HTC Explorer Pro Reviews

The advantage of a relatively low-powered screen and processor is that the modest 1230mAh battery should be able to go a few times round the block without a recharge and sure enough, this one gave a little over two days of consistent use. Indeed, the HTC Explorer covers just about all the smartphone basics very well at a decent price making it a good introduction for Android newbies.

The HTC Explorer is a little on the chunky side, but solidly built. It's quite small and not best suited to web browsing or text entry, and its camera isn't great. Still, it is attractively priced, and younger users or those who don’t need to push their smartphones hard might find it appealing.

A pleasingly chunky smartphone, but it's not the best value budget model we've seen

When the HTC Explorer was announced our first thought was "Nothing we haven't seen. Next one please" but we admit we were wrong. The 600MHz processor did much better than expected - the chipset is much better than what the Wildfire S had. The Explorer particularly impressed us when it handled Flash content with ease - both videos and games. It's good for watching some SD videos and playing some Android 3D games too. The rest of the package - both software and hardware - performed adequately as well. The HTC Explorer only disappointed us in two areas - retail box (be sure to bring your own microSD card and headset) and the camera. Still, those things were to be expected in an entry level device. You have some alternatives, like the HTC Wildfire S or the old-but-popular LG Optimus One P500. They have similar specs, but their chipsets and software are older then what you'd get with the Explorer.

If you've owned an Android phone before, the chances are that the Explorer is not really going to appeal, as its specification is too basic. However, if you're looking for handset that would serve as a sensible first dip into the world of smartphones, then the Explorer's good build quality and neat Sense user interface makes it a good, if not exactly spectacular, option.

This might not be a phone for power-Android users, but it's a likable enough handset for most use. It will certainly appeal to those who want a phone that can do more than their old Nokia thing that they haven't upgraded for years, and it should do so without scaring anyone making the switch. HTC has seen to that, with its trademark simple user interface and pretty design. The battery is impressive, and we like the screen most of the time. Call quality is good, and that's what really matters on a phone like this, as it's likely to get heavy use. We worry for hardcore texters though, as they may not like the on-screen keyboard - easy enough to change, but unlikely to be high on the priorities of a potential owner. All-in-all, this budget, compact handset has plenty to offer and we think it will find a lot of loyal users.

With its intuitive operating system skin, the HTC Explorer would make an excellent first smartphone. But it may not be as much of a treasure as first thought as it's not quite hitting the budget heights we thought it would - it needs to drop a fwe pounds per month to be a truly cheap-cheap handset.