MWC: HTC unveils a Mini Windows Phone and two Android handsets

The day after Microsoft created plenty of buzz around its Windows Phone 7 Series, HTC unveiled its own new handsets, once again placing the emphasis on Sense for Android.

The HD mini: it's, umm, a mini HD2

First off the blocks was the HD mini, a term that's becoming increasingly familiar at this years's MWC.  HTC's management claims to have been taken aback by the demand for the HD2, which far exceeded their expectations, and now the HD mini brings some of the same features to a more traditionally-sized handset.

The mini only weighs 110 g, and measures just 103.8 x 57.7 x 11.7 mm, compared to the 120 x 67 x 11 mm of the HD2, and the 3.2'' screen has a resolution of 320 x 420 pixels; the HD2's 4.3'' display had 480 x 800 pixels.  A 600 MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 processor replaces the 1 GHz Snapdragon found on the HD2.  It comes with 384 MB of RAM, 3G+, WiFi, A-GPS, Bluetooth 2.1 and a 5 Megapixel camera.  HTC's specs list a battery life giving seven hours of talkative and 340 hours on standby.

Like on the HD2, proximity and light sensors are included, as well as an accelerometer.  It will be on sale in Europe in April, but we don't know if it will get an upgrade to Windows Phone 7 like its big brother.

The Hero is dead, but the Legend lives on


Next up is an Android 2.1 phone, the HTC Legend, which replaces the Hero.  Measuring 112 x 56.3 x 11.5 mm and weighing 126 g, it's about average for a smartphone.  It will have a 3.2'' AMOLED display capable of displaying 320 x 480 pixels.

Like the HD mini, the Legend will be powered be a 600 MHz MSM7227 processor with 384 MB of RAM.  Once again, WiFi, A-GPS, Bluetooth 2.1 and a 5 Megapixel camera are all onboard, along with an FM radio this time.  It has all of the same sensors as the HD mini, plus a digital compass.

It should be able to last through eight hours of calls and 440 hours of standby.

Desire: an Android alternative to the HD2

Last of all is the Desire, which, at 119 x 60 x 11.9 mm and 135 g is physically comparable to the HD2.  Its 3.7'' AMOLED display has a lot more room, stretching to 480 x 800 pixels.

The famous 1 GHz Snapdragon processor is back, and the amount of RAM climbs to 576 MB.  Apart from these changes, though, its specs are an exact copy of the Legend's, apart from for battery life, where you now get just under seven hours of talk time and 340 hours of standby.

The Legend will be available in April, followed one or two months later by the Desire.  Both phones will be available on Orange in the UK.

The two new Android phones will debut a new version of the Sense interface.  Rather than sliding from one homescreen to the other, like you do now, the system will display a choice of homescreens making navigating between them much easier.  Of course, a new combined social networking stream is also included.

Like RIM did with the BlackBerry, HTC has replaced its trackball with an optical trackpad on the Legend and the Desire.


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