Quad-Core HTC Desire 500 Targets Mid-Range Smartphone Market

HTC’s attempts to engineer a recovery have shifted towards the mid-range smartphone market with the announcement of the HTC Desire 500.

The 4.3-inch Android handset is designed “for those who demand a superior mobile experience at an affordable price,” says HTC, without revealing just how affordable this price will be when it reaches the UK in August in Lacquer Black and Glacier Blue varieties.

Powered by a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor and 1GB of RAM, the Desire 500 promises high-speed multitasking, fast web browsing and graphic intense gaming, while 8 megapixel and 1.2 megapixel rear and front cameras feature a range of filters and imaging innovations.

HTC Desire 500

Also on board is the HTC BlinkFeed feature that debuted with the HTC One and aggregates content such as calendar events, social updates and news articles from a variety of sources on the user’s home screen.

The HTC Desire 500’s 4GB of storage can be supplemented by up to 64GB through a MicroSD card slot and will include dual SIM support and Near Field Communication (NFC) in certain markets.

“The Desire range has become renowned for bringing a premium mobile experience to the mass market.” commented Peter Chou, CEO of HTC “This particular model, the Desire 500, is no different. It is perfect for people who are always-on-the-go, it enables powerful multitasking and live-streaming of important and interesting information, and it boasts an excellent camera and that bring your important moments to life.”

HTC will hope the mid-range will bring more joy to the company than the high-end smartphone market has in recent times.

The HTC One has been well received by critics and consumers, while the company has just released a smaller version of the smartphone, the HTC One Mini. However this acclaim has not translated to financial success, with profits down by 83 percent year-on-year. This was a huge blow for HTC, which had pinned its hopes on the smartphone.

The company has warned it could post the first loss in its history during the third quarter of 2013, while several key executives have departed in recent months.

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