HTC Desire from Clove vs ExpertInfoTech

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kiwimatt

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Geek

Topic # 64854 23-Jul-2010 23:12

Hi all,

About to place an order for an HTC Desire having been severely let down by Vodafone's announcement for the Desire turning into the Nexus One. Choosing between ordering from Clove in the UK or ExpertInfoTech here. From how I see it, the pros and cons are below (both work out about same price if GST and customs fee charged). Any advice on which way to go would be greatly appreciated.

CLOVE
Pros - 2 year warranty, good reputation, possibility of not paying GST, comes with SD card (only 4GB)
Cons - have to return faulty gear to UK, out of stock until 6 August plus shipping time

EXPERTINFOTECH
Pros - local and therefore much easier to return faulty phone to, have a physical store, phone in stock
Cons - dubious as to whether SD card included, unknown phone source, poor reputation for service

Thanks!

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Reply # 355606 23-Jul-2010 23:27

Can I ask why the disappointment when the Desire and Nexus One are so close in hardware terms? You could always load a custom ROM with HTC Touch in it onto the Nexus one.

As I understant it there are only two differences between the two devices:

* Trackball on Nexus One vs. Optical Pad on HTC
* Voice cancellation on Nexus One vs. none on the HTC

Plus the plans and specials on the Nexus One through Vodafone give it a great price.

As for Close vs. einfo, I have heard nothing but bad things about the latter, but only good things (especially on geekzone) about Clove.

heavenlywild

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Reply # 355610 23-Jul-2010 23:44

In terms of retailer, I would definitely go for Clove. Sure, they may be half a world away but their service means you will get something sorted / fixed faster than taking it back to your local shop:)

sahyun1

63 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 355623 24-Jul-2010 00:12

I'll go for clove as well. But I think i've seen an article saying new desire no longer has amoled screen, changed it to LCD. I'm after android phone as well and due to this change, I'm thinking of getting Galaxy S

fahrenheit

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Reply # 355628 24-Jul-2010 00:23

I'm looking at the Galaxy S and tossing up between Clove or Mobicity.

Clove is cheaper but only if you don't get pinged GST.

StephenNZ

35 posts

Geek

Reply # 355700 24-Jul-2010 08:51

my 2c ... Ordered my Galaxy S from Clove - Took 6 days to get here and didn't pay GST (sent by Royal Mail).

I've heard that Einfo reflash their stock as it comes from asian countries.... I'd much rather have a unit that hasn't been fiddled around with...

I've got nothing but good things to say about clove...

:-)

kiwimatt

12 posts

Geek

Reply # 355727 24-Jul-2010 10:53

Thanks everyone. Looks like Clove is a clear winner!

timbosan - I guess there are really two parts to the answer. I a very disappointed to start with because Vodafone only a couple of weeks ago put out an official press lease stating that they were going to sell the HTC Desire in July (even mentioned friendstream etc). To then go and release a different phone, no matter what the similarities, is very unprofessional. How hard can it be to know the phones you are releasing!

The Nexus One vs Desire is a whole different debate :) I think we might need to start a different thread on that one.

Yes key differences as I understand it is that Desire has:
* Hardware buttons on Desire
* FM radio on Desire
* Optical trackball rather than the outdated physical ball
* Slightly more RAM
* Bluetooth 2.1 (versus 2.0)
* Looks nicer ;) IMHO

Nexus One has:
* Active noise cancellation
* Speech to text (available via app for Desire)
* Triband (versus dualband)

And of course the REAL biggie - Desire has Sense UI. From all I have seen and read this makes a massive difference to the user experience.

I agreed that the price discounts by Vodafone are great - defintely got me thinking twice. Just don't know if I am keen risking stuffing my phone by putting Sense UI on N1. How risky is it? Is Sense UI ported onto N1 solid and stable?

