Taiwan-based HTC on Wednesday announced two variants of popular Android-based smartphones sold in the U.S. that are intended for the European and Asian markets. The Desire HD and Desire Z, available next month, are similar to HTC’s EVO, distributed by Sprint Nextel, and the HTC G2, distributed by T-Mobile.
Fast and Packed with Features
The Desire HD has a 4.3-inch LCD display, Dolby Mobile, and SRS virtual sound and is powered by the new one-gigahertz Qualcomm 8255 Snapdragon processor. It also features 720p high-definition video and includes an eight-megapixel camera with dual flash. It has a unibody design sculpted from a block of solid aluminum, a trend in electronics also used by Apple in its latest MacBooks.
The Desire Z, perhaps designed with younger consumers in mind, is being touted by HTC for making it “quick and easy to stay connected with friends on Facebook and Twitter or with colleagues and customers at work.” With a “pop hinge” that opens to reveal a QWERTY keyboard, the Desire Z also packs 720p HD video and a five-megapixel camera with automatic flash. The processor is also new, an 800-megahertz Qualcomm 7230.
Both phones are equipped with HTC’s Fast Boot, which allows a shorter power-up for making quick calls or checking e-mail.
The Desire Z will be available in North America as well as in Europe and Asia. HTC didn’t announce prices for the phones.
‘Leadership’ in Android
HTC’s announcement coincided with the Nokia World conference in London, at which the world’s biggest handset maker introduced new models.
A Gartner survey last month found Nokia losing global market share, while HTC made its debut in the research firm’s top 10 list of manufacturers at number eight, having doubled its volume of shipped units to 1.8 percent of the market.
“HTC was a non-branded player for many years, but only in…