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HTC Desire 610 Smartphone Review

More please. HTC shakes up the smartphone middle-class with their Desire 610. The smartphone is equipped with a 4.7-inch qHD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 Quadcore-SoC with an Adreno 305 GPU, 1 GB RAM, and 8 GB of flash storage - all for 299 Euro ($405). The HTC Sense 6.0 user interface spruces up Android 4.4 KitKat, while LTE allows for fast data transfers. So is this a really well-executed smartphone for little money?

For the original German review, see here.

On their website, HTC promises "impressive features and surprising affordability" for smartphones in the Desire-family, which are supposed to be powerful and elegant, yet inexpensive. The newest member is the Desire 610, a middle-class smartphone with a 4.7-inch display  (qHD, 960 x 540 pixels),  a fast quad-core Snapdragon 400 SoC from  Qualcomm (1.2 GHz), as well as LTE support. The other specs: 1 GB RAM, 8 GB flash storage (expandable via a microSD card), plus Android 4.4 KitKat with the HTC Sense 6.0 user interface. The HTC Desire 610 retails for about 300 Euro (~$405) and is available in blue, gray, green, orange, white, and black.

Equipped as above, the smartphone competes with the Huawei Ascend G730, the Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F, the LG G2 Mini, as well as the Zopo ZP1000. Is the performance good enough for a place near the top?

Case

The workmanship is without flaws...
The workmanship is without flaws...
...and the gaps are very even.
...and the gaps are very even.

The case of our dark blue review model is made from resilient polycarbonate. The build quality is high and the phone is torsionally very rigid. Only when we subjected the display to higher levels of pressure than would occur in normal use, we saw some discoloration. The design is typical for HTC with stereo speakers up front. Those users who'd like to add a little color to their life should be happy, as the Desire 610 is available in blue, gray, green, orange, white, and black.

Although the smartphone doesn't feel as upscale as the recently tested HTC One M8, it's still quite good for the price bracket. We don't really understand why HTC didn't continue the matte and non-slip design on the front and sides, but opted for a high-gloss finish on the back instead. The approach doesn't appear to be thought out well, since the back is slippery and attracts dirt and fingerprints.

With a weight of 143 g and overall dimensions of 69.54 x 142.6 x 9.66 mm, the phone is fairly compact, although some competitors are slimmer still. The battery with a capacity of 2040 mAh is unfortunately permanently integrated and can't be swapped by the user.

151.5 mm / 5.96 inch 78.3 mm / 3.08 inch 9.6 mm / 0.378 inch 187 g0.4123 lbs142.6 mm / 5.61 inch 69.54 mm / 2.74 inch 9.66 mm / 0.3803 inch 143 g0.3153 lbs143.9 mm / 5.67 inch 72.2 mm / 2.84 inch 7.2 mm / 0.2835 inch 150 g0.3307 lbs133 mm / 5.24 inch 66 mm / 2.6 inch 10 mm / 0.3937 inch 137 g0.302 lbs129.6 mm / 5.1 inch 66 mm / 2.6 inch 9.9 mm / 0.3898 inch 125 g0.2756 lbs148 mm / 5.83 inch 105 mm / 4.13 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 1.5 g0.00331 lbs

Connectivity

The HTC Desire 610 comes equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 MSM8226 Quadcore SoC with a core frequency of 1.2 GHz and an integrated Qualcomm Adreno 305 GPU clocked at 450 MHz. 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of flash storage (4.24 GB usable) round out the hardware. The storage can be expanded with microSD cards up to a capacity of 128 GB. The corresponding slot as well as the slot for the nanoSIM card are hidden under a flap on the left edge of the smartphone.

The Desire 610 lacks any other physical connection aside from a Micro-USB 2.0 port and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. The ports have ample space between them and thus don't interfere with each other.

