since you have the budget for it, I suggest that you stick to your current choices,
both are the top of the line phones from the respective manufacturer,
and continue doing your research on it to find out which one you'd prefer more

another phone that you might want to pay attention to is GSM version EVO 3D
BUT that is just a rumored model, so far there's no confirmation that its even available or not.

Desire of course

lol, WTF

its better to get Captivate instead if you're not going for Desire already

SL would be the last choice, IMO

Incredible S?

lol, superamoled is not known for being "crystal clear", but for its vibrant colors
in terms of "crystal clear", LCD, or Super Clear LCD used by Galaxy SL is actually better

its fine to go with Desire Z if you liked the physical keyboard, the internal specs are more or less the same anyway.
they keyboard hinge is durable as well, as is testified by fellow Desire Z users in the official thread.
hence you don't have to worry about the build quality.

its you who are using the phone, not your friends, so go with what you like.

This post has been edited by phantomash: Jun 14 2011, 04:15 PM

its running Froyo, but official GB update from HTC is coming soon enough source

Desire S is 11.6mm thick while Desire Z is 14.2mm, is that "very much thicker"? slightly thicker maybe.
heavier, yea S is 130g while Z is 180g, so definitely you can feel the difference in terms of weight when you hold it,
but imo that shouldn't be a deal breaker.

personally I have no problems at all using capacitive typing, nowadays the soft keyboards are so advanced that you don't really have to "type"
either you poke on a few letters and the whole word comes up, or you just swipe around to type. (typing is only for iphone users )
so to me the physical keyboard is just unnecessary, but then again, everyone's preference is different.

here's a few video of the keyboard examples I've mentioned.


Desire Z can only be gotten as AP set now iinm, which cost about 1130+-
while Desire S AP can be around 1280+-, or ORI around 1680+-

before you ask, the difference between AP and ORI is warranty service.
basically with ORI you get better services.

personally I'd rather go AP, since I don't really need the warranty, plus I've rooted my phone since the day I got it, so warranty is voided anyway
I've been using my phone for almost 1 year now, and the warranty period is almost at its end, and I still don't need it yet.
even with that said though, it still depends on the user's luck, if you're lucky and took good care of your phone, you might not even needed the warranty at all.
ultimately it depends on the user, if you're skeptical about AP warranty then go ahead with ORI, otherwise just get AP.
I'm using AP as well, so far so good, but don't take my words for it, it could just be me being lucky

Some people do prefer physical keyboard compared to on screen ones, which the Desire Z caters for,
if you really do prefer Z then get it, in terms of internal spec, its not much difference than the Desire S,
if you're not someone who looks at specs and do benchmarks and stuffs like that, you won't even notice the difference.
in terms of build quality, you don't have to worry about it, just read through the Desire Z's official thread and you'll see,
there are tons of feedbacks from the users, especially regarding the keyboard hinge.
otherwise just go for S, its a good choice as well if you're not bothered with the typing on screen.

you can try going to shops and ask for real ones to test it out, see if you liked the keyboard or not, I think that would help you make your decision better.

I would prefer to go Low Yat Plaza instead of Digital Mall, even if its further and not so convenient, Digital Mall just seems like a place for those who can't get from the best (LYP)

TFT is your regular LCD panel type, actually if its under sunlight, doesn't matter what time of screen you're using, you can still barely see them.

X10 is ok, you won't really notice the 65k limited colors unless you compare them side by side.

personally I don't get why people would get SL AT ALL, I'd just top up little bit and go for SGS instead, AP set can be gotten real cheap.