Cheers

Linuxluver

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Reply # 355741 24-Jul-2010 11:40

timbosan: Can I ask why the disappointment when the Desire and Nexus One are so close in hardware terms? You could always load a custom ROM with HTC Touch in it onto the Nexus one.

As I understant it there are only two differences between the two devices:

* Trackball on Nexus One vs. Optical Pad on HTC
* Voice cancellation on Nexus One vs. none on the HTC

Plus the plans and specials on the Nexus One through Vodafone give it a great price.

As for Close vs. einfo, I have heard nothing but bad things about the latter, but only good things (especially on geekzone) about Clove.

Same here. I have a Nexus One and have had a chance to play with a Desire.

Desire has a lot of nice extras - like FM radio.

But overall I prefer the Nexus One because I can get the back off (just slides and drops) very easily to swap batteries. The back of the Desire is a bit of a beast to get off, with multiple plastic click-in 'teeth' that feel ilke they won't stand up to daily removal.

I'm also not a fan of Sense UI....so Nexus One's default Android UI is my preferred UI.

Nexus One is also designed to be "played with" (like unlocking bootloader)....and I do play with my phones. :-)

Plus Nexus One gets the latest and greatest first.

____________________________________________________
I'm on a high fibre diet.

timbosan

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Reply # 355743 24-Jul-2010 11:42

LOL! I agree - any debate about handsets can just swarm a thread!

You did highlight some more differences which I forget, which is cool.

As for the HTC ROM on the Nexus One, from what I have read on xda-developers there is constant work on these ROM's including stablisation work, so I guess they are no worse than what the manufactures give you!

Interestingly enough I was just reading a thread about how the new Droid X in the US has a locked bootloader (a lot like the Milestone does) and that Motorola actually state if people want to play with custom ROM's they should get a Nexus one!! source is here, it's a good read).

Personally I am getting the Nexus One - it does what I want and I can always try the HTC ROM and if I don't like it, I can switch back.

eXDee

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Reply # 355862 24-Jul-2010 17:34

Have you considered mobicity.com.au also?

siimo2005

68 posts

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Reply # 355875 24-Jul-2010 18:38

Nexus one has ROMS available that enable FM radio.

n95

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Reply # 355883 24-Jul-2010 18:58

have you heard that Vodafone is not now releasing the Desire?

1080p

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Reply # 356531 26-Jul-2010 14:11

eXDee: Have you considered mobicity.com.au also?

MobiCity seem to be more expensive at AU$799.00 (NZ$982.51), unless you want brown :s

I'm not sure but you might still have to pay tax on top of that when it arrives. I would imagine so at least.

I'm not sure if ExpertInfoTech are selling the silver model as I only see the brown one listed (ugh!) so it looks like Clove would be the place to head.

From what I remember; a Desire from clove + shipping will come to ?354.00 (NZ$751.11 atm) and you're likely to pay GST when it arrives in New Zealand (NZ$93.888375) so a grand total of NZ$845.00.

For a two year warranty and top service I think that is a fair deal tbh.

bentise

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Reply # 356569 26-Jul-2010 15:04

There's one more difference not picked up on in this thread: The N1 has contact points at the bottom for easy drop dock charging vs the htc desire which requires the standard plug in micro usb charger.
Only a minor point of difference though.

I bought my Desire from Clove, it was $900 after GST and Shipping. Great service.

jcerecke

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

Reply # 356889 27-Jul-2010 07:56

How is the GST paid, if you need to pay it? Why are some people getting off it, and some not? I'm looking at buying a desire from clove also.

eracode

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Reply # 356890 27-Jul-2010 08:00

jcerecke: How is the GST paid, if you need to pay it? ?Why are some people getting off it, and some not? ?I'm looking at buying a desire from clove also.

I bought a Galaxy S from Clove about a month ago, with DHL courier delivery. A day or two before it arrived, DHL rang me to say GST was payable. I paid it by credit card over the phone and this did not delay the delivery in any way.

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