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HTC Desire C review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £150
inc VAT

A classy design and Android 4, but the screen and processor disappoint

Specifications

Android 4.0, 3.5in 320×480 display

http://www.three.co.uk

HTC currently makes some of the most desirable-looking handsets around, notably all three smartphones in its One range – the HTC One X, HTC One S and HTC One V are all stunners. It wasn’t a surprise then when the less expensive HTC Desire C followed the trend, though we were impressed to find Android 4.0 running on it.

HTC Desire C
It looks pretty smart for a budget smartphone

At £150 on pay-as-you-go, the Desire C is a budget handset, though still a step up in price from the real cheap end of the market, and it looks it. The back plate, has a silky smooth finish. This blends almost seamlessly with the silver screen surround, and HTC is obviously trying to mimic to polycarbonate unibody designs seen in its more expensive models – and with some success.

HTC Desire C
It’s smooth finish and rounded edges makes the Desire C a pleasure to hold

The Desire brand was once used as HTC’s flagship, but those days are certainly gone now. The Desire C uses only a single-core processor and that only runs at a timid 600MHz. It has 512MB of RAM and only 4GB of internal storage. This makes browsing pretty sluggish and many games run at a crawl, as does Google Maps.

There’s little in the way of extras either, with no HDMI output and no flash for the five-megapixel camera. None of these are a disaster on a budget handset, but a big disappointment is the measly 320×480 screen resolution. This makes everything on the 3.5in screen look soft at best, and blurry at worst. Small text, which would be readable on many handsets, is rendered an undecipherable mush. The screen isn’t particularly bright either and colours don’t look as vibrant as we’d like.

HTC Desire C
With the SIM and microSD slots tucked inside, there’s little to see except the USB port

The three touch-sensitive buttons below the screen hint at the Desire C’s saving grace. This is the first budget smartphone we’ve seen to come with Google’s current operating system: Android 4.0. This is a huge plus over other models, with everything running smoother than it has any right to with such a slow processor. Android 4.0 provides numerous extras, such as easier application switching, and the option to jump straight from the lock screen to common apps, such as the camera.

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Details

Price£150
Rating***

Hardware

Main display size3.5in
Native resolution320×480
CCD effective megapixels5-megapixel
ConnectivityN/A
GPSyes
Internal memory4096MB
Memory card supportmicroSD
Memory card includedN/A
Operating frequenciesGSM 850/900/1800/1900, 3G 900/2100
Wireless dataGPRS, EDGE, 3G, HSDPA
Size107x61x12.3
Weight100g

Features

Operating systemAndroid 4.0
Microsoft Office compatibilityN/A
FM Radiono
Accessoriesheadphones, USB charger
Talk timeN/A
Standby timeN/A
Tested battery life (MP3 playback)10h 7m

Buying Information

SIM-free price£150
Price on contract£13 per month contract
Prepay price£150
SIM-free supplierwww.three.co.uk/Store
Contract/prepay supplierwww.three.co.uk/Store
Detailswww.htc.com

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