Taiwanese giant HTC has lately been trying its best to compete with other smartphone manufacturers and the company went on to launch the HTC One which recieved some rave reviews from almost everyone including us. But the One being the flagship device and carrying a hefty price tag, the company revamped its Desire range of smartphones for the budget and the mid-range devices. And it recently launched the HTC Desire 600 Dual SIM in India which is priced at around Rs.26,000 but is it worth the price? Read on to know.
The HTC Desire 600 Dual which we received was a test device and not a retail one so we just received the HTC Desire 600 Dual along with the battery, charger and the USB cable. Let us first look at the specifications of the device which are as follows:
- 4.5 inch display
- 960 x 540 pixels resolution
- 1.2 GHz quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 MSM8625Q processor
- 1 GB RAM
- 8 GB internal memory
- 8 MP primary camera
- 1.6 MP front facing camera
- Google Android v4.1 Jelly Bean
- HTC Sense 5 UI
- HTC BlinkFeed, HTC BoomSound, Beats Audio
- 1860 mAh battery (Li-Poly)
Hardware:
The HTC Desire 600 Dual carries a 4.5 inch Super LCD 2 display which is just a treat to use. Above the display you will find the 2 MP front camera which can be used to video calls and chats while it is also capable of recording videos at 720p. Hidden next to it are the proximity and ambient light sensor. And just above it, you will notice the earpiece and the front facing HTC BoomSound speaker.
Underneath the display, HTC has made available two capacitive buttons which are the Home and back buttons. Double clicking on the Home button will open up the menu where you can find all the apps which are open. On the centre we can find the logo of HTC and just below it we can find the second HTC BoomSound speaker.
On the top we can find the Power/Lock-Unlock button and next to it is the 3.5mm audio jack.
On the right, HTC has placed the Volume rockers while a dedicated camera button has been given a miss.
At the bottom of the HTC Desire 600 Dual, we can find the microUSB port along with the microphone. HTC has kept the left of the device plain.
On the back of the device, we can find the 8 MP Autofocus camera with LED Flash. The back panel is made up of plastic which is sturdy but could still feel cheap but I personally loved the rugged finish of the back panel. We can also find the HTC Logo on the panel with the Beats Audio branding at the bottom of the Desire 600.
The build quality of the HTC Desire 600 Dual is great and the device feels strong. The device is slim and really is a treat to hold the smartphone and with the edges sharply rounded, the device has been designed and executed nicely. The phone is relatively thin at 9.3mm and light as it weighs just 130 grams.
Display:
The HTC Desire 600 Dual has a 4.5 inch Super LCD 2 display with a resolution of which is bright and produces some crisp viewing experience. Using the device in well lit areas is a treat but once you step out in bright sunlight, you will feel the pain and struggle using the device even when the brightness is full. Overall the display is good.
OS and UI:
The device runs on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean OS which is now old but given that HTC has packed in HTC Sense 5.0 is just great. This was my first experience with HTC Sense and have heard how bad the previous version of the UI were but HTC Sense 5.0 is just worth every second and calls for your attention. The first thing which you will use on the device is the HTC BlinkFeed which brings all the feeds from your social networking sites, news from around the world and other sources onto your homepage and keeps you in-sync with everything that is happening. On the homescreen you will always find a big clock on the top with your current location and the temperature of the place. At the bottom, you will find 5 icons by default which are Call, Messages, Internet/Browser and the Camera.
You can swipe from right to left and find the shortcuts to the apps which you have on your device and this is like Home on any other device. Click on the Menu button and you are displayed all the apps which are installed on the device. Swipe to the bottom for more apps. HTC Sense 5.0 has been worked upon from the scratch and kudos to HTC for finally getting the UI and UX right, at least better than the HTC Sense 4.
Camera:
Which there has been a lot of talking about HTC’s UltraPixel camera, the company has skipped it and included an 8 MP Autofocus camera on the Desire 600 Dual with a BSI Sensor and LED Flash. The sensor takes care of users capturing some decent low light images and images turn out to be nice in normal conditions.
We were impressed with the camera of the HTC Desire 600 Dual especially the Macro shots and the HDR mode was great. Catch the camera samples below.
Macro Mode
Normal mode
HDR Mode
HTC BoomSound and Beats Audio:
HTC has included two front facing BoomSound speakers on the Desire 600 Dual which are just an icing on the cake. The music-listening experience using the speakers is nice and when coupled with the Beats Audio enhancement, it is another plus. We didn’t receive the headphones with the review device so cannot comment on how the enhancement is when you have headphones on but we expect it to be great too.
Battery:
The device is powered by a 1860 mAh battery which is enough to keep the smartphone running for one full day on a single charge. On just Wi-Fi usage and no SIM card in the device, the battery lasted for almost 2 days including the standby time. Once you put in a SIM card and with a good number of calls and SMSes and Social Networking, the phone lasted for about 13 hours.
Conclusion:
While HTC has tried its best to pack all its ‘best’ features into the HTC Desire 600 Dual, the company has missed on the pricing strategy the asking price of Rs.26,000 for the 600 dual is high. Users can buy the LG Nexus 4 for a cheaper price tag. But if you are one of those who wishes to stand out with the design, HTC BoomSound and the Blinkfeed, the HTC Desire 600 Dual is a good buy.
Pros:
Sleek body
Camera
UI and UX
Cons:
Price
Plastic body
