HTC’s latest entry-level phone, the HTC Desire C, has been officially announced and is said to be released this month or early June in Europe. A few months ago, there were several speculations of the identity of the phone and there were two leaked photos of the phone that have leaked. However, it is not until today that the specifications and features of the HTC Desire C have been confirmed. The latest HTC mid-range smartphone was formerly known as the HTC Golf and HTC Wildfire C, but today it was released bearing the Desire C nameplate.
In line with the confirmation of the technical specifications of the HTC Desire C, we will be comparing it with its siblings in the Desire series handsets of HTC. Let’s start with the HTC Desire S that was released last year.
Design
The HTC Desire C takes a few design considerations from some of HTC’s latest smartphones such as limiting the number of touch responsive keys below the screen to just three, the Back, Home, and Menu keys. Desire C also has a sleek design and comes in three color variants – Stealth black, Flamenco Red, and Polar White. It is still unknown if the Desire C will follow the unibody aluminum body of its predecessor, the HTC Desire S, but we are hoping that it does. The device is also 11.95mm thick according to sources. Along the right side of the device is the slim volume rocker and on the other side is the microUSB port. At the top side of the phone, the 3.5mm audio jack and the power button can be seen. The natural aluminum finish of the edges of the device provides contrast to its base color and somehow provides a decent look to the phone.
On the other hand, the HTC Desire S features an aluminum unibody construction method, as opposed to the aluminum-clad method of Nokia. Though the device is made majority with metal sheets, it still manages to weigh only 130 grams and 11.6mm thick. The overall design of the phone is quite decent also with its two tone rear design and it is also slightly curved at the bottom. On the left side of the phone, it can be noticed that the volume rocker and the microUSB has been placed together in one side and the right side is totally clear from any buttons. The top edge of the device is also where its 3.5mm audio jack and power button is located.
From the looks of it, the HTC Desire C is smaller and it lacks a front-facing secondary camera and LED flash at the back which is quite disappointing. However, the build of the phone looks sturdier than the HTC Desire S and the Stealth Black variant of the Desire C looks really decent especially with the beats audio logo that matches its color scheme. Thus, we decide on choosing the HTC Desire C as the winner of this round since it provides a minimalistic and functional design that is simple yet elegant.
Display
The type of display screen on the HTC Desire C is not yet known, though HTC has announced in its official launch of the device that it will have a 3.5 inch capacitive touchscreen with a 320 x 480p resolution. It also has a pixel density of 165 PPI and it supports multi-touch input. However, it lacks the Corning Gorilla Glass protection that the HTC Desire S has. The HTC Desire S houses a 3.7 inch S-LCD capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 480 x 800p and a pixel density of 252 PPI. HTC Desire S wins this round due to its higher resolution and pixel density.
Performance
The latest HTC Desire C runs a Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 processor clocked at 600 MHz and will be installed with 512 MB of RAM. On the other hand, the HTC Desire S runs a Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon Scorpion processor clocked at 1 GHz and installed with 768 MB of RAM. It also has an Adreno 205 GPU on-chip. Thus, the HTC Desire S wins this round with its more powerful processor.
Camera
Both devices are equipped with a 5 megapixel camera and are capable of taking photos at 2592 x 1944p resolution. The HTC Desire S can record HD videos at 720p and it has a VGA front-facing camera for video call functionality. Information regarding the HD video recording resolution of the HTC Desire C is not yet available but we are expecting it to be similar with the Desire S. The downside of the Desire C is that is that it lacks the secondary camera. The winner for this round is the HTC Desire S.
Software
The HTC Desire C will run the latest Android 4.0 ICS out of the box which is quite impressive for an entry-level device. The ICS OS will have an overlay of the latest HTC Sense 4.0 UI, though some of the features of the UI has been modified and will slightly differ from the one installed in the HTC One X and other high-end HTC devices. On the other hand, the HTC Desire S runs the older Android 2.3 Gingerbread and can also support the 4.0 version. While the Desire S runs an Android 2.3 OS with an overlay of HTC Sense 3.0 UI, the HTC Desire C uses the latest Android OS and Sense UI that makes it the winner of this round.
Data Connectivity
HTC Desire C will support HSDPA and HSUPA with data speeds that can reach up to 7.2 mbps. It also features Wi-Fi connectivity and the Wi-Fi hotspot feature. Also, it will be using the latest Bluetooth 4.0. On the other hand, the HTC Desire S will support also HSDPA and HSUPA but its data speeds are faster which can reach up to 14.4 mbps and 5.76 mbps, respectively. It also features the Wi-Fi hotspot similar with the Desire C. However, it uses an older version 2.3 Bluetooth with A2DP and EDR. The HTC Desire C again wins the round due to its support on networks with higher data speeds.
Memory
HTC Desire C will have an internal storage of 4GB while the HTC Desire S only has 1.1GB of storage. However, both devices support expansion via its microSD slot and can supports cards up to 32 GB. The added storage space of the HTC Desire C is a great advantage over the Desire S as well as the free 25 GB dropbox storage that is included with Desire C. Thus, the HTC Desire C wins this round.
Battery
The HTC Desire C will be powered by a 1230 mAh standard battery while the HTC Desire S will have a 1450 mAh battery. Battery life in this cannot easily be determined by basing it only with the capacity of the battery. It is possible that the Desire C might have a longer battery life compared with the Desire S due to its lower processor speed and smaller screen. We have to wait for the release of the product and after several test runs on it provide a better conclusion for this criterion. So for now, we will call this round a draw.
Price
According to reports, the HTC Desire C will sell for around £169.99 or around $273 which is fairly a good value for an entry-level smartphone running in Android ICS. It has also been announced that the device will come free on a 24-month contract with T-mobile at £15.50 per month or £20.50 for an Orange contract. On the other hand, the HTC Desire S sells for around $399 on this current date. It is also said that the price for the Desire on a Pay As You Go will reach £399.95 and it is also offered free on Carriers such as T-mobile and Orange at a price of £30.64 per month and £26 with T-mobile. In terms of price, the HTC Desire C offers a better price and it is worth it since it already has the latest Android ICS and Sense UI. In addition, the HTC Desire C also has beats audio integration that makes it the winner of this round.
Conclusion
The latest entry-level smartphone that have been released by HTC will surely dominate this market segment due to its impressive software and features that are far more superior than its competitors in the entry-level market this time. Though the HTC Desire S offers a more powerful processor and faster data connectivity, the HTC Desire C offers the latest Android ICS, Sense 4.0 UI, beats audio integration and other features that make the device a better choice than the Desire S.
For those who are looking for an entry level Android smartphone, the HTC Desire C must be on your list of potential devices. It is up to the consumers to compare its features and specifications with its competitors and find the best phone that will provide the value for their money.
