HTC launches Desire 820 & 820Q for Rs 24,990 and Rs 22,500 in India; introduces finger-operated RE camera for Rs 9,990

After unveiling the same last month, Taiwanese manufacturer of tablets and smartphones HTC has now launched its Desire 820 and 820Q smartphones in the Indian market. Targeted at the mid-price range segment of the market, both the variants will be available for purchase in the country early next month. While Desire 820 is priced at Rs 22,500, 820Q will be available for slightly higher at Rs 24,990.

In addition, in an attempt to re-imagine the point-and-shoot category, the company has also introduced the RE finger-operated camera that will enable its users to take quick photographs and videos. Interestingly, as an introductory offer, RE camera will be available for Rs 9,990 in the country, which is even lower than its US pricing that is $199 (Rs 12,182). It will be available exclusively on e-commerce site Snapdeal.com from Nov 5, 2014.

Here is a look at the specifications of the devices.

HTC RE for Rs 9,990

With a cylindrical design that looks more like a submarine periscope, RE has been made to fit in the user's hand. It features a built-in grip sensor that instantly activates the camera on pick up, eliminating the need for a power button. Its single shutter button allows one tap to capture photos and a longer press for video recording, so you don't miss the moment struggling between switching modes.

RE features a 16MP Sony CMOS sensor and is capable of full HD (1080p) video recording at 30 frames per second, slow motion HD (720p) recording, as well as time lapse recording. On the connectivity front, it has Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi (with Wi-Fi Direct), a microUSB port and a microSD Card Slot (for memory expansion). The device is 26.5mm in diameter, 97.7mm in height, and its weight is 66.5 gm.

HTC has added an 820 mAh rechargeable battery in the camera that it claims will support up to two hours of continuous full HD video recording. A waterproof device, it will be available in orange, blue, teal and white colours.

The handheld camera is supplemented with a RE mobile app- available on both Android and iOS platforms- that features a remote live viewfinder that will let users set up a shot and watch the live action on the screen of their mobile device, or switch to album and playback view to flick through the shots and videos already stored on the camera. The app will also back up everything to your mobile phone or the cloud automatically.

Here is an introductory video of the device.

Desire 820 & 820Q

Desire 820 has a 5.5 inch LCD HD capacitive touchscreen display (720×1280 pixels resolution) and runs on the Android 4.4.2 KitKat OS (with HTC Sense UI). It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core 64-bit processor and has 2GB of RAM. The internal memory of the device is 16GB that can be further expanded up to 128GB with a microSD card.

The smartphone sports a 13 megapixel autofocus rear camera with LED Flash that can record full HD videos (1080p) at 30 fps and HD videos (720p) at 60 fps. In addition, it has an 8 MP front-facing camera for video calling that can also record full HD videos (nice!). On the connectivity front, the device has Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, 3G, and 4G LTE (depending on the region), as well as a microSD card slot & a microUSB port.

The dimensions of the device are 157.7mm x 78.7mm x 7.7mm and its weight is 155 gm. The company has provided a 2,600 mAh battery in the device, which it claims will provide over 22 hours of talk time and 424 hours of standby time. The smartphone comes with dual-SIM capability and GPS (with A-GPS support). It also has dual frontal stereo speakers with HTC BoomSound. Desire 820 will be available in a range of colours that include white, grey, blue and orange.

Here is an introductory video of the device.

While Desire 820Q is essentially the same smartphone as Desire 820, the only difference lies in its processor and RAM. In comparison to Desire 820's Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core 64-bit processor and 2GB of RAM, Desire 820Q offers a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core 64-bit processor and just 1GB of RAM. What this basically means is that Desire 820Q is a toned down (or weaker) version of its sibling, but will also be available at a lower price.