HTC Desire 820

“In a lot of ways the HTC Desire 820 is the natural continuation of the mid-range handset line and can be considered more or less an upgraded version of the Desire 816. It is a solid device on its own, but HTC could have tried a little harder and addressed some of the issues in its predecessor better.HTC has built-up a formidable reputation for offering some of the best-built devices on the market. The Desire 820 definitely looks put together well enough, but the choice of materials is a letdown, perhaps even more than with the Desire 816, and that's plain disappointing.If there is one thing this job has taught us is to keep our expectations in check when we approach a device for review. We won't expect much from an entry level smartphone, but an upper midrange device like the Desire 820 deserves a higher quality finish than the fingerprint mess that the plastic back panel becomes in no time.The hardware on the Desire 820 definitely looks improved on paper, but sadly it does not outperform its predecessor by a whole lot, which is surprising, given the new octa-core CPU. Perhaps software optimization is lacking or the chips are intentionally under-powered so as not to diminish the problematic battery life even further. In any case, the 720p display goes easy on the resources and real-life performance is more than satisfactory.”

“The HTC Desire 820 is a logical progression and the successor to the Desire 816. As such, it does its job well: the smartphone comes equipped with an outstanding display, a speedy CPU and usable cameras. The SoC delivers the same performance regardless of the load level and is based on a 64-bit design, which might be an advantage once a corresponding Android update has been released.The touchscreen of our review smartphone could only recognize two inputs at a time, which can potentially lead to spelling errors when typing a message quickly. It's possible that HTC will remedy this problem with an update in the near future. We would also like it if it was easier to establish communication with other devices: Wireless Display support, for example, would be a nice feature to have. Considering the price point, ac WLAN should probably be on board as well. Overall, the HTC Desire 820 is definitely worth looking at.”

“The HTC Desire 820 has plenty to offer: it's a refined day-to-day experience, with the Sense 6 interface offering plenty to set it apart from the competition. And we're sure it will be updated to Android Lollipop at some stage in the future, which will bring a number of benefits, including support for the 64-bit hardware beneath the phone's plastic skin. There's plenty of power for daily tasks, a large screen to consume content and cameras that can offer some great shots, even if the high megapixel count doesn't immediately translate into the best results. However, as much as we like the design and build, this handset sits squarely in the mid-range and the hardware experience confirms that, especially when it comes to the screen quality.”

“It is clear that HTC has targeted the Asian market with the HTC Desire 820, an area where big screen handsets have taken off to an extent currently unseen here in the west. In order to keep costs down, this has meant that the screen has taken a resolution cut, maintaining HD status but at the most basic level.This put a downer on my whole experience with the Desire 820, especially having moved from the HTC One, a phone with a higher resolution and smaller screen. My initial concerns that the screen would be too big were soon wiped away, it doesn't take long to become accustomed to a handset of this size.My excitement of having a handset with some pretty powerful cameras was also very quickly diminished, with friends commenting that images appeared worse than the 2MP snapper I usually use.Overall, if you're looking for a big handset for a budget price tag, the HTC Desire 820 is likely to cross your path but with so many large screen handsets now flooding the market there are many other options worth taking a look at instead.”