Top: power button, 3.5 mm audio jack
Top: power button, 3.5 mm audio jack
Left side: nanoSIM and microSD under a flap
Left side: nanoSIM and microSD under a flap
Bottom: Micro-USB 2.0
Bottom: Micro-USB 2.0
Right side: volume rocker switch
Right side: volume rocker switch
Android 4.4.2
Android 4.4.2

Software

The HTC Desire 610 ships with the brand-new Android 4.4.2 KitKat. As always, HTC integrates their own Sense user interface (version 6.0) on top, which simplifies operation even further and also enables special and fun add-ons like HTC Blink Feed.

GPS works indoors as well.
GPS works indoors as well.
Outside, the precision is quite good.
Outside, the precision is quite good.

Communication & GPS 

The HTC Desire 610 has a normal-sized SIM-card slot and supports Quadband GSM (850/900/1.800/1900 MHz) as well as Triband UMTS 3G/3.5G/WCDMA (850/900/2.100 MHz) with HSPA+ at up to 42 Mbps. The faster 4G/LTE (800/900/1.800/2.600 MHz) protocol is also supported and allows download and upload speeds of up to 300 Mbps and 75 Mbps, respectively.

For wireless transfer, the phone supports 2.4 GHz WLAN 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX. Wireless reception is, according to our tests, below average. 10 m away from our router through three walls we only had one bar in the signal-strength indicator; at times, we lost the connection completely. Other smartphones have much better signal strength.

To determine location information, the Desire 610 makes use of a A-GPS module. Inside, the phone was able to give us a rough idea of our location; outdoors the accuracy improved significantly. Our navigation test during a bike ride - here we compared the 610's performance to a Garmin Edge 500 - paints a very positive picture. The differences to the dedicated navigation GPS are minimal, even during the more difficult segments like the ride through the forest. The HTC Desire 610 is well-suited as a navigational tool even when somewhat higher accuracy is required.


Garmin Edge 500 overall
Garmin Edge 500 overall
Garmin Edge 500 bridge
Garmin Edge 500 bridge
Garmin Edge 500 forest
Garmin Edge 500 forest
HTC Desire 610 overall
HTC Desire 610 overall
HTC Desire 610 bridge
HTC Desire 610 bridge
HTC Desire 610 forest
HTC Desire 610 forest
Phone application
Phone application

Telephony and Voice Quality

No issues here. The HTC Desire 610's phone app functions like the standard Android equivalent and operation isn't difficult at all. The voice quality is very high for both conversation partners, no matter if the phone is used in a regular manner or if the speaker phone is active. The person on the other end attested very good quality with barely any background hiss.

Cameras & Multimedia

The HTC Desire 610 has a FSI-sensor equipped webcam with a resolution of 1.3 Megapixel, which also records videos in 720p. The quality is decent and good enough for selfies - provided the environment is bright enough. The main camera features a BSI sensor, has a fairly high resolution of 8 Megapixel, and an aperture of f/2.4. Videos are recorded in Full-HD.

To get an idea of the picture quality, we look at the output of various competitor and a good SLR camera. The comparison shows that the HTC Desire 620 overexposes photos and that the colors are a bit washed out and not quite true to nature. Sharpness is also lacking somewhat. The LED flash works well, but only in close proximity of the object to be photographed. The main camera is sufficient for snapshots if the user doesn't have his or her expectations set too high.

HTC Desire 610 fruits
HTC Desire 610 fruits
HTC Desire 610 scene
HTC Desire 610 scene
HTC Desire 610 neighborhood
HTC Desire 610 neighborhood
Apple iPhone 5 fruits
Apple iPhone 5 fruits
Apple iPhone 5 scene
Apple iPhone 5 scene
Apple iPhone 5 neighborhood
Apple iPhone 5 neighborhood
Nokia 1020 fruits
Nokia 1020 fruits
Nokia 1020 scene
Nokia 1020 scene
Nokia 1020 neighborhood
Nokia 1020 neighborhood
Sony A57 fruits
Sony A57 fruits
Sony A57 scene
Sony A57 scene
Sony A57 neighborhood
Sony A57 neighborhood

Accessories & Warranty

HTC includes a modular 5V USB power adapter and a quickstart guide. Optional accessories are available as well: the manufacturer offers an external battery pack as well as stereo headphones in their online store. In Germany, the Desire 610 is protected against manufacturers defects for a period of 24 months. At the time of writing, HTC didn't offer any warranty extensions.

