The smartphone topped 450,000 pre-orders in China in three days

Mar 11, 2014 23:51 GMT  ·  By

At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last month, Taiwanese mobile phone maker HTC Corporation unveiled to the world a new mid-range smartphone, namely the Desire 816, and demand for the device is already said to be high.

The handset will become available for purchase in China in the coming weeks, and it has already gone up for pre-order in the country, with over 450,000 people already said to have reserved it, FocusTaiwan reports, citing Apple Daily.

Apparently, HTC has reached said number of pre-orders in the first three days since starting offering the device in the country, which suggests that it might see even more of them in the not too distant future.

HTC Desire 816 was announced at the MWC with a large 5.5-inch touchscreen display, and will hit shelves as the company’s flagship mid-range device.

The handset comes with a quad-core processor inside, 1.5GB of RAM, 8GB of internal memory, and a microSD memory card slot. Moreover, it features a 13-megapixel camera on the back, and a 5MP front camera.

Desire 816 was also launched with 4G LTE connectivity inside, 3g, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and built-in GPS receiver. With LTE networks picking up Steam in China at the moment, it’s no surprise that the phone has seen great pre-orders right from the start.

Following said increased interest in the smartphone, HTC’s shares are said to have increased 3.91 percent, which spells good news for the troubled mobile phone maker.

"I think HTC is moving in the right direction by targeting the middle range smartphone market, in particular in China, to offset the impact of fiercer than ever competition in the high-end market," Asia Securities Investment Consultant analyst Chang Chih-cheng said, Focus Taiwan claims.

HTC Desire 816
HTC Desire 816
"Many investors are anticipating that HTC could benefit from the China market to boost its sales in March, helping the company achieve its sales guidance for the first quarter of this year. It was no surprise that HTC shares staged a strong rebound today,” Chang also said.

HTC has seen lower than expected sales in the past several months, including January and February this year. The company is expected to sell between 16 and 21 percent less devices in Q1 2014 when compared to the fourth quarter of the last year.

However, despite weak sales in the first two months of the year, HTC might actually experience an increase in shipments in March, courtesy of Desire 816.

At the same time, HTC might see an increase in sales staring with the end of this month as well, after it makes official its next flagship smartphone, supposedly called “All New HTC One.” The phone is expected to resemble the HTC One, but to pack a variety of enhancements, including a larger screen.

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HTC Desire 816
HTC Desire 816
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