HTC Desire 600 Android phone (preview)

HTC has focussed most of its energy on the flagship One smartphone, but the diversity of Android makes the mid-range market a critical component, too. The dual-SIM capable HTC Desire 600 aims to serve this market by bringing some features from the One to a phone that's more affordable.

HTC has been criticised in the past for launching too many phones with minimal differences between them but the Desire 600 is at least very distinguishable from the One. It will be sold in silver and black models and is squarer than the One. The visible speaker grill both above and below the screen looks like a nice touch, though we hope that this space doesn't become a dirt and dust magnet.

The HTC Desire 600 has reasonable specifications for a mid-range Android phone. It has a 4.5in SLCD screen with a qHD resolution of 960×540, which gives it a pixel density of 245ppi. That's enough to ensure it should display crisp and clear text, though it obviously won't be as sharp as the full HD screens found on higher end handsets.

The Desire 600 is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor and has 1GB of RAM. A big disappointment is storage. The Desire 600 only has 8GB of internal memory and there's no microSD card slot to expand the storage. Although it's a mid-range device, the lack of expandable memory may be a significant turn off for many potential users.

Perhaps the biggest attraction is dual SIM card slots. This feature is popular in Asia and parts of Europe but not so prevalent in Australia. Both SIM cards slots on the Desire 600 support the newer micro SIM cards, though the phone will only work on 900MHz and 2100MHz 3G networks in Australia. This means the Desire 600 isn't compatible with Telstra's 850MHz 3G network.

The Desire 600 borrows three features from the HTC One. The inclusion of dual-stereo speakers that sit above and below the display means the phone qualifies as a 'BoomSound' device. The speakers promise louder and clearer sound and include integrated amplifiers.

The Desire 600 also includes the latest version of HTC's Sense UI and along with it the company's redesigned home screen called 'BlinkFeed'. It's like a cross between Windows Phone 8 and the Flipboard media aggregation app and pulls in content from a variety of pre-selected sources including your social media accounts.

Finally, there's a built-in IR sensor, which allows the HTC One to act as a universal remote controls for devices around your home.

Other features of the HTC Desire 600 include NFC connectivity, an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 1.6-megapixel front facing camera for video calls. The phone has an 1860mAh non-removable battery that claims to offer up to 11 hours of talk time.

HTC will release the Desire 600 in Russia, Ukraine and the Middle East from June but there's been no word on a potential Australian release.