HTC Desire 516

Here's the new 5-inch HTC Desire 516

We’re not sure how HTC is choosing the names of its latest Desire smartphones, but, after the Desire 816, the company now wants to introduce a Desire 516. This 516 was approved by Chinese authorities today, and we managed to uncover the first photos of it.

Weighing 173 grams and measuring 140 x72 x 9.7 mm, the HTC Desire 516 sports a 5-inch display with 540 x 960 pixels. The model that’s been certified in China has TD-SCDMA connectivity, and is made for China Mobile. The handset runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean at the moment, and features a quad-core 1.3GHz CPU, 5MP rear camera with LED flash, VGA front-facing camera, and only 512MB of RAM.

Granted, the 516 doesn’t look as good as the Desire 816 or the Desire 610 (another new handset announced by HTC recently). But we assume it’s going to be a pretty cheap device.

HTC recently said that it wanted to concentrate on the mid-end and low-end markets this year, in addition to launching the All New One for customers in need of high-end smartphones. We’re expecting the Desire 516 to be part of the company’s global low-end line-up, but for now we can’t confirm that it will make it out of China. We’ll let you know when we have more details on this anyway.

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HTC Desire 516

Here's the new 5-inch HTC Desire 516

We’re not sure how HTC is choosing the names of its latest Desire smartphones, but, after the Desire 816, the company now wants to introduce a Desire 516. This 516 was approved by Chinese authorities today, and we managed to uncover the first photos of it.

Weighing 173 grams and measuring 140 x72 x 9.7 mm, the HTC Desire 516 sports a 5-inch display with 540 x 960 pixels. The model that’s been certified in China has TD-SCDMA connectivity, and is made for China Mobile. The handset runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean at the moment, and features a quad-core 1.3GHz CPU, 5MP rear camera with LED flash, VGA front-facing camera, and only 512MB of RAM.

Granted, the 516 doesn’t look as good as the Desire 816 or the Desire 610 (another new handset announced by HTC recently). But we assume it’s going to be a pretty cheap device.

HTC recently said that it wanted to concentrate on the mid-end and low-end markets this year, in addition to launching the All New One for customers in need of high-end smartphones. We’re expecting the Desire 516 to be part of the company’s global low-end line-up, but for now we can’t confirm that it will make it out of China. We’ll let you know when we have more details on this anyway.

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HTC Desire 310 hands on review

HTC Desire 310 with 4.5-inch display, 1.3 GHz quad-core processor officially announced

The HTC Desire 310, the company’s latest budget phone surfaced on the official website, back in January briefly. The Desire 310 with a model number 310w appeared on the company’s Chinese website recently It has a 4.5-inch (854 x 480 pixels) capacitive touch screen display, 1.3 GHz Quad-core processor and Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). It has a 5-megapixel rear camera without flash and a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera.

It has HTC BlinkFeed home screen and video highlights features. The Chinese variant for China Unicom had dual SIM support, but no sign of dual SIM support in the one.
HTC Desire 310 Specifications

• 4.5-inch (854 x 480 pixels) touch screen IPS display
• 1.3 GHz Quad-core Mediatek MT6582M processor
• Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
• 5MP rear camera with 1080p Full HD video recording
• 0.3MP (VGA) front-facing camera
• 11.25 mm thick and weighs 140 grams
• 3.5mm audio jack
• 512MB RAM, 4GB internal memory, 32GB expandable memory with MicroSD
• 3G (HSDPA: 21 Mbps, HSUPA: 5.76 Mbps), WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX, GPS, MHL
• 2000 mAh battery

The HTC Desire 310 comes in Blue, White and Red colors and would go on sale in Taiwan starting in April. No word on pricing yet.

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HTC Desire 310 hands on review

HTC Desire 310 with 4.5-inch display, 1.3 GHz quad-core processor officially announced

The HTC Desire 310, the company’s latest budget phone surfaced on the official website, back in January briefly. The Desire 310 with a model number 310w appeared on the company’s Chinese website recently It has a 4.5-inch (854 x 480 pixels) capacitive touch screen display, 1.3 GHz Quad-core processor and Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). It has a 5-megapixel rear camera without flash and a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera.

It has HTC BlinkFeed home screen and video highlights features. The Chinese variant for China Unicom had dual SIM support, but no sign of dual SIM support in the one.
HTC Desire 310 Specifications

• 4.5-inch (854 x 480 pixels) touch screen IPS display
• 1.3 GHz Quad-core Mediatek MT6582M processor
• Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
• 5MP rear camera with 1080p Full HD video recording
• 0.3MP (VGA) front-facing camera
• 11.25 mm thick and weighs 140 grams
• 3.5mm audio jack
• 512MB RAM, 4GB internal memory, 32GB expandable memory with MicroSD
• 3G (HSDPA: 21 Mbps, HSUPA: 5.76 Mbps), WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX, GPS, MHL
• 2000 mAh battery

The HTC Desire 310 comes in Blue, White and Red colors and would go on sale in Taiwan starting in April. No word on pricing yet.

