HTC Desire 500 UK release date set for August

HTC has announced its latest mid-range smartphone, the Desire 500.

The 4.3in handset will include the company’s SenseUI 5 custom user interface on top of an undisclosed version of Android, but drops the Ultrapixel camera in favour of a more traditional 8-megapixel sensor.

The f/2.0 28mm lens is paired with HTC’s ImageChip picture processing, and the handset will also include a 1.6-megapixel front-facing webcam. Unsurprisingly for a mid-range device, the display is a WVGA 800×480 LCD model.

Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 quad-core processor running at 1.2GHz and 1GB of RAM, the Desire 500 is every bit the mid-range handset. It loses the all-aluminium construction of the HTC One and One Mini in favour of a more budget-friendly plastic chassis similar to that of last year’s One X. It will be available in two colours: lacquer black and glacier blue.

In a welcome change from the high-end One series, the Desire 500 will include a MicroSD card slot to expand the 4GB of internal memory by up to 64GB. Beats Audio remains, although there’s only one front-facing speaker, rather than BoomSound stereo speakers. Although they aren’t yet confirmed for the UK, HTC is also working on dual-SIM and NFC-equipped variants for “select markets”.

Due to go on sale in the UK by the end of August, HTC has yet to set a specific date or confirm pricing for the Desire 500. It was originally announced in Taiwan for NT$11,900, which converts to roughly £260 before taxes. As soon as the UK mobile networks announce whether they will be carrying the handset, we’ll let you know.