In an intelligent move after the spending spree of Christmas, HTC has launched a budget handset expected to be available on £15 per month contracts or less.
The HTC Smart will be up against its big brother the HTC Tattoo, which hit the high street in September last year for £25 per month on Vodafone.
What's interesting about the new kid on the block is that HTC has opted out of a Windows or Android platform, but will run Qualcomm's humble Brew platform, which can also be found on INQ's Mini 3G model.
The OS move away from Android may be an indication that the Taiwanese-based company is looking to remain independent after Google forged into the hardware market with its own Nexus One phone.
Industry analysts had predicted that Google's alliances with manufacturers could break down after the web giant started taking over their turf.
"If the most essential element of your phone is coming from a competitor, it's not good. Not in any industry," said William Blair & Company analyst, Anil Doradla.
The HTC Smart packs a 2.8 inch touchscreen, 256MB RAM, microSD slot and Bluetooth.
Entertainment-wise, it has a flash-less 3 megapixel camera and a standard headphone 3.5mm audio socket.
It lacks WiFi but HTC chief executive officer, Peter Chou, is still hailing the tech features of the handset.
“Just adding a touch interface doesn't mean a phone is a smart phone; the integration of HTC Sense brings an unparallelled smartphone experience for people looking to do more on their phone,” he said.
The Smart looks set to be released next spring, but there is no word on its carrier.
Do cheap as chips phones tempt you to reach for your wallet? Leave us a comment and let us know.
One thought on “HTC Smart: A Bargain Basement Smartphone”
Wouldn’t buy one for myself but it’s a good price range for someone’s first mobile phone and with a touchscreen too- ooh er!