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HTC Desire 500 full review

Desire has long been the signature of the company's tier-2 lineup. With past offerings varying from capable midrangers all the way down to entry level, going for a smartphone bearing the Desire moniker has largely been a hit-or-miss affair.
The Desire 500 is HTC's latest attempt to ride the middle road between features and price, and it is the modern day equivalent of the HTC Desire X released late last year. The other way to look at it is as the more affordable alternative of the Desire 600 dual SIM, which we reviewed a while ago. That said, the one we're dealing with is the single-SIM flavor of the HTC Desire 500, but there is a dial SIM variant, too.

HTC Desire 500 official images
Although you won't find some of the latest bells and whistles on the Desire 500 - like an IR-port or a 1080p display - what you will get is solid quad-core performance alongside the company's latest Sense UI 5.0. Here's a quick rundown of the device's key strengths and most notable weaknesses:

Key features

• Quad-band 2G and dual-band 3G support
• 4.3" 480 x 800 pixel TFT capacitive touchscreen with 217ppi
• Android OS v4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Sense UI 5.0
• Qualcomm MSM 8225Q Snapdragon 200: quad-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A5, 1 GB RAM, Adreno 203 GPU
• 8 MP autofocus camera with 1/3.2" sensor size, 1.4µm pixel size; LED flash
• 720p video recording @ 24fps with stereo audio, slow-motion video
• 1.6MP front-facing camera, 720p video recording
• Wi-Fi b/g/n, DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS
• 4GB of built-in storage
• microSD card slot
• Bluetooth v4.0
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• FM Radio

Main disadvantages

• WVGA screen resolution
• Not the most powerful of chipsets
• Disappointing stills and video, no Full HD video recording
• No active noise cancellation for voicecalls
• Poor video codec support out of the box
• Limited inbuilt storage, only 1GB available to the user

The Desire 500 may not be a sports car, but the quad-core 1.2GHz processor would mean it should be a nice cruiser - and most people are after that in a midranger. The display resolution is not up there with the best on the positive side, the graphical sub-system doesn't have to draw as many pixels on the screen so this may even help with performance. Also impressive on paper are the camera capabilities, which despite not being able to handle 1080p, include 720p and slow-motion videos. As an added bonus the front-facing camera shoots in 720p as well.

HTC Desire 500 live photos

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HTC Desire 500 full review

Desire has long been the signature of the company's tier-2 lineup. With past offerings varying from capable midrangers all the way down to entry level, going for a smartphone bearing the Desire moniker has largely been a hit-or-miss affair.
The Desire 500 is HTC's latest attempt to ride the middle road between features and price, and it is the modern day equivalent of the HTC Desire X released late last year. The other way to look at it is as the more affordable alternative of the Desire 600 dual SIM, which we reviewed a while ago. That said, the one we're dealing with is the single-SIM flavor of the HTC Desire 500, but there is a dial SIM variant, too.

HTC Desire 500 official images
Although you won't find some of the latest bells and whistles on the Desire 500 - like an IR-port or a 1080p display - what you will get is solid quad-core performance alongside the company's latest Sense UI 5.0. Here's a quick rundown of the device's key strengths and most notable weaknesses:

Key features

• Quad-band 2G and dual-band 3G support
• 4.3" 480 x 800 pixel TFT capacitive touchscreen with 217ppi
• Android OS v4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Sense UI 5.0
• Qualcomm MSM 8225Q Snapdragon 200: quad-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A5, 1 GB RAM, Adreno 203 GPU
• 8 MP autofocus camera with 1/3.2" sensor size, 1.4µm pixel size; LED flash
• 720p video recording @ 24fps with stereo audio, slow-motion video
• 1.6MP front-facing camera, 720p video recording
• Wi-Fi b/g/n, DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS
• 4GB of built-in storage
• microSD card slot
• Bluetooth v4.0
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• FM Radio

Main disadvantages

• WVGA screen resolution
• Not the most powerful of chipsets
• Disappointing stills and video, no Full HD video recording
• No active noise cancellation for voicecalls
• Poor video codec support out of the box
• Limited inbuilt storage, only 1GB available to the user

The Desire 500 may not be a sports car, but the quad-core 1.2GHz processor would mean it should be a nice cruiser - and most people are after that in a midranger. The display resolution is not up there with the best on the positive side, the graphical sub-system doesn't have to draw as many pixels on the screen so this may even help with performance. Also impressive on paper are the camera capabilities, which despite not being able to handle 1080p, include 720p and slow-motion videos. As an added bonus the front-facing camera shoots in 720p as well.

