HTC announces super affordable Desire 626, Desire 626s, Desire 526 and Desire 520

HTC’s latest introduction to the smartphone market includes a series of affordable smartphones. These offer affordability, modest specs and a design that may not include metal, but does portray a solid build quality that is now customary for HTCsmartphones. These new devices are the HTCDesire 626, Desire 626s, Desire 526 and Desire 520.

So what’s the deal with these new phones? In short: all are Desire handsets, meaning they are not exactly made for power users. In fact, even basic users may find these a bit underwhelming. The truth is they are not made for everyone, but there is always a market to cater to. These new Desire smartphones sport lower-end specs, but they make up for their shortages in good build quality and a price point that should keep many of you happy.

HTC Desire 626

• Android 5.1 Lollipop
• 5.0-inch 720p display
• 1.1 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor
• 1.5 GB of RAM
• 16 GB of internal storage (microSD card support for up to 2 TB)
• 8 MP rear-facing camera
• 5 MP front-facing camera
• Bluetooth 4.1, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, NFC
• 2000 mAh battery
• 146.9 x 70.9 x 8.19 mm

As you can see in the image above, the HTCDesire 626 is a very good-looking phone. In fact, it resembles the HTC Desire 826. It sports a very good design made of a material that is obviously plastic, but this doesn’t take away from the build quality. HTChas proven time and again that they can make a solid phone out of anything, and this is not the exception.

As for performance, you can assume this won’t be the fastest Android device around. It will be plenty fast for those who just want to browse a bit and do some light social networking, but try to run a game and you will likely start seeing some stutters.

The HTCDesire 626 should be launching on Verizon and AT&T, initially. We are not sure if other carriers will eventually get it, but it doesn’t seem unlikely.

HTC Desire 626s

• Android 5.1 Lollipop
• 5.0-inch 720p display
• 1.1 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor
• 1.5 GB of RAM
• 8 GB of internal storage (microSD card support for up to 2 TB)
• 8 MP rear-facing camera
• 2 MP front-facing camera
• Bluetooth 4.1, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, NFC
• 2000 mAh battery
• 146.9 x 70.9 x 8.19 mm

The HTCDesire 626s is a slightly downgraded version of the 626. The only main differences are that it has less internal storage, as well as a lower MP front-facing camera. Otherwise, it’s pretty much the same phone. It also happens to look identical to the higher-end Desire 626.

For now, all we know is the HTCDEsire 626s is coming to Cricket, Sprint, Boost, Virgin, T-Mobile, Metro and Tracfone. It is worth mentioning that the TracFone model features 1GB RAM, instead of 1.5GB.

HTC Desire 526

• Android 5.1 Lollipop
• 4.7-inch qHD display
• 1.1 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor
• 1.5 GB of RAM
• 8 GB of internal storage (microSD card support for up to 2 TB)
• 8 MP rear-facing camera
• 2 MP front-facing camera
• Bluetooth 4.1, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, NFC
• 2000 mAh battery
• 140 x 70 x 9.9 mm

Things start getting a bit less exciting with the Verizon-bound Desire 526, but the phone can still throw a punch or two. The only main issue here is that the screen gets smaller and loses some resolution, going down to qHD definition (960x540p). Other than that, internals are just as good as the phones above, and you still get the generous 1.5 GB of RAM!

HTC Desire 520

• Android 5.1 Lollipop
• 4.5-inch FWVGA display
• 1.1 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor
• 1 GB of RAM
• 8 GB of internal storage (microSD card support for up to 2 TB)
• 8 MP rear-facing camera
• 2 MP front-facing camera
• Bluetooth 4.1, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, NFC
• 2000 mAh battery
• 139.8 x 68.9 x 9.05 mm

Last but not least, the HTCDesire 520 jumps into the US market, trying to grab some of your dollars with the lowest specs (and likely the cheapest price-point) of the new Desire line-up. The 520 takes things down a notch with a humble 4.5-inch screen with an FWVGA resolution (854x480p). It should offer a good deal for Cricket users, though, which will be the first to have access to it.

Price and availability

Sadly, HTCwould tell us nothing about pricing and availability, but we don’t expect to be waiting too long before we see these phones hitting store shelves across the States. We also don’t expect their prices to be too high, for obvious reasons.

Though HTCis not known for offering the most affordable low-to-mid-end devices around, they do need to price these competitively. Design and build quality can only take you so far, and with competitors like the Moto E around, HTCneeds to come prepared.

We have spent some time with the HTCDesire 626, so you can expect our hands-on post to come very soon. In the meantime, do hit the comments and tell us if you are interested in buying any of these. What would you say is the right price-range for the new HTCDesire phones?