HTC Remakes the Mid-Tier With the HTC Desire 601, Desire 300

Calling them "Category-changers," HTC has announced two mid-range phones that it hopes will propel its struggling bottom line, while making its non-premium smartphones just as desirable as a flagship device.

Those two phones are the HTC Desire 601 and the HTC Desire 300, both respectively known in the rumor mill as the HTC Zara and HTC Zara mini. Both phones will get a showing at the upcoming IFA 2013 consumer electronics show, but in the meantime, HTC has been giving out press images and specs for both devices.

HTC seems to want to round out its device lineup, price-wise, with both of these phones being mid-range alternatives to the HTC One and its mini follow-up, though prices have not been confirmed for the two new Desire phones. What has been confirmed are the specs of the HTC Desire 601 and HTC Desire 300, which the rumor mill predicted pretty accurately in the previous weeks.

HTC Desire 601, A.K.A. Zara

The HTC Desire 601 comes with a dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 system on a chip, clocked at 1.4GHz and assisted by 1GB of RAM. The device has a 4.5-inch qHD display. Though HTC has not officially released the resolution of the low-cost display, rumors put it at 540 x 960p, which is a safe bet. One thing rumors got wrong was the camera, which comes on the Desire 601 as 5-megapixels, and not the 8-megapixel shooter that was expected for the main camera. However, the main camera does support HTC Zoe camera software with video highlights, so mid-range shoppers won't be missing out on some of the cool tricks that HTC One buyers can do right now. There's also a low-grade VGA front-facing camera that should suffice for selfies.

The Desire 601 comes with 4G LTE capability and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0, along with a 2,100 mAh battery. And all of this fits in a device that looks like half HTC One (the front), half Desire and has 134.5 x 66.7 x 9.88mm dimensions. The handset weighs just 130 grams.

HTC Desire 300, A.K.A Zara Mini

The device that was previously thought of as a "mini" version of the HTC Zara does pack mini specs (and hopefully a mini price as it's HTC's entry-level Android phone), but the Desire 300 handset is actually about the same size as the HTC Desire 601, at 134.1 x 66.23 x 10.12mm and 120 grams. The display is a 4.3-inch WVGA display, which rumors put at 480 x 800p, but HTC has not officially said yet. The Desire 300 has a dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4, clocked at 1GHz and assisted by half a gig of RAM. The camera on this "mini" version is also 5-megapixels, with a VGA front-facing shooter as well. The battery is a 1,650 mAh removable juice pack, and the Desire 300 comes with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 functionality as well.

Software and Sound: Above the Mid-Tier

Both the HTC Desire 601 and the Desire 300 come with some software bonuses that HTC hopes makes them "category-changers." The HTC Desire 601 comes with the HTC Zoe software, including Sequence Shot, Always Smile and the handy Object Removal. BlinkFeed, HTC's ever-updating live-tile content aggregator, which drew the applause of some critics, is included on both the Desire 300 and Desire 601, though there's the question of mixing a system-intensive widget with mid-range specs. Finally, the HTC Desire 601 comes with HTC BoomSound, the front-facing stereo speakers previously unique only to the HTC One lineup.

Availability

Both handsets will be hitting retailers and wireless providers starting in October 2013, though the Desire 300 will be hitting "select markets" at first. Pricing details have yet to be announced, but expect a pretty good deal, as the HTC One mini already comes in at one penny below $100 with a two-year contract.