Input Devices & Operation

The virtual keyboard is more or less equivalent to the standard Android keyboard, although optional HTC Sense features - like the overlay of the arrow keys in portrait mode - enhance the usefulness and make the operation easier. Even in portrait mode, the size of the keys is sufficient to ensure accurate typing. In landscape mode, the visible screen area is reduced significantly, but the keyboard is much larger.

The touchscreen is easy to control and highly accurate even towards the edges and in the corners. The screen rotation from portrait to landscape mode and back happens quickly as well.

The keys are large enough in both portrait...
The keys are large enough in both portrait...
...and landscape mode.
...and landscape mode.
HTC Sense allows for...
HTC Sense allows for...
...numerous adjustments
...numerous adjustments

Display

HTC Desire 610: 4.7-inch TFT display with 960 x 540 pixels.
HTC Desire 610: 4.7-inch TFT display with 960 x 540 pixels.

The 4.7-inch TFT display has a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels, which is standard for the class and price bracket. The resolution is sufficient to render the screen content crisply and without any pixelation.

We measured an average brightness of 321.3 cd/m². Compared to its competition, the HTC Desire 610 is not a standout: while both the LG G2 Mini (331.2 cd/m²) and the Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F (389.9 cd/m) are not substantially brighter, other smartphones like the Huawei Ascend G730 and Zopo ZP1000  significantly exceed the brightness of the review unit and are either far above or just below 500 cd/m².

The Desire 610 posted a very good brightness distribution of 91 %, however. Only the LG G2 Mini improved upon this result by a percentage point, other competitors scored just a tad lower. Only the Huawei Ascend G730 did somewhat worse with a brightness distribution of 85 %.

 

323
cd/m²
338
cd/m²
314
cd/m²
316
cd/m²
339
cd/m²
310
cd/m²
312
cd/m²
330
cd/m²
310
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 339 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 321.3 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 91 %
Center on Battery: 339 cd/m²
Contrast: 616:1 (Black: 0.55 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5.98 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 5.95 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
Gamma: 2.51

The black value of 0.55 cd/ is a bit too high, which results in an unimpressive contrast ratio of 616:1. While the Desire 610 has a better black value than either the Huawei Ascend G730 or the Zopo ZP1000, the competing phones all have better contrast. Subjectively, the screen content is sharp and the blacks are sufficiently dark, however.

We use the software CalMAN and a the colorimeter X-Rite i1pro2to check the display for weaknesses. Our test shows a slightly elevated color temperature and blue/green as well as green/yellow are outside the normal range. The average DeltaE of 5.98 for the mixed colors confirms this result as well. The Grayscale measurements also far from their ideal values and especially the lighter areas exhibit a bluish hue (DeltaE 5.95). Although the measurements above might be not ideal, subjectively the display looks quite natural and the colors are very vivid.

Color Management
Color Management
ColorChecker
ColorChecker
Saturation
Saturation
Grayscale
Grayscale

The maximum brightness of 339 cd/m² is generally sufficient for outdoor use. Direct light sources render the screen content unreadable, since the display is highly reflective. Otherwise, the smartphone can be used outdoors without major reservations.

Despite the fact that the display uses TFT technology, the viewing angle stability of the HTC Desire 610 doesn't leave to be desired: even at extreme angles, the picture quality doesn't change much and only the brightness decreases. Performance this good is normally reserved for IPS displays!

Outdoor use
Outdoor use
Viewing angles
Viewing angles

Performance

The HTC Desire 610 is equipped with a quad-core SoC from Qualcomm. The Snapdragon 400 MSM8226 has a clock speed of 1.2 GHz and comes with an integrated Qualcomm Adreno 305 GPU with a 450 MHz clock speed. The SoC can has access to 1 GB of RAM.

