This is the first Desire we've had since
last year's S. The design is similar, yet shrunken down and more akin to the
new One S.
It’s pebble-like in shape and feel, fitting
nicely in the hand - it’s little bigger than a credit card, at 60 x 107 mm.
It’s chubbier at 12.5 mm thick, but doesn't seem overly stout. The Desire C
weighs just 100g.
We like the simple and elegant design,
which is available in black or white. It's made entirely from plastic, although
its budget build isn’t immediately obvious. The smooth matt finish is nice, and
the removable rear cover isn’t overly thin. There is some creak as you squeeze
the phone, though.
The Desire C doesn't boast sock-blowing
specs. It's powered by a single-core 600MHz processor and 512MB of memory. In
the Geekbench 2 test the phone averaged a meagre 333 points.
Moving between Home screens is smooth, as
is navigating the app and Settings menus. The Desire C does lag somewhat,
although web browsing is surprisingly smooth.
Onboard storage is limited to 4GB, but
there's a micro SD slot for expansion. HTC also offers 25GB of storage at
Dropbox for two years.
The 3.5in screen is the same size as that
of the iPhone 4S, but with lower resolution - just 480x320. The screen doesn't
look awful, but it's far from detailed, with fuzziness edging screen text and
images.
Connectivity is basic, stretching to a
3.5mm headset jack, Micro-USB, 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. Near-field
communications (NFC) is a surprising addition.
There’s a lonely rear-facing 5Mp camera,
with which we took some reasonable-looking snaps. Video is recorded at just 640
x 480.
Google Android 4.0.3 and HTC Sense 4.0 make
up the interface. HTC has done a good job blending the two. There are plenty of
widgets to customise the Home screen, while the lock screen can display
information and four app shortcuts.
Smartphone battery life tends to fit into
one of two categories: one-or two-day. HTC fits only a 4.6Wh battery, but it
lasted 48 hours before dropping below the 10 percent mark.
Verdict
The HTC Desire C is a budget Android
handset with a nice design that would make a good first smartphone. It doesn’t
have any outstanding features, save for the price. If you won't use NFC,
consider paying an extra $31.22 for the One V, which has a superior screen and
better performance.
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Information
Price: $281
Contact: htc.com/europe
Read more: tinyurl.com/cs948oc
Specification
600MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon (single-core);
3.5in (320 x 480.165ppi) LCD; Google Android 4.0.3; 512MB memory; 4GB storage;
microSD slot; 802.11b/g/n; Bluetooth 4.0; GSM/GPRS/EDGE
850/900/1,800/1,900MHz, HSDPA/WCDMA 900/2,100MHz; A-GPS; 5Mp camera; 640 x 480
video; Micro-USB; NFC; 4.6Wh, removable battery; 60 x 107 x 12.5 mm; 100 g
PC Advisor Gold
Build: 6/10
Features: 6/10
Performance: 6/10
Value: 8/10
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