We’re going to do it. We’re going to sit here for the next couple of hours and update our HTC Desire with the
new 2.3 update that’s just been released by HTC today. Here’s what happens. The update may contain swearing as we’re not particularly technical when it comes to things like this.
Here’s what you need:
Also, just so you know, our HTC Desire is a standard O2 branded model complete with O2 boot screen and the original, untouched, official 2.2 release. Oh yes, we like to keep things official.
To explain the process for anyone unsure what to do – this update comes as an executable PC file, which updates your HTC Desire over a USB connection. You download the stuff, open it on a PC, then run the “RUU_HTC Desire Android 2.3 Upgrade (Gingerbread).exe” file while your Desire is connected via USB.
AGGGHHHHH. So be prepared for this to take quite a long time. You need HTC Sync installed on your PC as well as
HTC’s RUU file, which is another huge 150MB+ download, plus your HTC Desire needs to have at least 30% of battery power to initiate the update process.
Meet the criteria, though, and it’s an easy task. The updater tool walks you through the steps and it’s entirely automated. Just try not to panic.
And this is it. Version 3.14.405.1 according to the updater. As mentioned by HTC, the big omission here is the Facebook app, which you now have to install yourself if you have nothing better to do with your phone’s memory.
The O2 branding has been removed as well, leaving us with a generic HTC Desire that features the HTC boot screen. HTC’s Peep Twitter client is still on here, as it HTC’s App Sharing tool, plus Footprints and its Friend Stream social aggregator.
Fast boot! That’s a new thing. Gmail, YouTube and the Maps suite remain, although HTC’s Flashlight app has been removed – but the APK is supplied in the update file if you want to install it yourself.
Given the absence of a detailed changelog from HTC, we’re not entirely sure what else has been chopped. Flash Player support is still in, which is good news – although the 10.3 update that’s on the Android Market will need to be installed if you want the latest version, which will significantly eat into your available memory.
There are no newer HTC Sense features. The Notifications panel is unchanged, as is the boring old HTC Sense lock screen. Those hoping for any of the jazzy newer Sense tools or apps will be disappointed.
Phone performance is as solid as ever. We never had any issues with the HTC Desire on 2.2 and it seems as fast and robust as ever. But bear in mind we’re literally tearing through it as fast as possible and have only had it for about an hour…
We’re showing 117MB of app storage space available, that’s with only Quadrant installed to take the above benchmark and iPlayer to see if Flash content works. Any questions?
