Introduction
Desire has long been the signature of the company's tier-2 lineup. With past offerings varying from capable midrangers all the way down to entry level, going for a smartphone bearing the Desire moniker has largely been a hit-or-miss affair.
The Desire 500 is HTC's latest attempt to ride the middle road between features and price, and it is the modern day equivalent of the HTC Desire X released late last year. The other way to look at it is as the more affordable alternative of the Desire 600 dual SIM, which we reviewed a while ago. That said, the one we're dealing with is the single-SIM flavor of the HTC Desire 500, but there is a dial SIM variant, too.
HTC Desire 500 official images
Key features
- Quad-band 2G and dual-band 3G support
- 4.3" 480 x 800 pixel TFT capacitive touchscreen with 217ppi
- Android OS v4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Sense UI 5.0
- Qualcomm MSM 8225Q Snapdragon 200: quad-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A5, 1 GB RAM, Adreno 203 GPU
- 8 MP autofocus camera with 1/3.2" sensor size, 1.4µm pixel size; LED flash
- 720p video recording @ 24fps with stereo audio, slow-motion video
- 1.6MP front-facing camera, 720p video recording
- Wi-Fi b/g/n, DLNA
- GPS with A-GPS
- 4GB of built-in storage
- microSD card slot
- Bluetooth v4.0
- Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
- Accelerometer and proximity sensor
- FM Radio
Main disadvantages
- WVGA screen resolution
- Not the most powerful of chipsets
- Disappointing stills and video, no Full HD video recording
- No active noise cancellation for voicecalls
- Poor video codec support out of the box
- Limited inbuilt storage, only 1GB available to the user
The Desire 500 may not be a sports car, but the quad-core 1.2GHz processor would mean it should be a nice cruiser - and most people are after that in a midranger. The display resolution is not up there with the best on the positive side, the graphical sub-system doesn't have to draw as many pixels on the screen so this may even help with performance. Also impressive on paper are the camera capabilities, which despite not being able to handle 1080p, include 720p and slow-motion videos. As an added bonus the front-facing camera shoots in 720p as well.
HTC Desire 500 live photos
Well, we are never satisfied with judging phones by their specs sheets only so we'll get right into testing whether the Desire 500 is worth its salt. Up next we have a through look at the hardware and build quality.
Unboxing the HTC Desire 500
The HTC Desire 500 comes in a pillbox-shaped retail package, similar to what debuted last year with the One series. Inside, you'll find a set of all-white accessories, including a compact charger with detachable microUSB cable and a single-piece headset.
The headset is of good quality and all the accessories have a high grade finish.
HTC Desire 500 360-degree spin
Measuring 131.8 x 66.9 x 9.9 mm, the HTC Desire 500 is just a bit shorter than the HTC Desire 600, but it is also marginally thicker. The Desire 500 weight is also almost the same at 123 grams, only 7 gram lighter than the Desire 600 Dual SIM.
Design
The Desire 500 has a very high quality finish that lends a premium feel to what is a midrange device spec-wise. This is accompanied by a solid and tight-fitting back panel that also wraps around the sides of the device. The fit is so good that most people will likely mistake it for a unibody design - which more than compensates for the slight difficulty when trying to access the card slots on the inner body.
Our unit came in a white paintjob with red trim that was not susceptible to fingerprint smudges. The Desire 500 also comes in black, which is the version, which is more prone to smudging.
The HTC Desire 500's white finish is of very high quality
As we mentioned, the back panel wraps around the sides of the device as well, which includes covering the earpiece above the display. The red accent which circles the phone has a matte instead of glossy paintjob, and ends in opposing arrows where the volume controls are - it's a nice little touch, a subtle but elegant way to brighten things up. The camera module and HTC logo on the back have matching red accents.
Controls
Below the display you'll find a pair of capacitive buttons - back and home. Starting with the new One flagship and Sense 5.0, HTC did away with the third capacitive 'menu' key. On that device they had replaced the middle button with a non-functioning HTC logo as a placeholder, but that drew too many compulsive presses so HTC got rid of it altogether.
