First Impressions of the HTC Desire 616 and One (E8)
On July 12, HTC launched two new Android smartphones, the HTC One (E8) Dual SIM and the HTC Desire 616 Dual SIM, priced at Rs. 34,990 and Rs. 16,900 respectively. Read the article for the first impressions of both the phones.
On July 12, Taiwanese smartphone maker, HTC launched two new Android smartphones in India, the HTC One (E8) Dual SIM and the HTC Desire 616 Dual SIM, priced at Rs. 34,990 and Rs. 16,900 respectively. Both these phones are variations of recently launched HTC models which got very popular among buyers. While the HTC One (E8) Dual SIM is a low-cost variant of the HTC One (M8), the Desire 616 Dual SIM can be called a smaller sibling of the HTC Desire 816.
We all know that HTC has been going through a tough time for the past two years. Due to the tough competition in market, the company faced some serious challenges in the smartphone market and suffered a heavy loss of $100 million in Q4 2013. HTC has been trying to revive its standing in market and for this reason, it has come up with a new batch of devices in India, one of the biggest smartphone growth markets in world.
HTC CFO Chian-Lin Chang told media that the company plans to concentrate on mid-range (Rs 15,000- Rs 25,000 priced smartphones) and premium segments instead of low-range segment having devices priced below Rs 10,000. The company holds high expectations from both these newly launched models and is confident that people will like them.
At the company's India launch event, we got an opportunity to try these HTC smartphones. Continue reading to know my first impressions.HTC Desire 616 Dual SIM
The new HTC Desire 616 Dual SIM is a smaller version of the recently launched HTC Desire 816. It was first launched in Singapore this month and now in India. Design
The 616 Dual SIM not only looks great but feels great too. Its nearly invisible side bezels give it a premium look. It has a 5-inch display size and fits well in hands. The glossy body is made entirely of plastic but is quite sturdy. I liked its build quality. If you see closely in the picture, you will see that its removable glossy back panel is a fingerprint magnet. 
The front is dominated by a 5-inch display with HD (720x1280 pixels) resolution which works out to a pixel density of 294ppi. The display looks fine indoors but when outdoors, reflectiveness is too much. Another problem that I noticed in this phone was that fingerprints really do stand out on the screen.Features & specifications
Power & performance
The new Desire 616 is powered by a Mediatek MT6592 octa-core SoC processor clocked at 1.4GHz, coupled with 1GB RAM. When it comes to performance, I had huge expectations from this phone but was a little disappointed. A simple task like switching between apps took so much of time that higher applications like heavy games would have taken drearily long. I thus didn't try playing heavy games. Only 1GB RAM is used but if it is increased to 2GB or even 1.5GB, performance would drastically improve but I guess, this is too much of expectation from a budget phone.
Storage
The phone has a total storage space of 4GB out of which only 2GB is available to users but this can be increased up to 32GB via microSD.
Camera
The smartphone comes with an 8-megpixel autofocus camera with LED flash which is capable of recording full-HD (1080p) videos. A front-facing 2-megapixel camera capable of recording HD (720p) videos is also incorporated. Since the time was limited, I could not play videos on it but the images taken in good light looked good on the HD screen. Low-light images were not at all impressive. There is nothing really special but we can rate this feature as average.
Battery
The Desire 616 comes with a 2000 mAh removable battery which as per company's claims offers 14 hours of talk time on 3G. If the battery is really this good, then the new 616 is a great smartphone at this price as good battery life is a concern for most users these days.Pricing & verdict
It is a mid-range phone which offers an octa-core processor and costs Rs. 23,990 only. It is priced much cheaper than its rivals Micromax Canvas Knight (approximately Rs. 18,989) & the Gionee E7 mini (approximately Rs. 17,000) but lacks enough RAM or storage space to convince smartphone users who go by specs.HTC One (E8) Dual SIM
The new HTC One (E8) Dual SIM is a plastic version of the high-range HTC One (M8) model. The M8 was recently launched in India at Rs. 49900.Design
The look of the new HTC variant is same but it is 0.5mm thicker & 0.1mm taller than the One (M8). Also, it weighs 15 grams less, primarily because of its plastic body. Its polycarbonate body has exactly same curves as the HTC One (M8)'s metal body has. It feels very similar and nice in hand. The smartphone is available in three colors: Electric Crimson, Polar White and Misty Grey. While the grey version has a beautiful matte rear panel, the other two are glossy in appearance. 
The front is similar to the (M8) and is dominated by a 5-inch full-HD SLCD 3 display. Real difference lies in the back of the phone. As the HTC One (E8) is a cheaper variant of the (M8), it lacks the unique Duo Camera setup seen in the premium model. Unlike the older variant, the (E8) offers dual-SIM support. All other specifications of the two phones are same.Features & specifications
Power & performance
The phone is powered by a fast performing quad-core 2.5 GHz Snapdragon 801 processor, coupled with 2GB RAM. Performance is good. In what all limited testing time I had, the device didn't feel sluggish and I could easily load heavy games and switch between multiple apps instantaneously. Multi-tasking was pretty smooth.
Storage
It has a memory space of 16GB out of which around 12GB is available to users. Storage capacity can be increased up to 128GB via microSD. I have no complaints in terms of memory. I can easily store all my playlists and media files on this phone.
Camera
The smartphone has got a 13-megpixel autofocus camera with BSI sensor & LED flash and a front-facing 5-megapixel camera. While the front-facing camera is the same unit you see on the (M8), the rear camera is more traditional for cost-cutting. The images captured indoors stand nowhere in front of those taken with the HTC One (M8)'s 4-UltraPixel camera. Those captured with the flash in dim light were slightly grainy. I am not satisfied with this camera feature.
Battery
The HTC One (E8) comes with a 2600 mAh removable battery which offers good 20 hours of talk time on 3G. Pricing & verdict
The specs of elegant looking (E8) are pretty competitive if compared with high-end rivals like the Samsung Galaxy S5 but it lacks the Duo Camera feature. Its Rs 34,900 price tag appears unreasonable when you think that it is just a lower-build version of the HTC One (M8).
