After headlining their spot at the Mobile World Congress with the Android-running Desire, HTC unveiled two more smartphones: the Android-based HTC Legend (shown above) that looks like what you’d get if you mated a MacBook and HTC’s older Hero, and the HD mini, a compact WinMo-based PocketPC that’s considered a “lite” version of the HD2.
The Legend will replace the Hero as HTC’s mainstream Android mobile, and shares the older model’s overall look but refreshed with a unibody aluminum shell, much like what Apple uses for the MacBook Pro’s frame. It rightly upgrades just about everything on the Hero to reflect today’s standards, and should make for a pretty good all-around smartphone, with a faster 600MHz processor, a better 3.2-inch AMOLED screen, and a newer Android 2.1 operating system.
Like the Desire, the Legend also replaces the trackball on the older phone with a more future-worthy optical trackpad, as well as an updated version of HTC’s Sense UI interface for easy multi-touch operation.
The HD mini should serve as a pretty good alternative to those who think that the HD2 is just too expensive for the average guy’s mobile-buying budget. It comes with just about everything you’d expect to find on the high-end HD2, but with compromises to drop the price down, with a comparatively smaller 3.2-inch screen (much smaller than the HD2’s 4.3-inch display, but a little closer to the 3.5-inch screen on the iPhone 3GS), and a more conservative 600MHz processor.
It’s by no means an entry-level kit though; the HD mini still comes with the whole range of connectivity options that includes 3G, Wi-fi, and GPS, plus a 5MP cam, microSDHC card slot for storage, and HTC’s Sense UI interface over Windows Mobile 6.5.3.
No word on pricing yet, but both phones are expected out by late March or early April in Asia and Europe.
Tags: Android, HTC, Mobile Phones, Smartphones, Touchscreen phones, Windows Mobile
