HTC Adds Another Mid-Tier Handset, With Support For 64-Bit

The gadget releases have been coming thick and fast out of the IFA consumer electronics tradeshow in Berlin this week, especially yesterday from Samsung and Sony. Today it was Microsoft’s turn to unbox some new kit. Smartphone maker HTC has also now fired out an IFA release, although the Taiwanese company is still battling to turn its business around so has a more modest IFA offering of just the one mid-tier device.

HTC’s new Desire 820 follows on from the pair it released back at the MWC tradeshow in February, but sits towards the upper end of this mid-tier range.

Design-wise the LTE handset offers the same attention to detail the company is know for — with an attractive, colorful two-tone plastic shell that has more than a little of the iPhone 5c’s looks about it. There’s also a generously proportioned 5.5 inch, 720p display, plus front-facing stereo speakers to tick the entertainment-on-the-move box.

Internally there are beefier specs than the average mid-tier handset — including a 64-bit capable processor, putting the Desire 820 among the first Android devices with 64-bit support. (Google’s forthcoming L release of the Android OS will add 64-bit support.) There’s also 2GB of RAM plus an octa core processor which switches between a 1.5GHz and a 1GHz quad-core chip depending on what the phone is being tasked with doing to help prolong battery life.

HTC’s marketing focus for the Desire 820 again looks to selfies, with the company flagging up the 8MP front-facing lens and new software additions that make it easier to beautify a selfie before you snap it by previewing skin softening filters in real-time. There’s also a feature that lets selfie takers create a mash-up of their own and someone else’s visage. The phone’s rear camera is 13 megapixels.

HTC said the Desire 820 will ship later this fall. There’s no word yet on full global availability or price.