MWC 2010: HTC Desire has Android 2.1

HTC has announced Google Nexus One's sibling HTC Desire with Sense UI clad Android 2.1 at the ongoing Mobile World Congress 2010. Yes, it's the same HTC handset codenamed 'Bravo' that got a mention on Swedish Mobile Operator 3's Facebook page last month. With 3.7-inch AMOLED multi-touch display, Desire sports 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. HTC will make Desire available in Europe and Asia in early second quarter of this year.

Amongst the Android handsets, the current beloved Google Nexus One gets a cloned brother dubbed HTC Desire that may be the next preference for those consumers who won't get to see former one anytime soon. Both phones with almost the same specifications will kind of confuse users as to why HTC offers two phones with same hardware features.

The new HTC Desire stands different from Nexus One on grounds of HTC's Sense UI and the former doesn't have a trackball navigation. Desire has 3.7-inch AMOLED WVGA display that is as much as existing smartphones like Motorola Droid and Samsung Omnia HD. Just like the Nexus One, HTC Desire equips 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU with 512MB ROM and 576MB RAM (while Nexus One has 512MB RAM).

New Android 2.1 operating system loaded on Desire also has layer of HTC's Sense UI that debuted with HTC Herosmartphone. Sense UI now features new Leap function that allows viewing different home screens at the same time by pinch gesture. We already know about Friend Stream feature that collates all the social network updates to the contacts in Address Book. Other improvements come in the browser, web client, widget and better news reader application.

Along with the Desire, HTC has launched two other devices at the MWC 2010 - HTC Legend and HTC HD Mini.