HTC announces the Desire 610 for Australia

HTC has announced a new low-end phone for the Australian market, and better yet, it’s designed to take maximum advantage of the newly emerging 700MHz 4G LTE networks, especially Telstra’s which is being touted as a launch partner.

The HTC Desire 610 doesn’t appear to be a lightweight though; it incorporates features such as a bright 4.7″ screen, Blinkfeed, and HTC’s BoomSound as well. HTC’s Country Manager, Ben Hodgson, told Ausdroid:

Our Desire range presents unparalleled value for customers who want a best in class 4G smartphone, with no compromise on quality, at an affordable price. We have worked closely with Telstra again to ensure the HTC Desire 610 supports Telstra’s ultra-fast 700MHz network band which will allow people to stay connected deeper in buildings or on the edge of the network in rural areas.

Inside the Desire 610 can be found a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, 1.2GHz quad-core CPU, so there’s not any lacking of power here. This is the same CPU found in a range of other mid-range devices, such as the Moto G, as well as much of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 4 range.

We’re also seeing 1GB of RAM with 8GB of storage (though available capacity will be slightly less). All the other usual inclusions are there, but in terms of cameras at least, there’s an 8MP shooter on the back, and a 1.3MP front-facing camera as well.

Battery power is provided by a 2040mAh LiPo unit. All up, this seems to be a fairly powerful, mid-range handset which will sip power, with a (relatively) large battery included; the Desire 610 should easily last out a day or two, with HTC quoting standby times at up to 650 hours, and 15.8 hours talk time.

Available today from Telstra for $312 outright, or on a range of plans from $55 and up with no handset repayments, the Desire 610 looks like a great little unit. If we can get our hands on one, we’ll review it for sure.