HTC Radar - mid-tier Mango with uni-body design

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HTC today announced the HTC Radar, a Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) smartphone. It offers a near mid-tier entry point into the world of Windows Phone, with pricing expected to come in at around £350. It has a uni-body aluminum design, which HTC describe as 'eye-catching'. Key specifications include a 3.8 inch Super-LCD touch screen, 5 MP camera, 1GHz processor and 8GB of on board storage. The HTC Radar is expected to become available in select markets in early October.

The HTC Radar may not grab headlines in the same way that its sister device, the HTC TITAN will, but in some ways it is a more practical and better value device. In the HTC Windows Phone line-up it replaces the HTC 7 Mozart and the HTC 8 Trophy. As with its predecessors it represents the current entry point for Windows Phone in terms of price. While it is at the upper end of mid-tier status, it does gives Windows Phone 7.5 a bigger addressable market than that provided by the more expensive devices. 

Comparing the Radar to the TITAN, excluding the obvious screen and size differences, there are a number of note worthy specification changes. These include a lower specification camera (down from 8MP to 5MP), less storage (16GB versus 8GB) and a slower processor (1.5Ghz versus 1Ghz). However, internally there are changes from the first generation of Windows Phone devices, so the Radar should be snappier than the Trophy or Mozart. 

HTC Radar

 

HTC Radar - introductory video

Key hardware features

  • 120.5 x 61.5 x 10.9 mm in dimensions, 137g in weight; monoblock touch form factor
      
  • 3.8 inch Super-LCD screen; 800 x 480 pixels resolution (WVGA); scratch resistant front window made from toughened glass.
     
  • 1 GHz processor (Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon with Adreno 205 GPU); 512 MB RAM
      
  • 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with dual LED flash; F2.2 lens and BSI sensor; HD video capture at 1280 x 720 (720p and 30 frames per second)
      
  • Integrated GPS.
      
  • 3.5 mm audio out, SRS enhancement, 5.1 surround sound for video supported
      
  • G-sensor, proximity sensor and ambient light sensor
      
  • microUSB (USB 2.0) for PC connectivity and charging
     
  • 1520 mAH battery - standby time of 20 days (GSM) and 22 days (WCDMA); talk time of 10 hours (GSM) and 85 hours (WCDMA).
      
  • WCDMA 850/900/2100 and GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 (HSDPA Cat 10 - 14.4 MBps, HSUPA Cat 6 - 5.76 Mbps)
      
  • WiFi: WLAN IEEE802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.0
      
  • 16GB mass memory (12.63GB available to user)
      
  • Availability: early October
       


Key software features

  • Runs Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango)
      
  • HTC Watch - streaming video service that allows you to watch trailers and films (availability varies by market)
      
  • HTC Connected Media - DNLA application allowing you to connect to and stream music, video and photos to DLNA enabled devices (e.g. some TVs, Sony Playstation, Xbox 360 etc.)
      
  • HTC Hub - quick access to news, weather and stock reports
      
  • HTC Locations - share location information with friends
     
  • Tango video-calling/conferencing software (making use of the front camera)
      
  • Internet Sharing - turn your phone into a WiFi hotspot