Above the display is the earpiece covered with a grille as part of the back panel. We note an important difference compared to the dual-SIM-carrying Desire 600 - there're no front-mounted stereo speakers this time around. The other things above the screen are the front-facing camera (1.6MP / 720p) along with the proximity and ambient light sensors.
The headset and camera above the display • two capacitive keys below
On top of the HTC Desire 500 you'll find a Power/Lock key and the 3.5mm audio jack. The bottom of the phone features the primary microphone along with the microUSB port.
3.5mm audio jack, Power/Lock key • microUSB port and microphone
The left side of the Desire 500 is clean of any buttons and ports, while the right side features the semi-disguised volume rocker, which is a nice design accent.
Clean left side • volume rocker on the right
The 8MP camera with LED flash is the most prominent element 'round back. The camera module is accented by matte plastic of the same red color as the frame along the sides of the device. Below it there is a large HTC logo of the same color, followed by a BeatsAudio label above a speaker grille at the bottom.
The back of the HTC Desire 500 holds the 8MP camera
Back to the camera, it's an 8MP unit with a BSI sensor that's 1/3.2" in size. It uses the original ImageChip found in older HTC devices, but is limited to just 720p video recording.
Popping off the back cover takes some work as there's no groove or slot designed for the purpose of easily removing the panel. This isn't too much of an issue, as this isn't a dual-SIM device so you likely won't be accessing the microSD and microSIM slots underneath all that often. Below the panel you'll also find the 1800mAh battery.
The panel requires some effort to take off
We found that both the microSD and the microSIM cards are hot-swappable, a nifty little bonus the benefit of which is outweighed in part by the hard-to-remove back panel.
Handling
The compact 4.3" display of the HTC Desire 500 favors comfort of handling, while the finish of the plastic back and the quality materials used building the phone make it very nice to the touch. The phone's back features a slight curve just like the One, so it fits nicely in the palm of your hand. Single-handed operation is very comfortable and pocketability isn't the least bit of an issue. Overall, the Desire 500 is a delightful phone to handle and carry around.
Handling the Desire 500 is a breeze
Display
The HTC Desire 500 is built around a 4.3" capacitive touchscreen of display of WVGA resolution (800 x 480 pixels). The pixel density clocks in at around 217 ppi, which is acceptable for a midranger.
Of course, there are more than a couple of 720p screens in the midrange already, but the Desire 500 has to make do with lower than HD resolution.
Resolution aside, the Desire 500's display has great viewing angles with only minor contrast fading when viewed from an angle, and reasonably good colors, as well.
The HTC Desire 500 display
Indeed, colors are a tad washed out and not as saturated as the ones on the HTC One mini, for instance, but on their own, they look just fine. The white balance on the Desire 500 mini is a bit too cold (bluish) to our taste, while the contrast isn't anything to write home about either.
| Display test | 50% brightness | 100% brightness | ||||
| Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | |||
| HTC Desire 500 | 0.19 | 221 | 1139 | 0.45 | 558 | 1198 |
| Nokia Lumia 1020 | 0 | 172 | ∞ | 0 | 398 | ∞ |
| Nokia Lumia 920 | - | - | - | 0.48 | 513 | 1065 |
| HTC One | 0.13 | 205 | 1580 | 0.42 | 647 | 1541 |
| Samsung Galaxy S4 | 0 | 201 | ∞ | 0 | 404 | ∞ |
| Apple iPhone 5s | 0.14 | 163 | 1145 | 0.49 | 596 | 1219 |
| Apple iPhone 5 | 0.13 | 200 | 1490 | 0.48 | 640 | 1320 |
The display matrix is a standard RGB row, which we've taken a closer look at using our digital microscope.
The HTC Desire 500 display matrix
When it comes to sunlight legibility, the Desire 500 comes in slightly above average. While not as good as some of the premium offerings, the screen will still be visible in moderately bright environments.
Battery performance
As for battery life, HTC claims the Desire 500 will be good for up to 435 hours of 3G stand-by time and just over 12h hours of 3G talk. In our own battery test, the Desire 500 managed to achieve an overall endurance rating of the respectable 47 hours with 3G talk times coming in very close to the numbers provided by HTC.
An endurance rating of 47h means that you'll be able to go for almost two days while performing an hour each of talking, browsing and watching videos before requiring a charge.
gsmarena