HTC Desire 510 review: Inbetweener

Introduction

We're not far from the time when the smart in phone will be implied. Prices are falling, market share is climbing - it's near impossible to keep track these days of all the new entries in the low end and the midrange. HTC's Desire lineup is no exception - pulled out of the freezer a couple of seasons ago to carry the affordable, mass-market devices of the brand, it has been growing rapidly.

We're at a point now where it's hard to put a face to every name. The digits usually help and the new HTC Desire 510 is easily linked to a predecessor. If you think though that it's a simple and straightforward upgrade of last year's Desire 500, you're wrong.

HTC Desire 510 official pictures

The Desire 510 is among the very first to bring 64-bit processing to the lower ranks thanks to the new generation Snapdragon 410 chipset with four Cortex-A53 cores at 1.2GHz, Adreno 306 GPU and 1GB of RAM. Its display has a 4.7" diagonal, a size that has pretty popular promoters these days in the Galaxy Alpha and the iPhone 6. Fortunately, the Desire 510 keeps a healthy distance from those two in terms of price. It's an affordable, LTE-enabled phone - the kind that should be in greater demand in the coming months. Let's see what it has to offer.

Key features

• 4.7" FWVGA capacitive touchscreen, 208ppi
• Android 4.4.2 KitKat with HTC Sense 6
• 1.2GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU; 1GB of RAM; Adreno 306 GPU; Snapdragon 410 chipset
• LTE connectivity
• 5MP fixed-focus camera, HTC Zoe mode
• 1080p video capture, 30fps
• VGA front-facing camera
• 8GB of built-in memory; microSD card slot up to 128GB
• Active noise cancellation with a dedicated microphone
• 2,100mAh battery; Extreme Power Saving Mode

Main disadvantages

• Low screen resolution with low ppi ratio
• Fixed-focus camera
• No LED flash
• MicroSD slot isn't hot-swappable
• Thick and heavy (1cm and 158g)

HTC obviously had some tough decisions to make with Desire 510. The chipset got an impressive upgrade - compared to last year's Desire 500 - and the LTE connectivity is a huge point in favor too, along with a still relevant Android KitKat, skinned with Sense 6.

The flipside is a sub-HD display - which is probably the most prominent line on that list of weaknesses. A low-end camera - 5MP fixed-focus, no flash is something to warn against, but not a huge letdown if the price is right and the competition hasn't got an offer you can't refuse.

HTC Desire 510 live pictures

We'll get to that of course but there's plenty to cover before that. The build and handling, the new Snapdragon 410 chip and all the bits and pieces. Let's get started!