Here is a detailed user-review of HTC Wildfire. It comprises of some camera samples of the phone, pros & cons and other advantages that made us go for it instead of some other phones that he short-listed, i.e., Samsung Galaxy 3, Galaxy 5, Sony Experia X8, X10 mini and X10 mini pro.
Go ahead, read it and let us know what you feel about his review via the comment form at the end of this post.
If you wish to go for a mid-range android phone, you can also check our past posts:
- Samsung Galaxy 3 V/s HTC Wildfire; Comparison, Price & Pics
- Review of Samsung Galaxy 3 Phone
- Samsung Galaxy 3 Unboxing Photos
Making the Right choice:
With 10,000 bucks in my pocket I strolled across the smartphone section of mobile stores looking for an Android. It was then that my eyes landed on this oddly named phone, HTC Wildfire. It was priced at Rs 15,000 (prices vary from 14600 to 16900 across stores). I started wondering if it was worth a 50% hike in the budget. Moreover, with the increased budget I would have more options open to me. So I took a plunge into the internet and shortlisted these five mid-range droids:- Samsung Galaxy 3, Galaxy 5, sony experia X8, X10 mini and X10 mini pro. Wildfire was the most expensive of the lot, but based on the extensive week-long research on the internet I took the call and went for it (besides, I couldn’t resist the raunchy name).
(Image via electricpig.co.uk)
Unboxing:
I was excited to open the relatively tiny box as it had come after a lot of waiting. Apart from the phone, the box only had a Charger (which doubles up as USB data cable), a headset and a 2GB SD card (this explained the size of the box). Of course, there was a manual, but who reads it anyway 
.
The Wildfire Experience:
Two months later, I was glad to have taken the decision. The phone surpassed all expectations. As a non-smartphone (read: dumb-phone) user I had never had this kind of an experience before. The sense UI was very well overlaid on the Android OS and complemented it perfectly. I was overwhelmed by the sensitivity of the screen. Till date, not even a single touch of mine has gone unregistered. The screen transitions are impressively graceful & swift. These things can be fairly expected from an iPhone or the galaxy S but remember Wildfire costs almost half as much.
Specs:
Following are some of the its very-impressive, Impressive and not so impressive features:
VERY IMPRESSIVE:
- Turn-to-mute, lift-to-tone-down
- Proximity sensor
- Smart dialing
- Social network integration: Facebook, Twitter and Flickr through Friend Stream
- 5 megapixel camera with LED flash (can both auto-focus as well as focus on touch) – check some camera samples below.
- 3G with 7.2 Mbps HSDPA
- Multi-touch support (pinch-n-zoom capable)
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g and GPS receiver
IMPRESSIVE:
- Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
- Android OS v2.1 (Éclair) with Sense UI (Upgradable to 2.2)
- 3.2″ capacitive touchscreen of QVGA resolution
- Qualcomm MSM 7225 528 MHz CPU, 384 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM
- Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate
- Standard miniUSB port for charging and data
- Bluetooth with A2DP, file transfers
- microSD card slot, a 2GB card in the box
- Standard 3.5mm audio jack
- Flash-enabled browser
- Direct access to the official Android repository
- Stereo FM radio with RDS
NOT SO IMPRESSIVE:
- Poor screen image quality.
