Camera and internal storage
The Desire 816 has an impressive 13 MP normal camera in the rear, instead of the UltraPixel Camera it uses in the HTC ‘One’ series. The camera is decent enough and takes good pictures in sunlight. The front facing camera is a 5 MP shooter which is comparatively very high resolution and thus somewhat surprising for a major brand. The device has an internal storage of 8 GB, which can be considered to be on the lower side. However, the device also holds a microSD card slot, providing external storage up to 128 GB just as seen on the newly launched Samsung Galaxy S5 instead of the popular 64 GB limit.
Processor and battery
The device comes with a quad core Qualcomm MSM8928 Snapdragon 400 processor clocked at 1.6 GHz and an Adreno 305 GPU. This solid hardware configuration is further enhanced by 1.5 GB of RAM. The UI is therefore fast and without any visible lags. The HTC Desire 816 also sports a non-removable 2600mAh battery and and HTC claims this will offer 21 hours of talk time and 737 hours of standby time on 3G, which seems decent enough.
Display and features
The device offers a phablet-sized 5.5 inch display at a 720p resolution – resulting in a pixel density of 267 pixels per inch – which might not be perfect but is fitting for a mid-range device. While users may be disappointed due to the missing 1020p resolution, the HD display does provide good color reproduction and clear images, and there are no major angle issues. The Desire 816 is being launched with the HTC Sense 5.5 UI. Also equipped are the same extremely capable BoomSound speakers as the HTC One, provided at a cheaper price. The device has a very attractive, glossy look and a premium, striking design, which gives the Desire 816 an unexpectedly good plastic feel. The device also has the distinction of being one of the very first HTC phones to be launched with a nano SIM card slot.
Comparison
At the price range the HTC Desire 816 is being launched, the direct competitors of this device are expected to be the Moto X, Sony Xperia T2 Ultra, Lenovo Ideaphone S920 (8 GB), Nokia Lumia 1320, Hp Slate 6 etc.
Key Specs
Price and Conclusion
The HTC Desire 816 will become available at a highly competitive price of Rs.23390. While it is yet to be seen whether the price tag is justified by the actual everyday performance of this device, the hardware specs by themselves will attract customers to the device. While the build of the phablet doesn’t look cheap at all, customers might be dissuaded by the ‘plastic build’ label. This and the sealed back might turn out to be the only few downsides of the device along with the huge size which might discourage some users. A superior, classy feel, along with a decent camera, great speaker and solid hardware features for this price range may well lead this device to become a winner for HTC.
