HTC Announces Android Wildfire Smartphone

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HTC Wildfire Smartphone

HTC's latest smartphone is a variation on the popular HTC Desire handset, which earned "Best of Show" honors at February's Mobile World Congress.

The main difference between the two phones is the 3.2-inch capacitive touch screen: in an effort to save costs, the Wildfire has only a QVGA low-resolution display.

The Wildfire supports Quad-band GSM networks, dual-band UMTS/HSDPA that is 3G. HTC puts its proprietary Sense user interface over Android 2.1 Eclair mobile OS. The phone also has a multi-touch display with the 'Leap View' function, allowing users to pinch the screen in to see all seven home screens at once. It also comes with a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with LED Flash, a microSD slot and 3.5mm headphone jack.

It has a Qualcomm 528Mhz processor chip, the same as used in the HTC Hero. It also has 512MB of ROM and 384MB of RAM, and can accept microSD cards up to 32GB in capacity. It has built-in 802.11b/g WiFi support, Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR and a GPS.

Other new additions include deeper integration with Facebook so that a contact’s photo and profile status will be displayed when they call along with a reminder of their birthday. The phone also has an app-sharing widget that allows users to recommend any app via text message, email or over social networks.

There has been no word on pricing, although observers speculate it will likely be a lower price point than the HTC Tattoo. The phone will be made available in Europe and Asia in the third quarter of this year in four available colors: black, brown, red, and white.

HTC, which has had critical success with its Android devices, such as the recently released Droid Incredible, is reportedly considering developing its own mobile platform. At least one industry observer calls the idea "madness." "[There are] six separate platforms already vying for a piece of the American market. At least one of those platforms is in trouble. A seventh platform would not help at all," writes Eric Zeman.