While the local smartphone brands typically dominate the dual SIM market in the Philippines, international brands like HTC know enough not to ignore the popularity of dual SIM support. Every now and then, they release a gem of a dual SIM smartphone, and this time, it looks to be the HTC Desire 600. It isn’t just the specs that make this quad core baby stand out either. It even has quite a number of software features that have trickled down from the HTC so you can get close to the same experience without spending quite as much.
The HTC Desire 600 sports a 4.5 inch qHD (540 x 960) Super LCD2 screen with a pixel density of 245ppi. It’s not quite retina-level, but it’s sharp enough for most discerning users. Super LCD2 also has an advantage over regular IPS in that there’s no air-gap between the outer glass and the display element. This results in wider viewing angles and colors that are slightly more vivid. There’s also less glare, making it a better performer in the outdoors.
The HTC Desire 600 is powered by a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor coupled with Adreno 203 graphics and 1GB RAM, which is a great combination that delivers great performance at a lower cost than HTC’s beefier flagship. No, it’s not going to be anywhere near as fast as its flagship-class brethren, but it’s certainly not going to be a pushover. Navigating through the Desire 600’s Sense 5.5 UI was fast and fluid.
There should be no shortage of storage for most people too as it comes with 8GB of internal storage. Furthermore, it’s expandable via micro SD up to 64GB. It’s hard to imaging anyone running short on space for their media library with that much potential storage available.
For your imaging needs, the HTC Desire 600 sports an 8mp rear-facing camera with BSI sensor that should perform better than your typical smartphone camera in low light conditions. No, it’s not the UltraPixel Camera, but this is a midrange device we’re talking about. Anyway, the Desire 600’s camera functionality is enhanced thanks to HTC ImageSense and a feature-packed camera app.
As mentioned, the HTC Desire 600 has some carry over software tricks from the HTC One. My favorite is Blinkfeed, which is a Flipboard-style news aggregator that gives you quick access to all your favorite feeds directly from your home screen. And if HTC’s 1,400 content partners aren’t enough for you, you’re free to add feeds from your own favorite sites. Then there’s HTC BoomSound, which places the loudspeakers on the front, so there’s less sound wasted on the environment and more sound directed right at you. Finally, there’s Video Highlights, which takes a bunch of your stills and videos (no Zoe’s on the Desire 600) and stitches them into a cool, umm, video highlight.
If you’re looking for a more sensible phone, price-wise, that gives you almost all of the features that the HTC One has to offer, the HTC Desire 600 is a great choice. The Desire 600 offers a great user experience on a smaller screen without having to plunk down a couple of month’s worth of salary. Itching to buy one? The HTC Desire is already available in stores at an SRP of 18,990. You can also check out the rest of the HTC Desire 600 unboxing pics here 🙂