- No video-call camera or video-calling facility whatsoever
- CIF@15fps video recording (352 x 288 pixels) is below par
- No voice dialing
- No DivX or XviD video support out of the box
- No TV-out port
Camera Samples:
The WOW factor:
The Sense UI gives the phone 7 customizable home screens & each of these can be slid horizontally to view the next. Moving from the first to the last isn’t an issue as pinching on any of these home screens brings them all together in a single view, you can now touch any screen to expand it. The phone comes with a load of sensors, apart from the usual accelerometer it has a proximity sensor, which avoids accidental touches during a call, by locking the screen whenever the phone is held near the cheek. The phone’s mic also acts as a sensor when using applications like the ‘candle’ (here,the mic registers your breath and puts off a virtual flame on the screen when you blow at it, cool hmmm?). Accurate GPS reception, 5.0 MP camera, adjustable flashlight, animated screen transitions and effects, Intuitive virtual keypad and smart dialing add to its WOW affect
Value-per-Rupee:
The Indian way of judging any device is to compare its features with its cost, aint it? So I got mathematical and applied the following formula on various phone:
“Value per Rupee” = (Fun + Function)/ Price
Wildfire was a clear winner, it scored over every other phone, including bigshots like Iphone, Galaxy S and Blackberry. I must admit that this phone has flaws of its own(mentioned later in the post) but I have used it alongside Galaxy S for a while and it performed remarkably well. The response time, Touch sensitivity and overall feel was as good as Galaxy S which costs twice as much. Of course it doesn’t stand a chance against the Super Amoled screen and the powerful 1Ghz CPU but, given its price, it stood tough in the competition.
Hiccups:
In comparison to its expensive siblings like the HTC desire or the HTC legend, the phone seems a bit feeble. But I find it an unfair comparison, as wildfire falls under a completely different price slot.To me, the phone is practically flawless. Sadly, there is a single exception to it. The low cost of the phone doesn’t allow a secondary camera to be on board. This is a big put off especially when 3G is is being rolled out by the operators here. You should go for this phone only if you are ready to give up on video calling. Other little disappointments are (remember, I am being extremely critical here, given the price of the device I would very much ignore these hiccups)
- The QVGA screen, though decent, doesn’t do justice to the Android OS
- The CPU cannot retain the crispness of the text while scrolling
- The official Froyo (Android 2.2) or Gingerbread (Android 2.3) upgrade isn’t available for the device yet
- No voice dialing
- No T.V output
- Video recording @ 15fps isn’t exactly impressive
- The camera response is slightly sluggish, pictures are captured a few microseconds after you press the button. Also the pics get blurred at the slightest movement of the subject.
Verdict Time:
If you are looking for an Android, have a budget of upto Rs 20,000 and are ready to Sacrifice Video calling, then go for it..
Though it costs around Rs 15000, it is easily the best phone in the market under Rs 20000. For technology like this, you are getting it at throwaway prices. I would rate it ‘UNDER-PRICED’ and ‘STRONGLY-RECOMMENDED’.
Does Wildfire has Pdf reader pre in
can you pls help me ow to install market in my htc wildfire.
@Nory:
Android market comes pre-installed on the phone.
After updating my wildfire i’m not able to turn on wi-fi… it says “unbale to start wifi”….please HELPPPPPPPP..
yes rajesh, the phone comes with “pdf viewer for android”. This is built by the HTC corporation itself. but there are many better options available in the android market,like the official Adobe reader by Adobe systems, its a freeware and I use the same.
How about the Camera Quality at night.. Among these (Samsung Galaxy 3, Galaxy 5, Sony Experia X8, X10 mini and X10 mini pro) which would be the best choice as far as battery life and for viewing websites.
@Anand,
Sorry for late reply. Some personal stuff kept me busy to answer comments.
Well, I am not sure about Sony’s products, but yes, HTC Wildfire definitely has a good camera quality with built-in flash for capturing images in the dark.
You can have a look on our detailed review of HTC Wildfire wherein we’ve posted some camera samples too.
How about the Camera Quality at night.. Among these (Samsung Galaxy 3, Galaxy 5, Sony Experia X8, X10 mini and X10 mini pro) which would be the best choice as far as battery life and for viewing websites.
@Ansar:
Please check the comments above. Have answered a similar question earlier.
which to buy wheather c7 or x10,x10mini or samsung galaxy si9000 or samsung wave
Hi Surya, request you to first decide which mobile operating system you want to go with, ex. android, symbian, etc. Then we can find out some good handset with your preferred OS and budget.
which is the best mobile to use now
just want 2 ask that do the service of htc is good or not ! And want to ask abt A60 of micromax is it a gd phone to buy since the cost is almost half
@Anish:
HTC has its service centres in many Indian cities and you shouldn’t face any problem if you purchase it a HTC with HTC India warranty.