During most synthetic benchmark tests, our review smartphone scored comparably to competitors like the LG G2 Mini and the Huawei Ascend G730. For both the AnTuTu v4 and the Geekbench 3 Multi-Core benchmarks, the Desire 610 can even hold the Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F at bay. The Zopo ZP1000 with its potent Acta-Core SoC is still faster across the board.

AnTuTu v4 - Total Score (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
17259 Points
LG G2 Mini
17412 Points +1%
Huawei Ascend G730
17307 Points 0%
Zopo ZP1000
27347 Points +58%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
12246 Points -29%
Geekbench 3
32 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
1147 Points
LG G2 Mini
1141 Points -1%
Huawei Ascend G730
1160 Points +1%
Zopo ZP1000
2382 Points +108%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
654 Points -43%
32 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
347 Points
LG G2 Mini
343 Points -1%
Huawei Ascend G730
352 Points +1%
Zopo ZP1000
441 Points +27%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
373 Points +7%
PassMark PerformanceTest Mobile V1 - System (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
2243 Points
LG G2 Mini
2184 Points -3%
Huawei Ascend G730
2387 Points +6%
Zopo ZP1000
3093 Points +38%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
1942 Points -13%
GFXBench 3.0
1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
1.7 fps
LG G2 Mini
1.6 fps -6%
Huawei Ascend G730
0 fps -100%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
0 fps -100%
on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
6.4 fps
LG G2 Mini
6.4 fps 0%
Huawei Ascend G730
0 fps -100%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
0 fps -100%
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
15.2 fps
LG G2 Mini
15.1 fps -1%
Huawei Ascend G730
8.6 fps -43%
Zopo ZP1000
12.8 fps -16%
1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
5.9 fps
LG G2 Mini
5.7 fps -3%
Huawei Ascend G730
3.7 fps -37%
3DMark
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
7973 Points
LG G2 Mini
8189 Points +3%
Huawei Ascend G730
7858 Points -1%
Zopo ZP1000
10893 Points +37%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
4372 Points
LG G2 Mini
4350 Points -1%
Huawei Ascend G730
2454 Points -44%
Zopo ZP1000
5253 Points +20%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Score (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
4860 Points
LG G2 Mini
4856 Points 0%
Huawei Ascend G730
2897 Points -40%
Zopo ZP1000
5936 Points +22%
1920x1080 Ice Storm Extreme Physics (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
7573 Points
LG G2 Mini
7542 Points 0%
Huawei Ascend G730
8191 Points +8%
Zopo ZP1000
10293 Points +36%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
4147 Points -45%
1920x1080 Ice Storm Extreme Graphics (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
2456 Points
LG G2 Mini
2428 Points -1%
Huawei Ascend G730
1683 Points -31%
Zopo ZP1000
3426 Points +39%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
1296 Points -47%
1920x1080 Ice Storm Extreme Score (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
2890 Points
LG G2 Mini
2859 Points -1%
Huawei Ascend G730
2044 Points -29%
Zopo ZP1000
4022 Points +39%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
1530 Points -47%
1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Physics (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
7593 Points
LG G2 Mini
7602 Points 0%
Huawei Ascend G730
8158 Points +7%
Zopo ZP1000
10060 Points +32%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
4163 Points -45%
1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Graphics (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
5434 Points
LG G2 Mini
5392 Points -1%
Huawei Ascend G730
2533 Points -53%
Zopo ZP1000
5380 Points -1%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
2727 Points -50%
1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Score (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
5801 Points
LG G2 Mini
5764 Points -1%
Huawei Ascend G730
2991 Points -48%
Zopo ZP1000
6000 Points +3%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
2953 Points -49%
AndEBench
Java (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
343 Iter./s
LG G2 Mini
336 Iter./s -2%
Huawei Ascend G730
362 Iter./s +6%
Zopo ZP1000
389 Iter./s +13%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
209 Iter./s -39%
Native (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
6453 Iter./s
LG G2 Mini
6500 Iter./s +1%
Huawei Ascend G730
7027 Iter./s +9%
Zopo ZP1000
17989 Iter./s +179%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
4260 Iter./s -34%
Basemark X 1.1
High Quality (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
1623 Points
Huawei Ascend G730
1630 Points 0%
Medium Quality (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
4382 Points
LG G2 Mini
4225 Points -4%
Huawei Ascend G730
4820 Points +10%
Zopo ZP1000
8224 Points +88%

