HTC expands dual-SIM range in India with Android ICS Desire VC

Taiwanese manufacturer HTC has launched yet another dual-SIM Android smartphone in the Indian market. The new device is christened Desire VC and runs on the Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. Although officially launched for a price in excess of Rs 23,000, the smartphone is available for Rs 20,950 on e-commerce site Saholic.com.

In June this year, HTC had launched Desire V for Rs 20,145.

Desire VC features a 4 inch capacitive touchscreen display (480×800 pixel resolution) and 233 PPI (pixels per inch), and runs on the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system (with HTC Sense). It is powered by a 1 GHz Cortex A5 Snapdragon processor and has 512 MB of RAM. Internal memory is 4 GB, which can be expanded up to 32 GB with a microSD card.

Desire VC comes with a 5 MP auto-focus rear camera with LED flash that can also record videos but there is no secondary front-facing camera (it means video calling will be a pain). On the connectivity front, it has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi hotspot) and 3G. The new phone also sports a microUSB port and a microSD card slot.

The device measures 119.5mm x 62.3mm x 9.5mm and weighs 118 gm. It has a 1,650 mAh battery and will be available in white and black. The smartphone also has A-GPS support, Beats audio and stereo FM radio with RDS.

The handset also comes with Dropbox (integrated into HTC Sense), which allows users to save all their photos and videos on the Cloud. One has to sign up or log in to Dropbox on HTC Desire VC to receive 25 GB of Dropbox space free for two years.

If you compare the specifications of Desire V to Desire VC, these are almost identical. Both smartphones have the same RAM and the same expandable internal memory. Both feature 5 MP cameras, but neither has a front-facing camera. They also measure the same although Desire V is a bit lighter. And if we are to compare their prices, they are also in the same range.

And that leads us to the question: Why has the company launched a near-identical product that directly competes with its own offering? Probably, HTC is keen to come up with more options for consumers. In the same price range, the smartphone will compete with Xolo X900 (Rs 22,000), Sony's Xperia Go (Rs 18,999) and Sola (Rs 19,999) and HTC's own One V (Rs 18,599).