Featuring an all-metal construction and a Full HD screen, HTC One smartphones are stunning devices for any user, whether they are an expert in advanced technologies or an occasional phone buyer who is comfortable. If your budget is more limited, you can buy HTC Desire 601, which has similar characteristics, but has a much lower price.
This gadget has a 4.5-inch display, a fairly powerful dual-core processor, 4G LTE connections and a decent 5-megapixel camera, and this is packaged in the design found in more expensive devices from this manufacturer. In addition, the Boomsound front speakers are also borrowed from premium smartphones.
HTC Desire 601, whose price is less than 11,000 rubles, immediately after the release received a lot of positive reviews. Such a set of functions for this cost does not offer a single model of modern smartphones.
How is he different?
Since the phone is equipped with two front speakers, a huge resemblance to the HTC One line is immediately striking. In addition, the sensor control buttons - Home, Back keys - are located directly below the screen, which adds even more probability to confuse 601 with more expensive "brothers".
Appearance
If you carefully examine the gadget's case from all sides, you will notice that it most closely resembles the previously released HTC One X. Instead of metal, HTC Desire 601 has a plastic case with a black rubber coating. The rear panel is divided into the HTC logo, a large camera unit with metal inserts and a red Beats Audio logo at the bottom. Perhaps the device has a not so luxurious appearance of metal cases in the One line, but it still looks pretty attractive and durable. The plastic used for its production is highly durable, so falls and shock to the gadget are not terrible.
Two speakers are located on the front of the phone, which means the sound of music towards you, and not vice versa. Therefore, the outgoing sound is not muffled if, for example, you place your HTC Desire 601 flat on the table. Music sounds very loud, as well as quality and without interference. As you would expect, the sound still lacks bass, but it is light and loud enough to listen to your favorite songs in the kitchen while cooking dinner, for example.
On HTC Desire 601, the screen has only 4.5 inches, which is slightly smaller than the 4.7-inch One. However, this slight difference makes it a little easier to hold the device in one hand. However, its dimensions are 66 mm wide and 134 mm long, which does not allow calling it a too compact device. If you need a really small device, the 4.3-inch HTC One Mini is more suitable for you.
On the sides are the HTC Desire 601 volume control, power button, MicroUSB port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The plastic back cover is removable and provides access to the microSD card slot, and also makes it possible to change the battery. You get 8 GB of storage as standard, which is quite a bit, but you can at least install compatible applications on a memory card.
HTC Desire 601: display specifications
The 4.5-inch display has a resolution of 960x540 pixels, which is a bit low, especially when you consider that some gadgets have an indicator of 1,280x720 pixels and at the same time cost half as much.
Although the text and icons do not look as crisp as the high-end Full-HD HTC One, they are easy to read and well suited for everyday tasks. For example, for posting on Twitter or sending pictures and photos: resolution is not so important here. On the other hand, the screen is bright enough to withstand reflection from a table lamp and has a sufficient range of colors to allow the user to enjoy watching the video without a distorted picture.
Software and Performance
HTC Desire 601 dual SIM runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, which is a fairly old version of Google’s mobile operating system. Of course, this is not bad for an inexpensive phone, and it works well, but many users would like to see the preinstalled version 4.3. HTC developers added the Sense 5 interface on top of the mobile platform, so it’s not immediately noticeable that you are on an old version of Android. This only becomes apparent if you go into the settings. Despite the fact that on HTC Desire 601 the firmware is factory and very good, you can change it by adding another interface and other functions to the device as you wish.
This interface is used in most gadgets and does not carry any surprises. There are minimalistic menu icons on the screen. You'll also find the scroll function of the BlinkFeed news aggregator to the left of the home screen. If you do not use services such as Flipboard, then the constant presence of BlinkFeed can become annoying, especially because you cannot get rid of it: you cannot disable it. However, this is an interesting way to track your news on social networks.
Specifications
Inside, the HTC Desire 601 is equipped with a 1.4 GHz processor (dual core). This is a big step back compared to the powerful quad-core processors in the One line of gadgets, but the phone is offered at a lower price and the reduced functionality is natural. However, as follows from user reviews, such a chip will be enough for most tasks. Navigating through the Sense interface is pretty fast, and only a slight delay is observed when switching back to the main screen after entering the application.
The device does an excellent job of editing photos in Snapseed, and online viewing of a long movie always remains smooth and uninterrupted. In addition, testing showed that the phone worked well when demanding games such as Asphalt 8 and Riptide GP 2 were launched. Both games functioned normally for the most part, but in more tense moments, for example during battles or high jumps, the frame rate dropped noticeably. Too enthusiastic gamers should look towards more powerful flagship phones, but fans of spending time in the game will only occasionally be satisfied with this smartphone.
Camera
A 5 megapixel camera is located on the back of the phone. In smartphones line HTC One there is a resolution of only 4 megapixels, but any significant difference when using the device is not noticed. On HTC Desire 601, using a 5-megapixel camera, you can take the most ordinary, nothing outstanding pictures.
According to user reviews, when shooting outdoors in the daytime, photos of satisfactory quality with a good overall exposure are obtained. Colors are not particularly rich, but the color balance remains at a very decent level.
Like One devices, HTC Desire 601 Dual SIM has tons of advanced camera settings, including Sweep Panorama and HDR. It also has a mode that allows you to take several photos at the same time, to capture several versions of the image of the same object or to edit the photo of a moving object in the style of a sequence of actions.
Battery
HTC Desire 601 is equipped with a battery capacity of 2,100 mAh, which, according to the calculations of representatives of HTC, should provide up to 12.8 hours of talk time 3G. This is not bad, and, as user reviews show, this calculation is correct and confirmed in practice. With moderate use - listening to music in the morning, running several games during the day, using the camera and regularly checking mail - there is quite a lot of battery power in the evening. If, on HTC Desire 601, the firmware is changed from the factory to other options, this can also affect the battery life.
If you are more demanding - keep the screen brightness at maximum, watch streaming video all day and constantly try to break records on Real Racing 3, then you can expect that the battery will drain quite quickly. You can be sure that it will be enough for you during the day, but by evening the phone will probably be completely discharged. Even with moderate use, it is recommended to charge the gadget every night for its more correct operation.
Positive features
HTC Desire 601 has many similarities with the attractive design flagship smartphones of the HTC One line. The front speakers offer a very big bonus when listening to music, and the ability to connect 4G LTE only adds advantages. It is worth remembering that all of the above qualities will not cost a tidy amount, since the HTC Desire 601 price is much lower than that of similar devices.
disadvantages
The device runs on older Android software. Its screen resolution is not impressive, and the dual-core processor does not actually provide much power.
Final verdict
Of course, HTC Desire 601, the characteristics of which do not include the latest version of Android, cannot be called a super-advanced device. At the same time, it is a phone with powerful speakers and 4G LTE for fast data loading, and at a bargain price.
In its design, taken from its more luxurious "brothers", taking into account the presence of powerful speakers, 4G connection, decent camera and affordable price, HTC Desire 601 is an excellent all-round Android phone. Despite the fact that the software pre-installed on it is outdated and the display resolution is relatively low, if you want to buy a beautiful phone for little money, equipped with all the necessary functions, this model is ideal for you.
It is worth noting that many users have recently preferred devices that externally copy premium devices, but are offered at a lower price and equipped with much less features. In fact, this is not something reprehensible: the desire to have a beautiful fashionable phone is quite natural for any budget. If you are not an advanced user, then you will not notice the difference between the proposed functions in a mobile device (unless, of course, you are an avid gamer and do not use specific applications).