Legend

 
HTC Desire 610 Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 MSM8226, Qualcomm Adreno 305, 8 GB SSD
 
LG G2 Mini Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 MSM8926, Qualcomm Adreno 305, 8 GB SSD
 
Huawei Ascend G730 Mediatek MT6582, ARM Mali-400 MP2, 4 GB Flash
 
Zopo ZP1000 Mediatek MT6592, ARM Mali-450 MP4, 16 GB iNAND Flash
 
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F Renesas MP5232, PowerVR SGX544, 8 GB SSD

The browser benchmark scores are decent as well. The HTC Desire 610 outperforms both the Huawei Ascend G730 and the Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F by a pretty significant margin when running Sunspider 1.0 and Mozilla Kraken 1.1. The Galaxy is faster, however, when tasked with Octane V2 benchmark. The Zopo ZP1000 outperforms the other smartphones during the Peacekeeper benchmark; the Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F is once again the fasted running the WebXPRT 2013 test.

We performed all tests using the stock Android Browser instead of the faster Google Chrome.

Sunspider - 1.0 Total Score (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
1224 ms *
LG G2 Mini
1086 ms * +11%
Huawei Ascend G730
1381 ms * -13%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
1525 ms * -25%
Octane V2 - Total Score (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
1413 Points
LG G2 Mini
1768 Points +25%
Huawei Ascend G730
894 Points -37%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
1547 Points +9%
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
17405 ms *
LG G2 Mini
15671 ms * +10%
Huawei Ascend G730
28996 ms * -67%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
21760 ms * -25%
Peacekeeper - --- (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
696 Points
LG G2 Mini
686 Points -1%
Huawei Ascend G730
582 Points -16%
Zopo ZP1000
786 Points +13%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
587 Points -16%
WebXPRT 2013 - Overall (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
114 Points
Huawei Ascend G730
96 Points -16%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
165 Points +45%

* ... smaller is better

The integrated flash drive is comparatively fast according to AndroBench 3. The HTC 610 performs better than most running the 256KB tests, but falls behind during the 4KB tests.

When running the GPU benchmark Epic Citadel, the HTC Desire 610 leaves the competition in the dust, although the LG G2 Mini is not too far behind.

AndroBench 3-5
Random Write 4KB (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
0.82 MB/s
LG G2 Mini
1.18 MB/s +44%
Huawei Ascend G730
0.27 MB/s -67%
Zopo ZP1000
0.88 MB/s +7%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
0.98 MB/s +20%
Random Read 4KB (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
9.69 MB/s
LG G2 Mini
14.18 MB/s +46%
Huawei Ascend G730
11.12 MB/s +15%
Zopo ZP1000
13.28 MB/s +37%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
6.4 MB/s -34%
Sequential Write 256KB (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
13.76 MB/s
LG G2 Mini
11.81 MB/s -14%
Huawei Ascend G730
5.64 MB/s -59%
Zopo ZP1000
21.36 MB/s +55%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
13.76 MB/s 0%
Sequential Read 256KB (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
76.6 MB/s
LG G2 Mini
110.1 MB/s +44%
Huawei Ascend G730
43.56 MB/s -43%
Zopo ZP1000
57 MB/s -26%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
26.94 MB/s -65%
Epic Citadel
Ultra High Quality (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
47.8 fps
LG G2 Mini
48.4 fps +1%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
27.7 fps -42%
High Quality (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
56.8 fps
LG G2 Mini
57.5 fps +1%
Huawei Ascend G730
53.5 fps -6%
Zopo ZP1000
53.9 fps -5%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
52.4 fps -8%
High Performance (sort by value)
HTC Desire 610
58.3 fps
LG G2 Mini
58.4 fps 0%
Huawei Ascend G730
55.2 fps -5%
Zopo ZP1000
54.5 fps -7%
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F
53.6 fps -8%

Gaming Performance

The Qualcomm Adreno 305 GPU, which is integrated in the SoC, offers enough performance even for demanding games like the 3D zombie-hunt Dead Trigger 2 or the kart-racing game Angry Birds Go!, both of which run without any lags or stutters. Most current games should not pose a problem for the Desire 610 and they are a lot of fun to boot, since the touchscreen and the acceleration and position sensors allow for very fluid and precise control.