HTC Desire 500 live photos

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HTC One Max full review

The Samsung Galaxy Note may have started the phablet craze, but history won't count for much when the Note 3 faces the HTC One Max. The Max takes the lauded HTC One design and build and trumps the Note 3 in terms of screen size. This fight though is about more than sheer size.

When we compared the Galaxy S4 vs. HTC One we noted that the looks and build quality of the One are miles ahead of the Galaxy S4, while Samsung balanced that out with better specs.

On the phablet playground, both companies worked on areas, which needed improvement - it's the HTC that has the bigger screen this time around, but the Galaxy Note 3 caught up in terms of looks. In case you're not closely familiar with the specs of the two phablets, here's a quick recap of where each device bests the other.

HTC One Max over Galaxy Note 3

• Bigger screen - 5.9" vs. 5.7"
• LCD screen is brighter, with great contrast
• Front-facing stereo BoomSound speakers
• Aluminum exterior
• Fingerprint sensor
• Better audio quality
• FM radio

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 over One Max

• S Pen stylus with many clever applications
• Faster chipset - Snapdragon 800 vs. 600 (Exynos 5 Octa version available too)
• 3GB RAM over 2GB
• Lighter - 168g vs. 217g
• More compact - 151.2 x 79.2 x 8.3mm vs. 164.5 x 82.5 x 10.3mm
• 13MP still camera over 4MP camera with, no OIS on either of them
• 2160p @ 30fps and 1080 @ 60fps video capture over 1080 @ 30fps
• USB 3.0 over USB 2.0
• Removable battery

We'll break down these advantages and cover them in more detail later on, but one thing is clear from the get go. The HTC One Max is basically an enlarged One, while the Galaxy Note 3 is a device from a separate line and has a number of significant advantages over its Galaxy S4 sibling.

HTC One Max faces off against the Samsung Galaxy Note 3
HTC did improve a bit on the basic One design with a fingerprint sensor and a microSD card slot, but the camera OIS got lost along the way. Is that enough to stop Samsung's freight train of features?
We'll know for sure when all the rounds of this heavyweight boxing match are over and the hits are counted. It all starts with design and handling - jump over the next page to see if the big-boned beauty with pedigree can score the first hit against the leather-bound late bloomer

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HTC One Max full review

The Samsung Galaxy Note may have started the phablet craze, but history won't count for much when the Note 3 faces the HTC One Max. The Max takes the lauded HTC One design and build and trumps the Note 3 in terms of screen size. This fight though is about more than sheer size.

When we compared the Galaxy S4 vs. HTC One we noted that the looks and build quality of the One are miles ahead of the Galaxy S4, while Samsung balanced that out with better specs.

On the phablet playground, both companies worked on areas, which needed improvement - it's the HTC that has the bigger screen this time around, but the Galaxy Note 3 caught up in terms of looks. In case you're not closely familiar with the specs of the two phablets, here's a quick recap of where each device bests the other.

HTC One Max over Galaxy Note 3

• Bigger screen - 5.9" vs. 5.7"
• LCD screen is brighter, with great contrast
• Front-facing stereo BoomSound speakers
• Aluminum exterior
• Fingerprint sensor
• Better audio quality
• FM radio

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 over One Max

• S Pen stylus with many clever applications
• Faster chipset - Snapdragon 800 vs. 600 (Exynos 5 Octa version available too)
• 3GB RAM over 2GB
• Lighter - 168g vs. 217g
• More compact - 151.2 x 79.2 x 8.3mm vs. 164.5 x 82.5 x 10.3mm
• 13MP still camera over 4MP camera with, no OIS on either of them
• 2160p @ 30fps and 1080 @ 60fps video capture over 1080 @ 30fps
• USB 3.0 over USB 2.0
• Removable battery

We'll break down these advantages and cover them in more detail later on, but one thing is clear from the get go. The HTC One Max is basically an enlarged One, while the Galaxy Note 3 is a device from a separate line and has a number of significant advantages over its Galaxy S4 sibling.

HTC One Max faces off against the Samsung Galaxy Note 3
HTC did improve a bit on the basic One design with a fingerprint sensor and a microSD card slot, but the camera OIS got lost along the way. Is that enough to stop Samsung's freight train of features?
We'll know for sure when all the rounds of this heavyweight boxing match are over and the hits are counted. It all starts with design and handling - jump over the next page to see if the big-boned beauty with pedigree can score the first hit against the leather-bound late bloomer

Read More