Looking up the word ‘desire’ in the dictionary conjures up a pretty fitting description of this phone.

‘A strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen…a strong sensual feeling or appetite.’

Android fans have been waiting patiently yet eagerly for the day when HTC would provide a handset that justifies and improves upon Google’s mobile platform with a gorgeous piece of hardware.

The HTC Desire is that handset. Taking the Android to a new level thanks to a refined, assured user experience, the Desire provides a new, and different take on the smartphone, one that proves that different can sometimes mean better.

The 3.7-inch display shows off the latest version of Android (2.1) and is bright, vivid and responsive to the touch, whist a snazzy optical trackpad (as opposed to the ball found on earlier Blackberry devices) and a smattering of physical keys supplement the touchscreen navigation.

The Desire’s beauty is not merely skin deep, however, as HTC have customised the standard Android phone experience with an entirely new interface that they have dubbed ‘Sense’.

This Sense user interface offers a suite of applications and widgets that offer users complete control of their device, with intuitive icons and controls to welcome even the biggest technophobe into the world of the smartphone.

Keeping abreast of your social circle becomes easier with the Friend Stream app which merges Facebook updates, Twitter alerts, new Flickr photos and instant messages in a single clear and concise feed, whilst HTC Leap makes navigation a pinch (literally), as the Desire zooms out Apple Expose-style to show all your homescreens on one page.

Loading multiple applications and surfing the web are also snappy thanks to the Desire’s 1GHz processor, whilst the presence of Flash Lite support means even the most design rich websites are handled with verve and vigour.

The handset manages to tick all of the smartphone boxes with the HTC Desire somehow fitting a decent 5-megapixel camera, GPS navigation, Wi-Fi, support for up to 32GB of memory and media playback into its 11.9mm body, a tight squeeze but much appreciated when watching movies on that AMOLED display.

With brilliant touches like the ringer volume automatically lowering when the handset is picked up, and automatic backup of essential data to the memory card, that exemplify the device’s user friendly nature, the HTC Desire brings a slick user interface and social simplicity together in a single attractive package.

In development, the HTC Desire was known as the ‘Bravo’. It’s the only other fitting word we could use to describe this phone.

Bravo, HTC. You made an iPhone beater without really setting out to.