HTC recently launched the Desire 516 to take on the immensely-popular Moto G. Here’s a quick review of the Desire 516 in the form of pictures

1. HTC Desire 516
Review in pictures

2. Staid looks, glossy body
• The plastic body doesn’t
arouse much confidence about
the build quality
• Feels quite bulky because of
its 171g weight
• Nothing different in terms of
buttons and ports
• Misses out on backlighting on
navigation keys
• Glossy texture make it
extremely slippery and also
prone to fingerprints and
smudges

3. Display isn’t its strongest point
• Features a 5-inch display, which has become a norm these days
• Bears a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels, resulting in low pixel density
of 220ppi
• The glossy display panel is a fingerprint magnet and is just passable
under sunlight
• Absence of an ambient light sensor means that brightness has to
be adjusted manually

4. 5-meg shooter at the rear…
• A 5-megapixel rear sensor is available at the back
• Quite low on megapixel count, when other
manufacturers are offering as much as 13MP cameras in
the same price range
• Minimalistic camera interface, but offers various options
for adjusting settings like saturation, contrast, etc.

5. … but nothing to write home about
• Image quality isn’t that
impressive
• Captures colours well, but
not details
• Macro shots were a tad
better
• There’s also a 2MP front-
facing camera for Skyping
and selfies

6. Android prevailed with good Sense
• Runs Android 4.3 Jelly
Bean
• HTC’s Sense UI brings
typical features such as
Blinkfeed, Video
Highlights, etc.
• There are also pre-
installed apps such as
Polaris Office and WeChat
• However, the UI doesn’t
seem to be well-
optimised

7. Performs quite well for the most part
• Running the show is a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 200
processor with Adreno 305 graphics
• Thanks to the decent GPU, the device offers a good gaming
experience, though there are occasional lags here and there
• A gigabyte of RAM ensures that the phone can handle
multitasking and operate smoothly

8. Low storage is a deal breaker
• Packed with a paltry 4GB of
flash storage
• You only get 1.72GB for
installation of apps and
storing your files
• Barely enough for
installation of basic apps in
a smartphone, let alone
heavy games like Asphalt 8:
Airborne
• You can extend the
memory via microSD, but
there’s no OTG support

9. A battery that doesn’t last even a day
• The 1,950mAh battery
fails to keep the phone
alive even for a full
working day
• That too with basic usage
of calls, messages and a
little bit of internet
browsing
• Churned out below-
average results in playing
an HD video on loop, and
lasted just five and a half
hours

10. At a glance
• 5-inch display, 960 x 540
pixels
• 1.2GHz quad-core
processor
• 1GB RAM
• 4GB internal storage,
expandable up to 32GB
• 5MP primary camera with
LED flash
• VGA front camera
• 1,950mAh battery
• Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with
Sense UI

11. -
• Glossy design
• No OTG support
• Lacks ambient and
proximity sensors
• Low internal storage
• Poor battery life
Pros and cons
+
• Large display
• Decent hardware

12. ~ Rs 13,500
(online price)
Pricing and verdict
“As a device, the HTC Desire
516 fails to arouse any interest
apart from the fact that it
features a large 5-inch display
It can’t justify its pricing for its
specs and is easily trumped by
competing devices”