HTC Desire 516C With Dual-SIM Support, Quad-Core SoC Launched at Rs. 12,990

HTC at its 'Double Exposure' India event held on Friday launched the budget Desire 516C smartphone in India, calling it a "dual-SIM and CDMA-enabled version of the successful HTC Desire 516 Dual SIM". Notably, the handset has been made available to buy from Saturday at a price tag of Rs. 12,990 exclusively via e-commerce website Snapdeal.

Notably, most of the specifications of the new HTC Desire 516C match with its predecessor, the HTC Desire 516 Dual SIM, which was launched in June. The Desire 516C however features a 0.5-megapixel front-facing camera instead of the Desire 516's 2-megapixel camera.

The HTC Desire 516C is a dual-SIM device (CDMA+GSM) that supports regular SIM cards. It runs the now-dated Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean out-of-the-box. Unfortunately, there is no word on whether the Desire 516C will be receiving any software updates. It notably features the HTC BlinkFeed home screen, a feature usually reserved for higher-end handsets from the company.

It sports a 5-inch qHD (540x960 pixels) LCD display, which offers a pixel density of 220ppi. The Desire 516 is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor coupled with 1GB of RAM. It comes with 4GB of inbuilt storage, which is further expandable via microSD card (up to 32GB).

It sports a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, while it also houses a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera. The HTC Desire 516 packs a removable 1950mAh battery that is rated to deliver up to 9 hours of talk time (3G) and up to 220 hours of standby time (3G).

The smartphone is currently available in its Gray colour variant only. It comes with dimensions 140x72x9.7mm and weighs 160 grams. Connectivity options on the HTC Desire 516C include GRPS/ EDGE, 3G (HSPA+), Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Micro-USB, and 3.5mm audio jack.

"HTC Desire 516C dual sim has been created for users who care for quality, features and a great value for money product," stated Chia-lin Chang, Global President of Sales and Chief Financial Officer, HTC Corporation in a press statement. "The latest addition inherits renowned HTC Desire range's legacy of super-fast processing and premium features, at a lower price. This new exciting device will offer the best possible experience in its category."

Speaking on HTC's association with Snapdeal, Tony Navin, Senior Vice President - Electronics & Home, Snapdeal.com, said, "This is the beginning of a long term partnership with HTC. As a first step, we are exclusively launching this device that would appeal to the design & value conscious customer base. It's an attractive product at a very good price and we are excited to be partnering in this exclusive launch".

The Taiwanese smartphone maker also launched its HTC RE action camera at an introductory price of Rs. 9,990. The camera will be exclusively available via e-commerce site Snapdeal starting the first week of November.

At the event, HTC also launched the the octa-core HTC Desire 820 and quad-core HTC Desire 820q in India. The Desire 820 has been priced at Rs. 24,990, while the Desire 820q has been priced at Rs. 22,500. Both phones will be available in markets from November 4.

The company also launched the HTC Desire Eye in the country, though without pricing and a late-November availability. Notably, HTC also launched the One (M8 Eye) in the country.