Angry Birds Go!
Angry Birds Go!
Dead Trigger 2
Dead Trigger 2

Emissions

Temperature

The HTC Desire 610 also well-behaved as far as the observed temperatures are concerned. During idle, the smartphone reached between 26.2 and 28.1 degrees C - not even warm to the touch. Under full load, the review smartphone topped out between 33 and 35 degrees C average. The highest value recorded was 36.2 degrees C - some competing smartphones can get much warmer than that. The power adapter has to be cooled well, since we measured a high of 43.9 degrees C.


Max. Load
 35.5 °C
96 F
34.1 °C
93 F
33.6 °C
92 F
 
 36.2 °C
97 F
34.2 °C
94 F
35.8 °C
96 F
 
 36 °C
97 F
34.1 °C
93 F
34.1 °C
93 F
 
Maximum: 36.2 °C = 97 F
Average: 34.8 °C = 95 F
30 °C
86 F
32.5 °C
91 F
34 °C
93 F
30.6 °C
87 F
33.3 °C
92 F
34.7 °C
94 F
30.2 °C
86 F
33 °C
91 F
34.7 °C
94 F
Maximum: 34.7 °C = 94 F
Average: 32.6 °C = 91 F
Power Supply (max.)  43.9 °C = 111 F | Room Temperature 21.6 °C = 71 F | Voltcraft IR-350
(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 34.8 °C / 95 F, compared to the average of 32.7 °C / 91 F for the devices in the class Smartphone.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 36.2 °C / 97 F, compared to the average of 35 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 56 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 34.7 °C / 94 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 28.1 °C / 83 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.

Speakers

HTC stays true to their design philosophy and equips the Desire 610 with front-facing stereo speakers. The sound quality is great and even sufficient for a movie here and there. Of course, the small size doesn't allow for a punchy bass, but mids and highs are pretty balanced. Audiophiles can make use of the 3.5 mm audio jack and connect good headphones or external speakers to enjoy great sound with low noise and high maximum volume level.

Energy Management

Power Consumption

As far as the power consumption is concerned, the HTC Desire 610 is about average for the class. Although it consumes less than the Zopo ZP1000 and the Huawei Ascend G730, it needs a lot more power than the more frugal Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F and the LG G2 Mini.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.1 / 0.2 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 0.8 / 1.6 / 1.9 Watt
Load midlight 3.4 / 4.4 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Voltcraft VC 940
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.

Battery Life

Our analysis of the battery life shows that the 2040 mAh power source of the Desire 610 is adequately sized for the integrated hardware. The phone lasted for 17 hours during the idle test and quit the more relevant WLAN test (a script visits a different website every 40 seconds), after a very decent 8 hours and 40 minutes. For this test, we adjust the display brightness to 150 nits and enable power-saving features. Under maximum load with the brightness turned up all the way, the phone lasted for a good 3 hours and 36 minutes.

The results of our tests are good, but the competition outperforms the Desire 610 across the board. Although the Huawei Ascend G730 (2300 mAh) and the LG G2 Mini (2440 mAh) have larger batteries, the Zopo ZP1000 (2000 mAh) and the Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F (2000 mAh) actually have less capacity.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
17h 00min
WiFi Surfing
8h 40min
Load (maximum brightness)
3h 36min

Verdict

In Review: HTC Desire 610
In Review: HTC Desire 610

HTC mixes up the mini-smartphone segment with their Desire 610. The phone is equipped with a sufficiently bright and evenly lit 4.7-inch TFT display with a very good viewing angle stability. The touchscreen is a delight, as it is very exact and works well even in the corners. We also like the build quality, although the glossy and somewhat slippery back doesn't quite fit in. Other positive aspects are the fast quad-core SoC, which allows for great overall as well as gaming performance. The smartphone runs the current Android 4.4 KitKat. The internal flash drive is also quite fast, although 4 GB of usable space isn't really generous - but at least it's easy to expand storage using a microSD card. While on the road, LTE/4G allows for fast downloads. The reception quality as well as the GPS signal strength are also very good. The stereo speakers up front and the decent voice quality also contribute to our overall very positive impression.

