HTC expands Desire range with mid-priced Android ICS smartphone

After launching the high-end Quad-core-powered smartphones (the One series), HTC has expanded its Desire range of handsets by launching a mid-priced Android phone called Desire C. This one runs on Android 4.0 operating system (out of the box) and was previously dubbed as HTC Wildfire C and HTC Golf. The existing smartphones in the Desire range include HTC Desire, Desire HD, Desire S and Desire Z.

Desire C has a 3.5 inch capacitive touchscreen display (320×480 pixel resolution) with 165 pixels per inch (ppi) and runs on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) OS with HTC Sense 4.0. It is powered by a 600 MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and has 512 MB of RAM. The internal memory of the device is 4 GB, expandable up to an additional 32 GB with a microSD card.

It comes with a 5 MP autofocus rear camera that can record videos (not HD, though) but there's no front-facing camera; so video-calling will become problematic. There's is no flash either; so users will have to make sure that there's proper light to click photos or shoot videos. However, instant sharing is there, which means you can post pictures on social networking sites right after capturing those. On the connectivity front, the device has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi (with Wi-Fi hotspot) and 3G, and it also has a microUSB port.

The measurements are 107.2mm x 60.6mm x 11.95mm and the phone weighs 98 gram. HTC has also provided a 1230 mAh battery, which should ensure an average battery life. The phone will have A-GPS support and will be available in white, black and red colours.

This smartphone also comes with Beats audio (which means you can expect good quality sound) and HTC is also providing an optional Near Field Communication (NFC) version. Through Desire C's deep integration of Dropbox (HTC has struck a deal with Dropbox for providing Cloud storage), users will get additional 25 GB of free online space, which can be used for (secure back-up, sharing photos, videos and documents, etc.).

An India launch date and price are not available yet, but one look at the specs and you can make out that the smartphone will be priced below Rs 18,000. In that price range, it will compete with Samsung's Galaxy Ace Plus (Rs 15,500), Motorola Defy Plus (Rs 15,990), Sony Ericsson Xperia U (Rs 16,499) and BlackBerry Curve 9380 (Rs 17,225), among others.