Virgin Mobile on Monday announced the immediate availability of the HTC Desire smartphone, not to be confused with 2010’s model by the same name, sold by U.S. Cellular.
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In fact, this variant, known in other markets as the Desire 601, is best described as an affordable cousin of the flagship HTC One.
Priced at $279.99, the no-contract handset runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and features midrange hardware and 4G LTE, to go along with a 4.5-inch qHD display, a 5-megapixel rear camera, and dual-core 1.4GHz Snapdragon 400 processor.
As is the case with other HTC models of the year, this rebooted Desire features the custom Sense UI and software touches — HTC BlinkFeed, HTC Zoe camera mode, and Video Highlights. Also like the HTC One, the phone features HTC BoomSound, the dual front-facing speakers with built-in amplification.
Sit tight, CNET will review the Desire as soon as possible.