HTC may not be planning to show off its All New One until March 25, but that doesn't mean that Peter Chou and Co. made the trip to Mobile World Congress empty-handed.
HTC today took the wraps off of the Desire 816, an Android-powered handset that it previously teased on Chinese social network Weibo. The Desire 816 is meant to offer consumers several features of the flagship HTC One in a mid-range package that's easier on their wallets. For example, the Desire 816. features front-facing BoomSound speakers and HTC's Sense 5.5 overlay, complete with its BlinkFeed reader application.
When it comes to raw specs, the Desire 816 boasts a 5.5-inch 720p display and 5-megapixel front-facing camera, and around back there's a 13-megapixel f/2.2 shooter. Inside of the 816's polycarbonate body is a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 8GB of storage that can be supplemented with a microSD card and a 2600mAh battery. Rounding out the 816's feature set are a handful of connectivity options that include LTE, NFC and Wi-Fi.
Taking one step down but still sticking in the mid-range is the Desire 610, which was also announced by HTC today. The Desire 610 also borrows some features from the HTC One, including its front-facing BoomSound speakers and BlinkFeed-ified HTC Sense user interface. HTC's Desire 610 also has a 4.7-inch display like the One, though the screen on the 610 has a resolution of 960x540, while the One has a 1080p panel.
Inside of the Desire's body lives a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of built-in storage, a microSD card slot and a 2040mAh battery. An 8-megapixel shooter lives on the 610's backside while a 1.3-megapixel camera has itself a cozy spot on the device's face.
And now for the most important spec details of all: pricing and availability. HTC says that the Desire 816 will hit Chinese store shelves in March and then spread to other parts of the globe in April. The Desire 610 is expected to follow with a European launch in May.
Both of these new phones are part of HTC's effort to focus on mid-range devices that are more affordable and can help it to regain some of the market share that it's lost in recent years. The Desire 816 would be a good fit for someone that wants a powerful phone but can't or won't pay for a flagship device. Then there's the Desire 610, which sits on the lower-end of the mid-range segment and should be easier on the wallet than its Desire 816 counterpart.
Via PhoneScoop, the::unwired