About comparison between Andro a60 and wildfire, there’s too much of difference between them.
I am planning to buy HTC wildfire. I just wanted to know, how many useful apps including in this phone. Other than social network apps, Is there any useful app, which will help me in day to day life. Please do reply.
Hi Ganesh, HTC Wildfire is based on Android OS and it has around 100,000 downloadble apps for your Wildfire.
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hey deepak thnx 4 ur valuable advise..i want 2 know whch is better rather best among lg optimus,samsung galaxy,xperia mini pro,and htc…i need very good camera nd music like as in sony phones android based my range is btwn 10000 to 17ooo buks..m very confused plz help me..rply on my mail..thnx
can u tell me where i can get this phone at great price , bcoz i visited croma in mumbai , the price is 15900 !
Do htc have there stores in mumbai
Hi Anish. Ganesh from Bangalore.
I bought HTC_WF this week. I bought it @ Rs 14500/- That also card payment. Very interesting handset. But I think i paid much more than market price. If you go to big showrooms the price will be higher. In bangalore it is also available @ Rs 13700 too. So just make enquiry somewhere else. Price may be differs from state to state. This is what my feedback.
@Dr. Anuj:
We would suggest wildfire for you. As it has also recently got Froyo update.
@Anish:
As you can see here the cheapest price available online is Rs. 13,666. So the offline price should be something cheaper than this. If you have debit/credit card you can even purchase it online.
@Ganesh:
Thanks for looking over at Anish’s concern. 🙂
what about the flaslite support of WF and which version ?
@Rohit:
I guess, due to some hardware limitations, flashlite is not available even with Froyo on HTC wildfire.
thanks for replying….btw can you tell me how to install apps in SD card in froyo updated Desire…I’ve made my mind on desire and its the only problem in my way of buying desire bcoz I’m gonna install LOTS of high end apps and games and 512+ memory isn’t enough for me (what’s the use of that 32 GB card then ?:P). Everyone says that Froyo include that update of installing apps in SD card but when I checked HTC website it’s written that this feature isnt available for now even after froyo! Why so ? And what’s rooting a mobile ? Does it void the warranty ? (I couldn’t find any separate forum for HTC desire so I’m asking it here) Thanks.
@Rohit:
You can also wait for few more days as there are rumors that Gingerbread (Android 2.3)based Google nexus S is soon going to be launched in India with a price tag of about ~Rs. 24,000.
About installing apps on SD card, that’s surely possible. You’ll have to move them on SD card from Settings->Applications once you’ve installed the apps on phone.
thanks for guidance….actually Desire too is costing me Rs. 24000 but they hasn’t even released nexus one yet in india and saying that they’ll release only a mini version. And I heared that nexus one was the first and last phone from google (though HTC made it :P) then nexus s? btw is desire gingerbread available? And when are they planning to release Desire z and evo 4g in india ? Thanks
@Rohit:
Read more about Nexus S launch and pricing here.
About gingerbread upgarde for Desire, I don’t think there will be an update available in the near future at least.
@Rohit:
BTW, you can find my social contacts on ‘About’ page.
oh sorry it was “is desire gingerbread enable ?” btw Deepak do you have a personal facebook/twitter account? CAn you share it?
hi i have confused to chose which one is the best from “htc wild fire” & “lg optimus one p500” plz help me.
Hi Deepak , I am confused to go For HTC wildfire or Motorola XT3.I know screen isnt good in wildfire ,is it worth going for Xt3?I also heard XT3 might not have an upgrade beyond eclair.which is a better option and why?
Hi Mohit. Ganesh Here
2 Weeks back I bought HTC Wildfire. It is awesome i should say. I made 3 months R&D for this HTC. Finally Deepak told me to go for it. I also updated it to 2.2.And here my collegue got Optimis One. As you know both are Android Based handset. Both got same option. Many people says that its resolution is quite low. But i didnt find any blurry in my WF. Other than that difference is in UI and Sense. In HTC you will get good UI and HTC sense. If you are looking for Best handy Design and UI, I refer you HTC. if you have limited budget then go for LG. de
This is what my opinion. Wait for Deepaks feedback. ultimately he is the one whom we can trust.
