Outed at the same time during February’s Mobile World Congress, both the HTC Desire and HTC Legend have stolen all the plaudits in the mobile world over the past six weeks. And with good reason, both phones are corking, taking Android well ahead of the iPhone in the ongoing quest for smartphone supremacy. But which is best? The supercharged Desire? Or the stunning Legend?

First impressions

For some gadget fanatics, good looks come second to skills. For them, the Desire is the phone that stars, thanks to the 1Ghz Snapdragon processor and bigger 3.7-inch screen. But the teflon grey coating just doesn’t scream sexy. So, if we’re judging both of these phones on first impressions, the HTC Legend has to come out on top. Somehow HTC has managed to beat Apple at its own game, releasing an aluminium unibody mobile it’s impossible not to fall in love with. Its size is perfect for slipping in a pocket and it’ll draw gasps every time you pull it out to tinker with Twitter down the pub.

HTC Desire: 7/10

HTC Legend: 10/10

Design

There’s no denying the HTC Desire has been well thought out and pulled together. Its hard keys are well placed and your fingers fall naturally to them. It’s also remarkably thin at 11.9mm, especially when you consider this is one of the most specced up mass mobiles ever released. In fact, it would be one of the world’s most well crafted phones if HTC hadn’t trumped itself with the HTC Legend.

The Legend is a truly remarkable piece of design. The single slab of aluminium makes it a true looker and sturdy as hell. It’s only ever so slightly slimmer at 11.5mm but its smaller screen makes all the difference, giving this a small footprint which is easy to love. That’s not to say there aren’t quirks. The black plastic backing around the camera, placed there to allow 3G signals in and out of the phone, is a tad ugly and the hard keys at the bottom are awkwardly placed and even a tad frivolous. Why have them at all when the touchscreen is so good?

HTC Desire: 8/10

HTC Legend: 9/10

Features

The HTC Desire and HTC Legend both have very similar features to offer. The adaptable 5 megapixel camera is identical on both models, with Android 2.1 offering the same social networking sharing options on each device. The key differences come with the processor and screen. The former is a 1 Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor in the HTC Desire, fast becoming the industry standard for the very best smartphones. It means the Desire moves much faster when you’re flying around the phone, as the Legend is limited to a 600Mhz effort.

Likewise, the Desire has the edge over the Legend when it comes to the screen. The 3.7-inch, 480 x 800 display is noticeably crisper and clearer than the 320 x 480, 3.2-inch number on the Legend. But you really do need to be squinting to notice this during everyday tasks like email and tweeting. Frankly, these differences are minimal.

HTC Desire: 9/10

HTC Legend: 8/10

Software

The software on both the Desire and Legend is the same: Android 2.1 with HTC Sense slathered on top. That means access to Friend Stream social networking aggregation and Appl Expose-like Leap is available on both. The software on both phones is spot on.

HTC Desire: 9/10

HTC Desire: 9/10

Ease of use

The HTC Legend’s touchscreen is a thing of beauty and its onscreen QWERTY is one of the very best you’ll find on a phone right now. It’s capacitive and very easy to get to grips with. However, as previously mentioned, its hard keys are poorly placed and can lead to confusion, with the back button not sitting flush to the side of the device.

The Desire is definitely a tad more straightforward, not only because its wider screen is better to see what you’re doing, but also because the hard keys are better placed and more intuitive to use. However, neither phone benefits from the optical trackpad. The touchscreen is more than good enough, making it utterly redundant.

HTC Desire: 10/10

HTC Legend: 9/10

Specifications

HTC Desire

• 3.7-inch, 480x800 AMOLED screen
• HTC Sense running on Android 2.1
• 3.5mm audio input
• 135g, 11.9x60x119mm
• 5 megapixel camera
• SD up to 32GB
• 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor
• HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1

HTC Legend

• 3.2 inch, 320 x 480 AMOLED screen
• HTC Sense with Google Android 2.1
• 3.5mm audio input
• 126g, 11.5x56.3x112mm
• 5 megapixel camera
• SD up to 32GB
• 5 megapixel camera
• 600Mhz processor
• Wi-Fi, HSDPA, Bluetooth 2.1

HTC Desire overall mark: 10/10

HTC Legend overall mark: 9/10

Compare HTC Desire deals at Top10: HTC Desire

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