While the first Android-powered phone hit the market in late 2008 and was followed by several others, Google have yet to see their operating system hit a true ‘killer app’ model. The recent line of innovative phones put out by Samsung have created progress for the OS, but few have reached the level of popularity or cultural awareness that Apple’s iPhone has achieved.

Until now. HTC’s latest creation, the Desire, hit the market towards the end of March and by all accounts failed to make a splash. In fact, when compared to the iPhone’s successful 2007 launch, it’s barely even managed to cause a ripple. But over the past two months things have changed hugely, with Google’s Android operating system gaining market share and HTC’s mobile phones growing more and more popular.

Boasting a 3.7 inch touchscreen display and a sleek black HTC case, the Desire is one of the most physically imposing mobile phones out there. The screen is truly massive, beating out rival phone handsets from Apple, Samsung, and Nokia. Yet at the same time it doesn’t seem unusually big; all functions are handled normally, and the phone is compact enough to easily fit inside a front pocket.

With a monstrous processor, Flash video support as standard, and a five megapixel built-in camera, it seems hard to fault the Desire’s extensive list of functional hardware. Applications run smoothly and steadily, performance is well beyond adequate, and unlike other smartphones the Desire could quite easily replace a point-and-shoot camera for your next holiday.

Unfortunately, this immense power comes at a price. The Desire’s battery life is abysmal; a weak power unit more at home in an ancient PDA than a high-end smartphone. Mobile broadband usage and multimedia cut down battery power dramatically, with the former dropping a three-day battery into something that is unlikely to last twenty-four hours.

But with 3G disabled, broadband internet browsing limited, and multimedia viewing eliminated, the Desire becomes quite a competitive unit. Battery power isn’t quite as good as the iPhone 3GS, but it certainly lasts through a twenty-four hour charging period without falling flat. Third-part apps can improve the battery life further, but we feel slightly uncomfortable customizing a phone for the sole purpose of improving on its power usage.

All in all, the HTC Desire is a hugely powerful phone, something that’s equally at home processing complex applications as it is making basic phone calls. Amazingly, that power isn’t just useful for technology fans and serious geeks either; just about anyone can pick up the Desire and grow used to the interface in minutes.

While we’re hesitant to call it an ‘iPhone killer,’ we will give credit where it’s due – the Desire is a phenomenal phone, and one that’s likely to convert thousands of users over to Google’s powerful new mobile platform.