@Mohit:
I guess Ganesh answered your question well. The other good thing in Wildfire is, you get a good 5MP auto focus & flash camera on it.
If you budget permits, this is definitely a good phone. Else you always have an option to go for Optimus one.
@Sameer:
To be frank, we haven’t had a chance to personally try our hands on Moto quench. Theoretically that looks a good phone too, with an older version of Android though (Android 2.1).
@Ganesh:
Thanks for the trust on us and helping co-commentators. Appreciate it! 🙂
Every where in reviews everyone ccriticizes the display of HTC.So will the HTC be a goood choice for playing games eventhough the display isnt that good.I am looking to use it for 3-4 years.
@Sameer:
Trust me, many of my friends are personally using WF since a more than a month now and I’ve never come across any such problem in the past.
You can better visit a nearest mobile store and check these 2 h/s personally.
Thank you Deepak
Sameer my brother, Mobile is not meant for gaming. Off course there is option, when you will get bored. As per my knowledge, if you start playing more games in touch screen mobile, after the matter of time it may give trouble while operating it. Also there is a loss of certain things like battery backup, UI ext. Sensitive touch screen mobiles can’t tolerate such thing ya :-). Isn’t it. That is the reason in some cases; people give bad feedback about their products. Be sure about, what you want and why you are going for it. If you are really interested towards gaming, better you go for PS. Or wait for Sony Ericson’s PS mobile. We should Love our valuable electro’s and care for it. This is what I feel about electronics.
@Ganesh:
Thanks for sparing your time to explain things to Sam!
hi deepak,
can u tell me that which one is the good for color display wildfire or optimus one.
@Mohit:
As I have not had hands on O1, I cannot tell you the exact screen display difference between the two. But WF, surely has a good screen.
Hey I recently brought HTC wildfire and I also update it to 2.2 , deepak just tell me. will this slow down my phone & in near future if I update it 2 higher version
In fact, it should improve your phone’s performance.
dude i need to buy a smart android phone .After a lot of research,finally i have cum down to 2 phones————— HTC WILDFIRE ,MOTOROLA QUENCH XT3 and LG OPTIMUS ONE ? which is the best choice anD why ?REPLY ASAP
Personally I like Wildfire the most. You can also check this post comparing Wildfire and Optimus One.
but dont u think that in lg,i get froyo so i can upgrade it to gingerbread.but in htc i get 2.1 which can be upgraded to 2.2 only. shouldnt i go for the latest one. ?
and i have heard that the display of htc is not quite gud which gives problems in running a few apps.
and i also want to know that HTC is more trustworthy than LG in case of smartphones because i wish to use it for a long time.
plz. give me ur final verdict !! help me out plzz. !!!!!!!!!
I don’t think LG o1 will be getting Gingerbread official update.
About display, yes some people like it, some doesn’t. You better have a look on it once and decide if you are ok with it. Rest everything is fine with W/f.
my requirement is touch screen, good music and video cal with proper signal strength. range 10k to 14k.Pls advice me a proper mobile
Wildfire should be a good option for you, Aravind!
Dear deepak,
Thanks for your reply.
BUT my requirement is good / best music ,VIDEO call. AND iam not bother regarding Symbian, android etc etc as ia dont know abcd of that. Request you to suggest a mobile with above facility . RAnge 15 to 16 K
Thanks in advance
With regards,
Aravind
I doubt if you’ll get a good branded h/s at that range with video calling facility.
Hello Deepak Brother after the reading of comments & reviews some users tell that the WF is poor screen quality compare to other phones it ok or not ???
Many feel its ok and others say they didn’t like it! Hence its all personal choice.
I checked out the screen personally and I was ok with it! 🙂
Hi Deepak
I have one query. I am unable to configure my office mail in my wildfire. Every time I am trying to configure, it is showing some error msg like. “Failed to connect to the exchange server. Please check exchange sever setting”. I am not able to find its settings too. Can you help me out? I will also check in online. But i really appreciate your suggestion.
