HTC Legend deals & review

In a word or two

The HTC Legend is an aptly named smartphone with a beautiful design and impressive communication ability.

The Design

The HTC Legend is a first-class handset with an aluminium case. Black and silver, the Legend is subtle and professional looking, and its design is functional as well as aesthetically pleasing – the soft black plastic that covers the battery also ensures there is no problem with signals due to the metal casing as the antenna is also housed here. The battery cover feels comfortable to hold, and is curved like the Hero.

The screen on the HTC Legend is impressive too. Although at 3.2 inches, the screen is not in the same league as the HTC HD2 handset, the fact it is AMOLED and capacitive go a long way to compensate for the size – not to mention the slim design of the mobile. Images are displayed with a brightness and vibrancy on the Legend, and you can interact with as little effort as you can on the iPhone 3G S – simply swipe, press, or pinch the screen to zoom. And the 600MHz processor is powerful enough to keep the operation seamless.

Unlike the Hero but like the Desire, the HTC Legend has an optical trackball rather than a normal trackball, which gives you more control when you are navigating.  

Specifications

HTC has tried to make mobile communication as effortless as possible with the HTC Legend. Over the top of the Android OS lies the latest Sense UI which has a few additions to the current user interface, making it even friendlier to use. For example, the Leap function lets you see all 7 home screens on the one screen by pinching the screen between your fingers or pressing the home button twice. There is also a good word search function which lets you highlight the word in questions before offering 3 options: copy, send as a link, or search/translate the word.

If social networking is important to you, you’ll like the Friend Stream element of the Sense UI on the HTC Legend. This brings all the details from your Facebook, Flickr and Twitter accounts into one – like the Motoblur interface on the Motorola DEXT. You can even stream this information according to status updates, photos or just links.

As you might expect from a smartphone which promises to succeed the HTC Hero, the Legend comes with a decent camera, media player and communication options. The 5-megapixel camera is bolstered by an LED flash and geo tagging, and there is a video option for shooting live footage on the move – although not the highest quality of images, the resolution is sufficient to be enjoyed. Music wise, there is a good inbuilt speaker on the handset and a 3.5mm audio jack for listening to your songs or the FM radio.

Considerations

The battery life is almost on a par with the iPhone, so be prepared to charge your handset regularly.

Verdict

The HTC Legend is beautifully designed and is enjoyable to use. Powerful, slim and with a wide range of abilities, this handset looks certain to be popular.