No matter how you look at it, you can’t fight the Android invasion. Google’s underdog mobile OS is taking a big chunk of the smartphone market which has long been dominated by iPhone, BlackBerry and devices running on Symbian.

Most of these smartphones however are too expensive for mass market with price tags of over RM2000. Not a lot of people are able to fork so much money, but many want to get their hands on a device that at the very least, can deliver a good browing and social media experience. This opened up a market for entry-level smartphones that right now has been dominated by Nokia which admitedly, have been doing a good job at offering competent semi-smartphones at bargain basement prices powered by Symbian.

But the semi-smart Symbian phones that Nokia are churning out doesn’t really cut the mustard for us. The lack of applications is a major disadvantage. So we turn to Android, the open source mobile OS that has so much potential to be great but again we’re limited to high-end devices at the moment. Is there such thing as an affordable Android phone that’s cheerfully cheap yet delivers the functionality of the higher end Androids?

With an attractive pricing and a decent hardware, the HTC Wildfire certainly looks like a strong candidate to play that role, but does it deliver the goods? Read on to find out.

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	Android, HTC, Mobile Devices, Mobile OS
	Android, Android 2.1, HTC, HTC Malaysia, HTC Wildfire, HTC Wildfire Malaysia, HTC Wildfire Maxis, HTC Wildfire price Malaysia, HTC Wildfire review, HTC Wildfire review Malaysia

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Maxis is once again leading the Android device pack with its latest addition, the HTC Wildfire. You can check out our review on the HTC Desire.

At launch about a month a got the Wildfire was sold outright with no plans from any telco but we were told by HTC PR that Maxis is will be offering a bundling package very soon, and here it is.

We predicted that with a 12 months package the Wildfire will cost around RM700 and it looks like we were spot on with that one. With a 12 month contract on Maxis, the HTC Wildfire can be your for RM699. You can go as low as RM549 with the Wildfire if you’re willing to put up with a 24 months contact on Maxis.

There’s currently a promotion on HTC devices with Maxis at the moment. Running from 13 to 17 August, with every purchase of the Wildfire you’ll get a free car kit worth RM200 and with every purchase of the HTC Desire you get a free casing worth RM80. Only valid for purchases made at the Maxis KLCC roadshow.

Speaking of 24 months, Maxis has included this option to subscribe for 18 months and 24 months. This is a new bundling across all the Android devices in Maxis’ stables. Our favourite Samsung Galaxy S is a mouth watering RM1,499 pm 24 months contract and the pretty good HTC Desire is RM1,349 on 24 months. You can check out the new pricing for the device here but if you’re too lazy, check out the breakdown below.

Interestingly, Maxis has dropped some of the Android devices from its lineup, including the Motorola Milestone, HTC Legend, the standard Samsung Galaxy and the LG GW620.

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	HTC, Maxis, Mobile Devices, Players on the Field
	Android, HTC, HTC Desire, HTC Wildfire, HTC Wildfire price Malaysia, Maxis, new Maxis Android plans, new Maxis plans, Samsung Galaxy S, Sony Ericsson, Xperia X10 Mini

(Update 16082010 1456hrs) Our review of the HTC Wildfire is up. Check it out here.

We’ve just received a unit of the HTC Wildfire. At RM1,199 and running and Android 2.1, we’re pretty keen to see how this little device performs.

Considered as an entry-level Android device, there’s bound to be some compromises, but will those compromises hamper the overall experience of the Wildfire? Or will the Wildfire provide the perfect balance between cost, quality and performance? You’ll find out in the review.

Also, we’ll compare the Wildfire with its close relative, the HTC Legend to see how it stacks up against one of our favourite HTC Android device at the moment.

It’s going to be an interesting review, so keep it locked on to SoyaCincau.com.

In meantime, if you have any questions or if there’s anything you’d like to know about the Wildfire, post a comment, we’ll be sure to answer them.

	HTC, Mobile Devices
	Android, HTC, HTC Wildfire, HTC Wildfire comparison, HTC Wildfire Malaysia, HTC Wildfire performance, HTC Wildfire price Malaysia, HTC Wildfire review, Wildfire

(UPDATE 1607 15102010) We we’re informed by HTC PR that Maxis will be offering the Wildfire with a contract bundle. No details on availabiltiy and actual pricing but if our calculations are correct, a RM700 Android smartphone with a 12 months contract is a very high possibility.

When we got wind of the Wildfire, we noted:

If HTC Malaysia priced this device right, the Wildfire could very well be the device that brings Android truly to the masses, possibly the most bang-for-the-buck Android smartphone on the local market. We can’t wait to get our hands on one!

Today HTC announced that Wildfire is available in Malaysia for a very enticing RM1,199 outright (no contract).

With a generous 3.2 albeit low-res QVGA 320 x 240 screen, HSDPA 7.2Mbps, WiFi, digital compass, Bluetooth and aGPS support, there’s a lot to like about the Wildfire. There’s also a 5MP camera with LED flash and autofocus.

Processing power for the Wildfire comes in the form of a fairly decent 528Mhz Qualcomm MSM7225 processor with 384MB of RAM. The device runs Android 2.1 with HTC Sense. The Wildfire has 512MB built-in memory and it supports expansion in MicroSD format all the way up to 32GB.

Although we haven’t tried the phone ourselves, for the asking price and the specs, we really can’t find another device that can offer a good balance between price, performance, features, quality and design.

Just on those merits alone this could very well be one of the most popular Android devices in Malaysia.

It’s sad to see Maxis, Malaysia’s most device prolific telco at the moment, not offering a contract bundle for the Wildfire. If that happened, you’re probably looking at an Android smartphone for as low as RM700. For that price, this little Android device looks very attractive indeed.

Official press release and promotional videos of the HTC Wildfire after the jump.

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	HTC, Mobile Devices
	Android, HTC, HTC Wildfire, HTC Wildfire Malaysia, HTC Wildfire price Malaysia, Wildfire