HTC Wildfire S Pro Reviews

Initially priced at S$388, the HTC Wildfire S has spent sufficient time in the market and should see a few price adjustments from its authorized resellers. The same can be said for its immediate competitors, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini and Huawei Ideos X3, with similar price adjustments made since its launch. However, the Wildfire S has an edge over these two from a few angles. On the aesthetics level, its matt surface and balanced weight distribution had a stronger appeal, keeping us glued to the handset. Its greatest differentiator, HTC Sense 2.1 interface, alongside Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread running underneath, gave it an edge when it comes to usability and intuitiveness. If you can live with its slightly below average battery mileage and expectedly lackluster imaging performance (which is decent for its phone class), the Wildfire S will suffice as a compact Android smartphone for those on a budget.

The HTC Wildfire S is an average, low-end Android phone for MetroPCS, and you can do better for less money.

It’s tempting to think that an inexpensive smartphone is going to suck, but that's not the case with HTC's Wildfire S. Even though it has some stripped down features (no front camera for video chat, no dual-core processor,) the features it does include work nearly flawlessly. It's a solid little phone that is comfortable to hold and use. The battery life was very good for a smartphone, phone calls sounded great, and signal performance was good. On the media side of the fence, the Wildfire offers basic music and video tools that work. They may not have all the latest doo-dads, but what's there is done right. The camera, browser, and third-party apps all work well. If you're on a budget, the HTC Wildfire S will set you back just $80. For the low sales price and fantastic usability of the Wildfire S, it is a hard little smartphone to beat.

If you're looking for an entry-level phone, but want all the features and benefits of Android, this is the phone for you. It fits in-hand wonderfully, is very well built, has all the minimum requirements that you need in a smartphone, and is priced well below the high-end phones running the same OS. The processor and amount of internal memory are limiting factors which will likely sway power-users to a higher-end phone. As a side-note, this review took significantly longer to complete than any other phone I've reviewed. The best way to sum up why is that this little phone is "camera shy". Its screen is so highly reflective that several takes were required of each video before an acceptable image could be captured. While this shouldn't detract you from considering this phone, it did set back the review schedule substantially. This phone's final score reflects the fact that it's an entry-level device. If we were to compare the Wildfire S to other low-end phones (the T-Mobile G1 or myTouch, for example) it would likely receive a 4.5 or higher. Since we try and rate phones on consistent scale, it would be unfair to rate this phone that highly.

If you can get past its small size, the HTC Wildfire S is a bargain for first-time smartphone customers with little-to-no expectations.

To wrap things up I’d have to give this device a thumbs-up. For a first time smartphone or first time Android user this would be the ideal device. Some might want something larger but for the size and everything you get it really is awesome. For someone coming from a feature phone or a Blackberry use to a smaller device and great battery life this would be a great first step. Then maybe the next phone can have one of those massive 4.3″ screens.

The HTC Wildfire S is a neat little smartphone that fits nicely into the mid-range. This is a crowded sector, though, and as well as handsets designed specifically for it you'll find former flagship models at attractive prices. Shop wisely, and you can avoid the compromises of phones like the Wildfire S to get all the features you really want.

There’s no question HTC needed to update their lower midrange lineup. Maybe they could’ve done better than the Wildfire S and probably they’re already working on it. Meanwhile, they’re ready to give a good enough deal to users who don’t necessarily need to squeeze every last drop of speed and performance out of their phone. The Wildfire S is a charming little handset that will rather be friends with than try to impress its potential users.

If you’re operating on a tight budget, this is the best cheap Android phone around, with improvements on the original in every department and a price that’s extremely tempting. Just be aware that a little extra cash per month could buy you a whole lot more smartphone.

HTC's Wildfire S is a capable budget phone, but its limited storage space could be frustrating and it's currently not particularly good value on contract.

The HTC Wildfire S is a neat, compact smartphone. Naturally, with the small form-factor comes some loss in functionality, specifically applying to the usability of a virtual keyboard on its 3.2" screen. The other drawback comes in the form of the underpowered processor resulting in lag. On the flip-side, screen quality benefits from decent resolution while Gingerbread with HTC Sense serves up a user-friendly treat. This makes for a good phone that could have been better. Alternatives include the upcoming Xperia mini if the compactness does it for you, or the Samsung Galaxy Gio for an alternative UI in a similar form factor.

The HTC Wildfire S is a solid and well-featured phone, no doubt about that, but the poor little thing struggles to render some web pages and isn't exactly future-proof in this fast-moving mobile world. Yes, you get Android 2.3 and all the many joys of HTC Sense, but without Flash Player support and with a processor that would've been considered slow in 2010, it's hard to find a place in 2011's vibrant, multicultural smartphone scene for the HTC Wildfire S. Sadly for HTC, there are many cheaper options available to those looking for their first smartphone right now. The only ace up the sleeve of the Wildfire S is its arrival to running Android 2.3, which simply isn't enough to warrant the extra money.

If you find most smartphones too large and expensive then the HTC Wildfire S could be right up your street. It's cute, well built and packs in all the essential features, and most importantly has a higher resolution screen than its predecessor. However, it is a bit slow and still hasn't fixed the fundamental issues of being a smaller touchscreen phone, namely the screen being too small. As such, if you're prepared to accept a slightly more sluggish and confined smartphone experience then it's one of the best smaller cheaper models out there. If it was up to us, though, we'd save our pennies and opt for a faster, larger alternative.

Overall the HTC Wildfire S is a tidy little package. The good touch response and design reflect well on what is essentially a budget device. It can be bettered by its rivals - there will be affordable phones with a larger higher resolution display, there will be those that get a higher power processor, but if you’re less interested in consuming movie content or playing mobile games, then the HTC Wildfire S will stand you in good stead. The most important factor for us is that we’ve found the HTC Wildfire S capable to performing those core tasks without too much of a compromise. However, there are a number of older phones currently available which will offer you more and still at a competitive price. The HTC Wildfire S is best suited to someone who craves a compact device and is looking to talk, text and get social with their phone, with no great desire to push the Android envelope.