14 DAY TRIAL // It appears that HTC Merge has yet to be picked by a US-based major carrier, as the device is only retailed by smaller or regional carriers such as U.S. Cellular, Alltel and Cellular South.
Verizon was on track to release the HTC Merge,but at some point the carrier dropped the handset for unknown reasons.
However, things are not that bad with the phone, as carriers, more or less important, continue to pick it.
The last on the list is Wisconsin-based carrier Cellcom, which is now offering the HTC Merge for as low as $149.95 with a new two-year agreement or $379 off-contract.
The premium-looking HTC Merge is powered by Google's Android 2.2 (Froyo) platform and features a 3.8-inch capacitive touch screen.
Equipped with a single core Qualcomm MSM7630 processor clocked at 800 MHz, HTC Merge comes with full support for Adobe Flash 10.3 and the full suite of Google services, including Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube and Google Talk.
Beside its full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, the Merge offers users World phone capabilities, a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, as well as 720p HD video capture capabilities.
The intuitive HTC Sense user interface adds important enhancements that allows users to create and design their own mobile experience.
With HTC’s Friend Stream, users will be able to organize their communication by individual, combining each person’s email, text, Facebook and more into a flow of updates.
The HTC Merge also comes with integrated GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, DLNA function, and Stereo FM radio with RDS.
The phone packs 2 GB of internal memory, 512 MB of RAM, as well as microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 32GB).
HTC Merge is powered by a standard 1400 mAh Li-Ion battery that should provide up to 330 hours of standby time or up to 6 hours and 30 minutes of talk time.