14 DAY TRIAL // HTC has just introduced its two mid-range smartphones Desire 816 and Desire 610 in Taiwan. Customers in the company’s native country will be able to pick any of the two smartphones in the next couple of days either on contract or outright.
According to Digitimes, the Desire 816 has been priced at NT$9,990 ($330 / €240) outright, whereas HTC Desire 610 will be available for purchase for only NT$7,990 ($265 / €190) upfront.
However, customers who can’t afford paying the outright price will be given the opportunity to grab the Desire 816 or Desire 610 through any of the major carriers in the country, including Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, Far EasTone Telecommunications, Vibo Telecom and Asia Pacific Telecom.
No word on pricing options, but each carrier is likely to personalize its own offer for these mid-range Android smartphones, so you may want to check with your preferred operator.
During the launch event, HTC China and North Asia General Manager Jack Tong said that on the Taiwan market, mid-range smartphones priced at NT$8,000-14,000 account for about 10%, and his company aims to capture 40% of the market share in this segment.
That is a bold statement, but given the huge demand that the Desire 816 has been met with in most countries where it was released, we have no doubt that HTC will manage to sell lots of these handsets in Taiwan as well.
Those who wish to purchase one of the two smartphones recently introduced by HTC in Taiwan, but are still undecided, may want to know the main differences that set them apart.
It is also worth mentioning that the Desire 816 is equipped with a 1.6GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, whereas the Desire 610 only packs a 1.2GHz quad-core CPU.
When it comes to memory, the former features 8GB of storage and 1.5GB of RAM, while the latter comes with 8GB of internal memory and only 1GB of RAM.
Both smartphones include microSD card slot for memory expansion, as well as dual cameras. However, HTC Desire 816 boasts an impressive 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus, LED flash and full HD (1080p) video recording, along with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.
HTC Desire 610 packs a no less impressive 8-megapixel photo snapper and a 1.3-megapixel secondary camera. Last but not least, the Super LCD2 display of the Desire 816 is about 5.5 inches and supports HD (720p) resolution, while the Desire 610 sports a much smaller 4.7-inch display with qHD resolution.