HTC Desire C: A Good Option for Beginners

High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC)'s new launch, the HTC Desire C, is a cute smartphone with exciting features. The phone weighs just 100 grams and has a 3.5-inch screen. (See HTC Announces Full Indian Language Support, HTC Launched New HTC Desire C and HTC Unveils New One S Handset.)

The Desire C is almost half the size of HTC's other smart offerings which might help the company create a new buyer's category. (See HTC Unveils New Smartphones, TomTom to Power HTC Locations App and HTC Launches WP7 Phones with Mango Update.)

Features: A 600-MHz Snapdragon processor hooked with a 512 MB-RAM might come as a disappointment to many because there are many other options available in this price range with higher processing power. The responsive 3.5-inch capacitive LCD display with 320*480 resolution offers a fair-quality viewing experience but fails to compete with the Super Amoled Plus or Retina Display.

The phone surrendered while playing 720p or 1080p videos and even a few AVI videos. It did not come as a surprise because of the low processing power of the phone. Applications like Angry Birds can be played conveniently on the phone but heavy applications are a no-go.

The 5-MP camera captures fair-quality photos and videos. The 4-GB built-in memory can be expanded to 32 GB via a micro-SD card. The 1230-mAh battery gave a standby time of approximately 110 hours on full-charge and lasted for about four hours while watching a video.

The Desire C runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS with Sense 4.0, offering full-featured customization ranging from wallpapers to widgets. The phone gives a speed of 7.2 Mbps on HSDPA and is available with two-years of free 25-GB Dropbox space with which one can access and share content directly from the gallery.

Other features include WiFI 802.11, Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP, and A-GPS support.

At approximately INR 14,000 (US$252.6), the Desire C appears a little expensive but, it can be a good option for a smartphone beginner as it nowhere compromises with quality. (See Smartphones: Hot Launches Of 2012, Smartphones To Drive Mobile TV Adoption and Smarter Apps For Your Smartphone.)

Tech Specs:

3.5-inch multi-touch capacitive display

600 MHz Qualcomm Inc. Snapdragon processor, 512 MB RAM

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS

WiFi 802.11, Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP

4 GB inbuilt memory expandable up to 32 GB

5-MP rear camera, 3.5-mm jack

Rimit Singh, Correspondent, Light Reading India