HTC unveils 4.3” Desire HD and QWERTY slider Desire Z alongside a series of connected services

Just as a successful TV show can yield spin-offs, apparently so it is with mobile phones. Looking to capitalize on the success of its HTC Desire, which launched earlier this year to positive reviews, HTC has unveiled the Desire HD and Desire Z. The Desire HD features a larger 4.3” display and is the first phone to be powered by the new 1GHz Qualcomm 8255 Snapdragon processor. Meanwhile, the Desire Z is a QWERTY slider and is the first to be powered by the 800MHz Qualcomm 7230 processor. In addition to the new hardware, HTC also announced an enhanced HTC Sense experience centered around a new HTCSense.com service that lets users backup, lock, locate and wipe data from their phone remotely.

HTC Desire HD

The Desire HD’s 4.3” display and 8-megapixel camera with dual LED flash means the phone is likely to be compared as much to the EVO 4G as it is to the Desire. It sports the same 480 x 800 resolution as the Desire and EVO 4G, but sports a SuperLCD display in comparison to the EVO’s TFT LCD and the Desire’s AMOLED display. Even though the Desire HD is 1mm longer than the EVO, it is still slightly more pocket-friendly being 2mm shorter across the waist, 0.9mm thinner and 6g (0.2 ounces) lighter.

The Froyo-powered Desire HD records 720p HD video and has 1.5GB of internal memory, which can augmented by microSDC memory cards up of up to 32GB. The unit boasts an impressive 768MB of RAM, while the new HTC Fast Boot cuts down the time taken for the phone to power up. Dolby Mobile, SRS virtual sound, DLNA, Flash 10.1 and DivX/Xvid video playback support are there to boost the HD’s multimedia credentials.

Desire Z

Keeping texters and tweeters happy the Desire Z sports a QWERTY keyboard that slides out using a new “pop hinge.” The Z’s keyboard includes a variety of keyboard shortcuts and two customizable keys for providing instant access to common functions without navigating through menus. The Z also boasts 720p HD video recording and a 5-megapixel camera with automatic flash. It’s 3.7” touchscreen has the same 480 x 800 resolution as the Desire HD and the same 1.5GB of internal storage – again with microSD support for increased capacity – but RAM is cut down to 512MB. The Desire Z also runs Froyo and includes HTC Fast Boot.

HTC Sense and HTCSense.com

HTC’s Sense UI has always been a great strength of HTC’s phones and now the company has added a variety of multimedia and location-based enhancements and introduced a series of new connected services called HTCSense.com. The multimedia enhancements include a variety of camera effects and filters for capturing video and editing images, while HTC Locations allows users access to instant, on-demand mapping without download delays or incurring mobile roaming charges.

HTCSense.com allows users to manage their mobile phone from the phone itself or a PC. It allows people to track down a missing phone by triggering the handset to ring loudly, even if it’s set to silent, or to flag its location on a map. If the phone's been lost or stolen, users can remotely lock the phone, forward calls and texts to another phone, send a message to the phone to arrange its return or even remotely wipe all personal data from it. The service also automatically archives contacts, text messages, call history, customizations and data.

Availability

The HTC Desire HD and Desire Z will be available in major European and Asian markets from October, while the Desire Z will be shipping in North America later this year.