HTC unveiled this mid-ranged device a few days back for the Asian market. The Desire 300 is expected to compete with a range of budget devices from domestic and Chinese manufactures all around the globe. The device comes with a rather small screen by today’s standards, but that is what makes it a mid-ranger.
We still await the pricing details of this device, but taking a glance over the specifications, we are made to believe that the device will be similar to the HTC Desire X that was launched a few months back. This means, apart from the competitors from the domestic and Chinese manufacturers, the Desire 300 will have a competitor from their own stable.
Camera and Internal Storage
As you would’ve expected, the phone comes with a 5MP main camera. This unit sits at the rear of the device, and can take pictures up to 2592х1944 pixels in resolution. However, the phone does not feature LED flash, which pretty much will render the camera useless during low light situations.
The front of the device comes with a VGA unit to aid you in video calling. You can expect this unit to suffice during day time, when there is enough light. Some problems like low frame rate might be encountered during low light situations.
Although the price of this device is not let out yet, we believe it will cost about 13-14,000 INR. At that price, most domestic manufacturers offer quad core devices with 8-13MP cameras.
On the storage front, the Desire 300 packs 4GB of ROM which is what we expected in a device like this. The storage can be expanded up to 32GB using a microSD card.
Processor and Battery
The device will come with a dual core 1 GHz processor based on the Cortex A5 platform. The chipset used is the Qualcomm MSM8225 which houses a dual core Snapdragon S4 Play processor. Although the processor isn’t the best in the market, you can expect the device to come good when it comes to daily tasks such as email, IM, etc.
Gaming on this device wouldn’t be recommended, especially when we’re talking of the latest graphic intensive games. Games like Angry Birds, Bad Piggies, Temple Run might just run fine but do not expect the device to provide you with a lag-free experience of NOVA 3. The phone will have 512MB of RAM to accompany the dual core processor, which fits in well with the device. The Desire X on the other hand comes with 768MB of RAM which puts it a bit ahead of the Desire 300.
The phone will come with a rather disappointing battery of 1650mAh which will probably have a hard time taking you through one whole day of usage. However, the phone has a small screen with a mediocre resolution, the outcome will be interesting to note.
Display and Features
The Desire 300 will come with a 4.3 inch screen, which, as mentioned previously, is among the smaller screen sizes seen in the market today. The panel will feature a resolution of 800×480 pixels which returns a not so good pixel density of 216 PPI. This means that the phone will not be the best device for multimedia and gaming.
However, the low resolution will mean that the GPU of the device isn’t put under extreme pressure; which, in turn, will mean a faster and snappy UI. However, this might be affected by low RAM availability.
The phone will come pre-installed with Android v4.2.2 which is pretty impressive. Of course, HTC’s Sense UI will be overliad on the stock Android OS for a better look and feel, like most other HTC devices in the market. Android v4.2 comes with battery optimizations, which will help optimize the most out of the 1650mAh battery.
Looks and Connectivity
The phone has a trademark HTC look to it. Meaning, even without knowing what device it is, it is possible to tell that it comes from the house of HTC. Although there is nothing unique, the phone does look good and would be able to compete with other similar devices. HTC phones traditionally come with a better build when compared to other manufacturers, the same can be expected with this one too.
The connectivity features of this device include 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth v4.0, WiFi hotspot, etc.
comparison
The phone will be expected to compete with many domestic phones like the XOLO Play, Lava Iris 504q, Samsung Galaxy S Advance, and a host of other quad core devices.
Since the pricing and availability of this device isn’t confirmed yet, we can’t really do a head-on comparison. Once HTC reveals pricing details, we’ll be able to list many other competitors.
Key Specs
| Model | HTC Desire 300 |
| Display | 4.3 inches WVGA 800×480 |
| Processor | 1 GHz dual core |
| RAM, ROM | 512MB RAM, 4GB ROM expandable by up to 32GB |
| OS | Android v4.2.2 |
| Cameras | 5 MP rear, VGA front |
| Battery | 1650 mAh |
| Price | To be announced |
Conclusion
The phone does sound like an average device, but good quality components are what might distinguish this device from other domestic and Chinese products. On the other hand, many buyers might feel the need for more RAM and a more powerful processor, which might make them think twice. HTC could’ve generated more interest in the device by including 768MB or 1GB of RAM.
Nonetheless, aggressive pricing is what is needed now; India is a country where the price is the first thing the buyer sees. If the device is priced around the 10k INR mark, it is bound to do well.
