Much of the focus in the Android world has been on the national carriers as of late, but the smaller, regional carriers have been stepping up their Android game, as well. U.S. Cellular, who recently released their first Android device in the Samsung Acclaim, announced the release date of their next big device featuring Google's green robot, the HTC Desire. The Desire will be hitting U.S. Cellular on August 27th, although there was no pricing announced at this time. In the announcement, U.S. Cellular went on to explain that they will be receiving three more Android devices before the end of the year, including the Samsung Galaxy S and two LG handsets. Check out the full press release below.
It's definitely great to see the Desire launching soon, especially considering that its brother, the Nexus One, never even really existed in the minds of consumers. The fact that the Desire is making its American debut on a carrier other than the big four nationals is huge news, as well. I'm excited to see the smaller carriers taking the fight to Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile, and I hope to see more of it in the future. It may not be the newest Android device out there, but the Desire is still an extremely capable device, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to someone looking for a new Android phone. Are any of you planning on picking up a Desire when it's released?
U.S. CELLULAR ADDS HTC DESIRE™ - THE SECOND OF FIVE ANDROID™-POWERED PHONES PLANNED FOR ITS SMARTPHONE LINEUP
CHICAGO (August 11, 2010) – HTC Desire™, U.S. Cellular's much-anticipated second Android-powered phone, launches August 27 to offer customers another engaging way to connect with their favorite people, entertainment and applications on the wireless company's nationwide 3G network. HTC Desire, one of five Android-powered phones that the company is introducing this year, will be available in stores and at uscellular.com just weeks after U.S. Cellular customers welcomed the Samsung Acclaim™. The Samsung Galaxy S™ will join the smartphone lineup in October, with two LG Android-powered phones following closely behind.
"With 160,000 Android-powered phones activated each day, there's no question that they are among the hottest phones on the market right now," said Edward Perez, vice president of sales and marketing operations for U.S. Cellular. "For us, it's not just about delivering this array of cutting-edge phones that our customers want and deserve. We also have their backs with industry-first, customer-focused programs, like Overage Protection and Battery Swap. We love making our customers' lives easier."
The allure of HTC Desire is apparent at first glance, with its slim, stylish design and vibrant 3.7-inch touchscreen that shows streaming video and graphics in vivid detail. The phone also delivers a five megapixel, autofocus camera with flash and integrated GPS. Its Wi-Fi capabilities allow users to connect to the Internet via wireless hotspots at home or on the road. Customers can upload pictures and videos to a variety of social networking and sharing sites including Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube. With a tethered modem data plan, the HTC Desire can be connected directly to a laptop for yet another way to access the Internet on the go.
HTC Desire is preloaded with U.S. Cellular applications such as My Contacts Backup, City ID, Tone Room Deluxe and Your Navigator Deluxe. Customers can also easily access Google services like Gmail, Google Maps and Google Talk instant messaging, and synch their Google calendars and contacts.
Combining the Android platform with a blazing-fast 1GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ processor offers a true mobile computing experience. HTC Desire delivers a fast wireless experience on U.S. Cellular's 3G network, allowing customers to quickly download applications and music, browse the Internet and share pictures and videos.
The Android™ 2.1 platform offers many of the same familiar Google services found on the desktop, and a growing Android Marketplace™ of more than 70,000 applications for customers to personalize their phones. The market recently crossed the one billion download mark, according to analytics provider AndroLib.com. More than 60 percent of the applications are free. To personalize the entire experience, customers can customize HTC Desire by arranging the content in the seven-panel homepage anyway they want, whether it's for building unique scenes for work, travel or play.
"We believe that it's okay to expect more from your wireless company and with Android, you can expect much more from your phone than ever before," Perez said.
