quick Cup from Amazon

Logitech have lent me a few bits of kit to try out.   First up… the new Logitech VX Nano notebook mouse.   Ultra-portable, 5 programmable buttons, supported platforms: XP, Vista, MacOS X. (Mac users will need to download the MacOS X install file from the Logitech website)

Out of the box:   I have been using this sample for a week now and I can really say that I love it.  The initial installation was relatively painless.  The mouse comes supplied with two AAA Duracell batteries that fit into the mouse under an easy to open battery door.  Insert the install cd and install the Logitech SetPoint software.  When the receiver is plugged into the usb port it will be recognised by the system and the mouse should spring to life.  In all, it should take ony a few minutes to install.  [I found that the software wouldn't install alongside the Microsoft mouse software, but after uninstalling the Microsoft mouseware the Setpoint installed correctly]

Pro: The VX Nano has a nice solid feel to it without feeling heavy.  The receiver is indeed tiny.  For those who still don’t see the need for a receiver… it’s the bit that replaces the cable from the mouse to the computer.  It’s like fitting a high tech ear which can hear the hi-tech squeaks from the mouse as you move the mouse around.  (no, it doesn’t really make a noise, it’s just a fancy way to replace the cable)  You can see it above alongside a 5p and the Microsoft receiver that I thought was quite small.  I can leave it in the laptop, move the laptop around, in and out of bags without danger of damaging it.  The non slip moulded side pad give good thumb grip and the array of buttons are easily reached.  The scroll wheel can be set to either click or freewheel; a useful feature for when precision is required.   The SetPoint software allow you to customise the button behaviour on a per application basis which allows you easy access to task shortcuts.  Another difference I have noticed is underneath.  The Microsoft mouse has a bright laser which flashes if the mouse is not left on the level.  I’m sure this must have some impact on battery life as it doesn’t go into sleep mode and it is rather annoying.  The VX Nano doesn’t seem to have a visible laser.  I can’t verify battery life but they claim that it will run for 6 months on two AAA batteries.

Price	£34.00
Pro	Tiny receiver should be fairly robust
Con	Price, Not completely left hand friendly
Comment	I love it.  It’s definately going on my wish list.
‘Need’ Rating

Con: Can I find anything negative to say about it?  The only thing would be that although designed for both left and right handed use, my left handed husband did find it awkward to use the forward/backward shortcut buttons.  It’s not cheap either.  You can find the Microsoft mouse online for £12 compared to £34 for the VX Nano.  The difference in price seems less significant when you realise that I am on my 3rd Microsoft mouse now.  The receivers tend to get bumped and bashed and only last about a year with me. 

Summary: I’ll be tempted to buy the VX Nano next time round for the mini receiver feature alone.  I’ll be sad when I send this one back

More Info / Where to Buy

• Logitech VX Nano website
• VX Nano from Amazon