HTC Desire C Pro Reviews

HTC seems to be taking the entry-level market more seriously than usual. Just look at the multiple versions of the Desire C, including dual-SIM support. Of course, HTC's entry level is different than say, Samsung's. What we mean is, there're obviously cheaper ways to own an Android smartphone. But the HTC Desire C is among the few to give you ICS right out of the box. It looks good and is really comfortable to handle - clearly, it's an easy phone to like. Maybe it would be a lot harder for many people to forgive the slow, outdated processor. To be clear, most people won't call the Desire C slow, unless they're holding a dual-core in the other hand. That's the thing, though - the other hand.

A classy design and Android 4, but the screen and processor disappoint

The HTC Desire C is a nicely designed budget Android 4.0 handset. It could make a good first smartphone but doesn't have any outstanding features. The price is attractive but if you're not bothered about NFC then it's worth paying an extra £20 for the HTC One V for its superior screen and better performance.

The HTC Desire C is a fine low-end smartphone. It's compact and cute, and will certainly get the job done for most standard tasks. The price for this phone is just right. It's priced very closely to rivals such as the Sony Ericsson Xperia ray and Motorola Defy+ or Mini. You should be able to find the Samsung Galaxy Mini 2 at a better price, and it will probably perform a bit better than the Desire C, but the HTC is superior in terms of design and comes with ICS, so you'll have to make a decision as to what's more important to you. One of the biggest drawbacks of the Desire C is its 600MHz processor, which causes some noticeable slow-downs at times, but if you aren't a power user, it should do just fine. Unfortunately, the camera is also mediocre, so if you're a shutterbug, you've come to the wrong place. Ultimately, with the Desire C, you get what you pay for – a stylish smartphone that's good for light usage, but not much else.

The HTC Desire C is better than the handsets it's come in to replace, but not by much. The intuitive interface, attractive design and competitive price tag means the Desire C certainly has the opportunity to do well at the low end of the market – especially against the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Y and LG Optimus L3. But for those who need a little more bang for their buck, you might want to see what the Ascend G300 or BlackBerry Curve 9320 have to offer.

When you set the HTC Desire C down alongside rival affordable devices, it's pretty easy to see what you get. You get better design and build and you get a user interface that has some really nice refinements in Sense 4. What you don't get is a huge difference in core spec, so your device may not be any more capable. You can get your hands on the HTC Desire C for around £15 a month on a 2-year contract. As a monthly cost that doesn't sound too bad, but in two-years' time, you'll probably be well past wishing for something more powerful. Priced at about £170 on PAYG, the HTC Desire C sounds expensive, especially considering that there are similar spec devices for less. This really then boils down to what sort of deal you can get and how much HTC's quality finish appeals to you. We like the HTC Desire C: it's cute, it looks nice, it works as a basic Android phone and we've had no problems carrying out our daily core functions with it. But the battery life is a concern for us and the camera isn't terribly exciting.