Is the HTC Desire worth buying?

I want to get a smart phone for the usual stuff really. Internet, apps, music etc. I've seen a few video reviews and it looks pretty good, but I was wondering what it's like as a music player? Also, what are Android apps like? I've used a few iPhones to know the apps and stuff, are Android apps similar to what Apple apps are quality wise?

Just need a few pointers really, thanks.

Well, as I'm a Medical Man (I watch Casualty and Holby City!!) i can only offer one diagnosis, Mr Bush is suffering from Early Onset Alzheimer's and should go and see his GP ASAP 

No it is not worth it. Unless you like spending hours tinkering. It has huge user interface issues.

Why are you being condescending? I am not a fool, and I CAN tell the difference between a mobile and a regular phone. And,in case you didn't know there is more to the phone than just the OS. I am running the original software that came with the phone, plus I installed an appkiller because everybody told me to.
The biggest issue with the phone is that it is too easy to accidentally do an action that was not intended. The volume controls are positioned very badly - simply picking up the phone or handing it to someone easily results in changing the setting.
The slide switch to activate the phone operates vertically - on the iPhone it operates horizontally. Imagine - the phone is in your pocket n it rings - you pull it out and , guess what - often you have accidentally CANCELLED the call. Why? Figure it out - but it is much less likely to happen on the iPhone.
The recent call list - it is extremely touch sensitive - simply scrolling thru the list easily results in an accidental call.
I can give dozen more examples.

Look, I am not flaming around. I have another 18 months before the phone contract expires. So, this phone cost me money, and I am merely warning a new purchaser that this phone requires a lot of tinkering. One needs to install apps like Volume Locker and Call Confirm. Also there are issues with the slider switch on its own. There is some discussion about using the security lock function (I use the pattern lock) to get around issues with the slider. But, if one uses the pattern lock then there should be no need for the slider!
The calendar app - its the only one I have ever seen where you can't set up the end of a repeating event - you must delete unwanted events separately.
The alarm clock app - if the minute wheel is set at 55 and you want to change it to 00, you can't roll it forward 5 - you have to roll it back 55.
Why are you suggesting I should STFU? Surely I should be able to post valid criticisms.
I have no idea whether the iPhone is any better - I purchased this after reading lots of reviews and recommendations - but I can see now that they were superficial, and that they considered only what the phone can do, rather than how well.
Maybe I am mistaken, and I haven't read the manual properly, but wasn't it you that said the manual sucks?
I welcome any corrections to my misunderstandings because that will improve my user experience with the phone.
Cheers.

lq,

I apologize if you felt that was condescending.  I was not trying to do that in any way.  In fact I was dead serious. 

Every piece of electronics with a screen will have some UI issue for someone.  Most of the problems you reported are known to cause some people trouble.  (which is why call confirm, volume lock etc were developed in the first place).  However these issues only affect a relatively small percentage of the users.

In the 6 months I've had the Desire, I have yet to accidentally cancel a call by taking it out of my pocket or the pouch.  I carry my Desire upside-down in a tight pouch hanging off my belt, so the screen does actually slide upwards against it when I take the phone out.  This hasn't caused any problems yet, except that it has put some very minor scratches on the screen protector. 
Maybe your pocket is made out of a material that has roughly the same conductive properties as human skin?  That would explain why your screen responds to the material whereas mine doesn't.

The call list is indeed very sensitive.  After one or 2 accidents you'll learn that tho.  I've only made 2 accidental calls so far, both in the first month of Desire ownership.  One when scrolling through the list, one when I wanted to save the number and accidentally clicked the number instead of the "+" button. 
But seeing as it takes about 2 seconds before the phone actually starts to ring, that gives you ample time to cancel the call before it's actually being made.  There's room for improvement there indeed, but I wouldn't call it a failure of biblical proportions.

The volume button won't work if the screen is off (unless you're playing music, in which case it controls the music volume instead of the ringtone volume).  So by simply tapping the "power" button to turn the screen off before you put the phone away, you can avoid such adjustments to the ringtone volume just fine.  And it conserves the battery.

With regards to the tinkering thing, for most people Android does indeed require some amount of tinkering.  It's designed as a base OS that can do everything reasonably well.  It is then up to the customer to alter apps and such to get the phone completely to his liking. 
With the iPhone a lot more thought went into integrating and polishing everything, but once you want to make a change you're .. ermm ... screwed (I don't like the f-word, but almost used it there).  If you don't want to do the effort to personalize the phone, you're better off with the iPhone indeed.  That one has the best OS out-of-the-box, but that's the only positive thing I can say about it really.

As for the flaming/non-flaming thing, your first 2 posts in this forum were both about how bad the phone is, both without any detailed reasoning or arguments in them.  TBH I'd consider that flaming. 
You've given such an explanation now, so as far as I'm concerned it's all fine and you are entitled to your own opinion. 
Just keep in mind that some people here are more passionate about the Desire (the hatred between Android and iOS fans is just one of the reasons).  Those people won't take kindly to someone telling them that the phone is a bunch of sh*t without any decent explanation. 
It's a bit like telling a group of heavy soccer fans that their favourite club stinks.  Trust me, if you'd do that you'd spend quite some time looking at the ceiling of a hospital room (if you still have your eyes).

-----

Oh, and before I forget : I read that you're using an appkiller.  If you look around this forum a bit, you'll find a few topics on why we suggest to stay clear of them.

+1

Let's stop arguing

owww, black ...

(starts drooling)