It’s the showdown everyone has been waiting for!

The HTC Desire is the Android favourite, the posterboy for the alternative-to-Apple movement and many people’s choice as the phone of the year. But the Samsung Galaxy seems to do everything the Desire can, but a little more as well.

Which will triumph in the battle of the Android superphones?

Dimensions
HTC Desire		Samsung Galaxy S
119 x 60 x 11.9 mm Strikes a great balance between being big enough to be able to display and function to the fullest as a smartphone, but yet doesn’t feel huge and is brilliantly slim. The curved body make it feel even slimmer than it is.		122.4 x 64.2 x 9.9 mm With such a huge screen, you can just about forgive this phones gargantuan dimensions. It is very close to being a little too big, even for a superphone. The Galaxy S is redeemed though, by being almost miraculously thin, which makes it feel great in the hand.
I almost gave this to the Desire, and on paper it seems like a no-brainer. However, those 2mm of extra slimness in the Galaxy S make these two pretty much comparable.
Tie		Tie
GET THE DESIRE NOW		GET THE GALAXY S NOW
Display
HTC Desire		Samsung Galaxy S
AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 480 x 800 pixels, 3.7 inches. With HTC Desire’s display is near-perfect, with excellent quality, vivid colors and just the right amount of tactile response.		Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 480 x 800 pixels, 4.0 inches The Galaxy S’ screen is the justification for its giant size, and it is more than worth it. At 4 inches, it makes internet browsing, watching videos and pretty much anything you do on this phone an absolute pleasure.
The HTC Desire has a brilliant display and it will make the whole Desire experience very enjoyable. However, with at almost half an inch bigger and with even better quality, the Samsung Galaxy S just has the best phone display around.
Loser		Winner
GET THE DESIRE NOW		GET THE GALAXY S NOW
Engine Room
HTC Desire		Samsung Galaxy S
Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1 GHz processor The combination of the Snapdragon processor, and HTC’s software gives the Desire absolutely flawless performance. Scrolling through menus, the web or in documents is incredibly smooth and loading times are pretty much nonexistent.		ARM Cortex A8 1GHz processor With 1GHz of power, the Samsung Galaxy S breezes through everything you can throw at it, and then some. Everything is dispatched smoothly with very little lag.
I very nearly gave this marginally to the HTC Desire, but both processors are just so good, it felt wrong to score this anything but a tie. Both are powerhouses that breeze through pretty much any task you will do without any fuss.
Tie		Tie
GET THE DESIRE NOW		GET THE GALAXY S NOW
Battery
HTC Desire		Samsung Galaxy S
Stand-by: Up to 340 h (2G) / Up to 360 h (3G) Talk time: Up to 6h 40min (2G) / Up to 6 h 30 min (3G) The battery life has long been the achilles heel of smartphones, but the Desire suffers more than most. You will rarely be able to get through more than a couple of days on a single charge, and extended browsing or use of apps will suck that time down even further.		Stand-by: Up to 750 h (2G) / Up to 576 h (3G) Talk time: Up to 13h 30min (2G) / Up to 6h 30min (3G) The Samsung Galaxy S actually has pretty decent battery life for a smartphone. Compared to old mobile phones, it is still pretty poor, but you can go a few days without having to charge your phone, which is impressive for a smartphone. 3G use does cause something of a nasty dropoff though.
Everyone is aware that the Desire has poor battery life, so it is no surprise that it comes out as the loser on this front. Samsung have done well to not sacrifice too much battery life, especially with the Galaxy S’ giant screen.
Loser		Winner
GET THE DESIRE NOW		GET THE GALAXY S NOW
Imaging
HTC Desire		Samsung Galaxy S
5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash The HTC Desire’s camera performs adequately at day-to-day camera usage. If you are more of a casual snapper rather than a budding photographer, then it will do a brilliant job for you. It is easy to use and produces excellent quality images.		5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, HD Video recording – 720p@30fps The camera is a fairly typical high-quality smartphone camera, producing great shot after great shot. The real bonus in the Samsung Galaxy S is that you can record video in HD quality. With an HDMi out socket as well, you can easily view your videos on a laptop or TV as well.
Both of these phones have cameras that can replicate most basic digital cameras for both quality and ease of use. The Samsung Galaxy S takes it though, purely because it can record HD videos.
Loser		Winner
GET THE DESIRE NOW		GET THE GALAXY S NOW
Storage
HTC Desire		Samsung Galaxy S
512 MB internal, expandable up to 32GB (comes with 4GB) Having a 4GB SD card packaged with the phone is a nice surprise, but only having 512MB internal storage is a little on the stingy side. This is exacerbated by the current build of Android, which means all apps have to be installed onto your internal storage, meaning it quickly fills up.		8GB internal, expandable up to 32GB With 8GB of internal storage and the possibility of plenty of expansion with an SD card, you should have more than enough space for all of your apps, music, videos and more.
Until Android Froyo 2.2 rectifies the problem, the HTC Desire’s 512MB of internal memory is somewhat crippling, as you will find yourself constantly having to uninstall apps if you want to install a new one. This irritation makes the Samsung Galaxy S and its 8GB of internal memory even more impressive.
Loser		Winner
GET THE DESIRE NOW		GET THE GALAXY S NOW
Software
HTC Desire		Samsung Galaxy S
Android OS, v2.1 The Android OS is extremely easy to use, especially with the HTC Sense UI layered on top. The customisable homescreens mean that you can adapt your phone to maximise efficiency with the range of available widgets and shortcuts to put on your screens. An update to Froyo should be with the Desire by the end of the year		Android OS, v2.1 I was really pleasantly surprised by the Samsung Galaxy S. The Touchwiz UI makes great use of Android, striking the same balance as HTC Sense does between looking great and providing great usability and functionality. Easy access to all your apps, programs and widgets means that you can make the most of your Galaxy S
I was expecting to give this marginally to the Desire, as the HTC Sense UI is normally head and shoulders above anything else its competitors have to offer. But the new Touchwiz UI from Samsung is just as good as Sense, offering the same excellent user experience. Of course if the Desire does get Froyo before the Galaxy S, it will gain a big advantage.
Tie		Tie
GET THE DESIRE NOW		GET THE GALAXY S NOW
Verdict
HTC Desire		Samsung Galaxy S
Loser		Winner
GET THE DESIRE NOW		GET THE GALAXY S NOW
Whichever of these phones you decide to buy, you will be getting an absolutely first-rate smartphone. However, the Samsung Galaxy S has proven that when it is put side-by-side with the best its competition has to offer, it is just the best phone out there. If you are happy to take the slightly bigger size, then you will be getting a phone with bags of power, great looks, a screen with unsurpassed quality and very impressive overall user experience. For a long time I have been championing the HTC Desire as the phone of the year, but I am now prepared to hand over the crown to the Samsung Galaxy S.