HTC Unveils Low-priced Smartphone HTC Explorer

HTC has added yet another mobile phone to its growing line of smart phones. After launching a super-phone called HTC sensation, this time around HTC has targeted the mid-range segment of the Indian market with a relatively low-priced smartphone called HTC Explorer. The mobile phone will run on the Android operating system and should be priced under Rs 12,000.

The mobile phone has a 3.2 inch TFT capacitive touch screen (320x480 pixel resolution) and it runs on the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS with HTC Sense user interface (UI). It is powered by a 600MHz Scorpion CPU, Qualcomm MSM7227 chipset and has 512MB of RAM. The internal storage in the device is 512MB out of which only 90MB is available to the user, but it can be expanded up to 32GB with a microSD card.

The mobile phone has a 3 mega pixel autofocus camera which can also record videos (although there is no secondary front facing camera provided in the device). Additionally, the lock screen lets users access their contacts, mail, camera and messages in just one swipe even when the phone is locked. The company also claims that HTC Explorer will offer an intuitive home screen design that will focus on the most frequently used features and will notify the user when they receive an SMS, e-mail or a calendar event.

The dimensions of the device are 102.8mm x 57.2mm x 12.9mm and its weight is 108 grams. The device has a 1,230 mAh battery which according to the company will provide up to 7.5 hours of talk time and 485 hours of stand-by time. The device has an internal GPS antenna and comes with an FM radio. The device has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3G.

All in all, the device is an average one, but looking at the price tag it is tipped to sport, it is not a bad deal. The mobile phones direct competitors should include Samsung's Galaxy Ace and Motorola's Fire XT.