I recently got the new Samsung S3 (hard to hold at first, but I have a new case that helps). I'd suggest something like the Galaxy Nexus. Great screen, full 720p, and a lot of features, though you can't expand the storage space (32gigs built in). My sister also get the S3 after seeing mine, it only comes in white and midnight blue (which could almost pass as black). I have white and kinda wish I had black. Too flashy with the silver trim and such.
Yeah the Desire had a lot of limitations after things started getting more advanced. Low on board memory and such prevented it from being able to run the updates I guess.
S3
Great social features (stuff that keeps your contacts at your finger tips and a lot of interesting operating system level integrations).
Awesome looking screen (super oled or something like that, I forgot the name)
I'm no phone pro but the sound of the calls seem clear.
The bad:
It feels too slippery to hold. Very thin, rounded edges, it's kinda hard to grip while typing and pressing that little button at the bottom. Needs a nice case.
---
Galaxy Nexus
Dependable, perdy screen, big display.
The bad: It may look odd with it's curved screen. It looks odd. Did I mention it look a bit odd and bulky?
No expandable storage.
I don't mess with Iphones. There seem to be little flexibility on what you can run on it. Also all the phones look the same.
Edit: Oh the battery. S3 has ok battery life, Nexus can't last too long, but when it's in standby it hardly lose a charge.