Which app are you using to check your Exchange server mail?
Hi Nikhil
There is inbuilt “EXCHANGE ACTIVE SYNC” option to add new email account. But finally i realized that, i cant configure my office mail box on my HTC because of security issues. So… Forget it now. It is not going to happen.
Thank you for showing interest
@Nikhil:
Thanks for trying to help out Ganesh but it seems he no more needs it.
@Ganesh:
What kind of security issues are you worried about? Any one else using your phone may read your phone? or its something else?
hello Deepak Jain which antivirus is best for Android ver 2.2.1 (HTC Wildfire )
I don’t think you need an anti-virus for your android unless you are downloading contents from some pirated or x-rated sites.
Hello Deepak Brother Thanks for your co-operation, but till now i have no antivirus on my HTC Wilfire. Which is best from Andriod market please tell me. i am waiting for your reply.
Sorry Deepak Brother i Have 1 more question. it is compatibale for Live Wallpaper from Android market?
Unfortuantely, no! Wildfire doesn’t support live wallpapers.
hello..deepak…which blackberry handset is good for accessing internet and for good quality music around 15k??
At your budget, you can either go for BB 8520 or better Blackberry 9300.
Hi Deepak,
Read all the comments here and seems HTC WF is better mobile within 15K range….but there is one more Samsung Ace S5830, which is with Android 2.2 (Froyo), 5 MP Camera with Auto Focus and LED flash with good bettery backup (as written in tech specs) with 2 GB card and expandable to 32 GB…..what is ur view about this phone as compare to HTV WF…as price diffirent in both these phones are in some 100 rs but S5830 comes with little extra feature than HTC WF like Upgraded OS, Good Bettery Backup, Good Sceen size (3.5), good screen resolution….will really help me to take decision if you can give some light on this as well pls.
Peeyush, I recently had a chance to check the details of Galaxy Ace and it surely seems to be a stiff competitor to htc w/f and a better option too.
Especially the larger screen makes it worth to go for Ace.
Thanks for quick response and suggestion Deepak, but still want to know if u have come across any plus point in HTC WF which is not there in Galaxy Ace…can be anything like brand, after sales service, rough and tuff use, feature etc…
I want to double-triple make sure before going for final decision for my purchase as time time I want to keep same phone for 2-3 yrs.
Peeyush, I see additional benefits in Ace until and unless you are brand conscious. Apart from that there are also complaints like low screen resolution on HTC w/f.
Thanks Deepak. Really appreciate your help and suggestion.
Most welcome Peeyush.
Hence forth, you can use Mobile Gyaan help section for any help. 🙂
DEAR DEEPAK BROTHER I have 1 nokia E63 handset but in this set i am facing a problem. When i am using OVI store it appears as “login fail” & sometimes it appear “username already exit” please suggest me for this problem.
Please ask your questions on our dedicated mobile help section.
Hello Deepak Brother , i am accesing this website 1st time & see that is very good web for latest mobile & technology. i am purchase a new mobile phone upto Rs. 5000 to Rs 6000 which mobile phone is best for me ( Any branded company ) . please reply
How to Improve HTC wildfire battery life.
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I wanna buy a new handset .. and came down to three choices…. nokia X6, HTC wildfire, and HTC wildfire S…….. suggest me the best one… The operating system is not matter of concern for me… the the only thing , i am luking forward is better internet browsing and camera quality and touch sensitivity… suggest me the best option.. thanks
Go for Wildfire S.
thank u deepak for the suggestion…. but the problem now is , that the WIdfire is not launched yet in market…. so i am going wid wildfire only….
please tell me whether its screen resoultion is too poor… or is ok to go wid it….
Wildfire S.
Hi,
I am confused between samsung galaxy ace and htc wildfire both phones are around 15k.
Which phone will prove to be good buy.
Thanks & Regards
HTC wildfire is outdated. If you wanna go for HTC then, go for Wildfire’s upgrade – Wildfire S.
What about galaxy ace, should i go for ace?