HTC Desire 500

Available now
8th August 2013

HTC are busy filling in their range of "Desire" midrange Android phones, and the new HTC Desire 500 slots into the fairly wide gap between the Desire 200 and Desire 600 devices.

The 500 is a midrange Android phone with a 4.3" 480 x 800 pixel display, a 1.2GHz quad-core CPU with 1GB of RAM, an 8 megapixel primary camera with a dedicated imaging chip and a 1.6 megapixel camera on the front. The video capture resolution is only 720p rather than full HD, but that is certainly good enough for sharing. Internal flash storage is a measly 4GB, so you will need to add a microSD card.

This is a 3.5G capable device with WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, plus GPS and all the usual Android features. Inside is a modest 1800 mAh battery which is quoted as giving up to 12 hours talktime and 18 days standby time. The HTC Desire 500 weighs 123 grams and measures 132 x 67 x 9.9mm.

HTC haven't said what version of Android the Desire 500 runs, but it does come with HTC Sense and HTC's BlinkFeed on top. BlinkFeed is one of those love-it-or-hate-it things.. but overall HTC do a good job of giving Android a polish and adding some nice touches.

From what we have heard, the HTC Desire 500 should be hitting European markets this month in black and blue colour schemes. No word was given on price, but we would think that the Desire 500 should retail for somewhere in the region of €300 SIM-free.