HTC outs the "flagship mid-range" Desire 816 and Desire 610, fresh design in tow

Now, both these devices objectively belong to the mid-range class, but it's undeniable that the Desire 816 sports the more impressive specs set. It's also the device that HTC will betting heavily on, according to Jeff Gordon, Senior Global Online Communications Manager at HTC. So much so that the Desire 610 wasn't actually even showcased during HTC's event today.

So what's the Desire 816 all about, then? For starters, it's quite the device, at 5.5-inches. The large screen is powered by a 720x1280 HD resolution, which works out to about 267 pixels per inch, so reasonably sharp. The device is being powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, a chip we've seen handling Android pretty well in the past. The amount of RAM, at 1.5GB, is quite generous (pending price, of course), and 8GB of internal storage we can stomach, thanks to the microSD card slot. HTC has gone down the well-traversed path with the camera on the Desire 816 -- no Ultrapixels or any of that jazz. Instead, we're treated to a 13-megapixel, f/2.2 aperture unit, capable of 1080p video capture. Up front, we've got an impressive 5-megapixel cam, with f/2.8, wide-angle lens, and it can do 720p capture. Not bad at all. Apart from the now standard connectivity cache -- Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, GPS, and optional NFC -- the Desire 816 also touts 4G LTE connectivity. The battery, at 2600mAh, is average for this type of device. Last but not least, the phone touts a duo of HTC's respectable BoomSound front stereo speakers. That's a pretty amazing package, if HTC manages to price it right. The start of global availability is set for April, though the handset will start selling in China as early as March.

Next to the Desire 816, the Desire 610 sounds something we're used. A less massive, 4.7-inch qHD (540x960) display is what we have here, or a pixel density of about 234. A lower bin of the same quad-core Snapdragon 400 ticks at 1.2GHz this time around, and we're only treated to 1GB of RAM. The situation with on-board storage is identical, however -- 8GB built-in, with an option for expansion through a microSD card. The camera department is not too bad, either -- we've got an 8-megapixel, f/2.4 aperture unit capable of 720p video capture. Taking the front is a 1.3-megapixel specimen, again capable of 720 video recording. Bluetooth 4.0, W-Fi, GPS, optional NFC, and 4G LTE are, BoomSound speakers are all, once again, available. Battery capacity sits at 2040mAh. Like the Desire 816, pricing hasn't been revealed just yet, though we're told to expect the Desire 610 in Europe as early as May.

Any takers?