The WLAN reception is below par, although that's only noticeable at larger distances from the router. The battery is also permanently integrated - but at least the phone lasts through a normal work day. The two cameras neither elate nor disappoint and snapshots are decent enough, albeit a bit overexposed.

Users looking for a colorful smartphone with good performance and few weaknesses in the 300 Euro (~$400) price range should definitely take a closer look at the HTC Desire 610.

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In Review: HTC Desire 610. Test model courtesy of HTC.
In Review: HTC Desire 610. Test model courtesy of HTC.

Specifications

HTC Desire 610 (Desire Series)
Processor
Graphics adapter
Qualcomm Adreno 305, Core: 450 MHz
Memory
1024 MB 
Display
4.70 inch 16:9, 960 x 540 pixel, Capacitive multi-touch, TFT, glossy: yes
Storage
8 GB SSD, 8 GB 
, 4.24 GB free
Connections
1 USB 2.0, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm headphone jack, Card Reader: microSD (up to 128 GB), Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, A-GPS with GLONASS, DLNA, NFC
Networking
802.11 b/g/n (b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/), Bluetooth 4.0 mit aptX, GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz; 3G/3.5G – WCDMA: 850/900/2100 MHz with HSPA+ up to 42 Mbps ; 4G – LTE: 800/900/1800/2600 MHz
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 9.66 x 142.6 x 69.54 ( = 0.38 x 5.61 x 2.74 in)
Battery
Lithium-Polymer, 2040 mAh, Talk time 3G (according to manufacturer): 16 h, Standby 3G (according to manufacturer): 650 h
Operating System
Android 4.4 KitKat
Camera
Webcam: Main camera: 8 MP, BSI sensor, f/2,4, 1080p videos; front camer: 1.3 MP, FSI sensor, 720p videos
Additional features
Speakers: Front stereo speakers, Keyboard: Virtual, Keyboard Light: yes, HTC Sense 6.0, HTC Blinkfeed, HTC Boomsound, Screenshots, UKW radio, Google Maps with Navigation, Google voice control, 24 Months Warranty, Available in blue, gray, green, orange, white, and black
Weight
143 g ( = 5.04 oz / 0.32 pounds), Power Supply: 50 g ( = 1.76 oz / 0.11 pounds)
Price
299 Euro

 

Not much included in the box: the phone itself, power adapter, and the USB cable.
Not much included in the box: the phone itself, power adapter, and the USB cable.
CPU-Z is able to identify the Qualcomm SoC based on the ARM Cortex A7.
CPU-Z is able to identify the Qualcomm SoC based on the ARM Cortex A7.
Geekbench 3 system info
Geekbench 3 system info
The HTC Sense interface has nice features like Highlights...
The HTC Sense interface has nice features like Highlights...
... or HTC's Blinkfeed.
... or HTC's Blinkfeed.
The HTC Desire 610 is available in many different colors.
The HTC Desire 610 is available in many different colors.
Our review phone is dark blue ...
Our review phone is dark blue ...
...and is equipped with a 4.7-inch TFT display.
...and is equipped with a 4.7-inch TFT display.
The front and the sides are matte...
The front and the sides are matte...
...but the back has a high-gloss finish.
...but the back has a high-gloss finish.
Unfortunately, this finish doesn't feel particulary nice to the touch and it attracts dirt and fingerprints as well.
Unfortunately, this finish doesn't feel particulary nice to the touch and it attracts dirt and fingerprints as well.
The flap on the side...
The flap on the side...
...hides the nanoSIM...
...hides the nanoSIM...
...as well as a microSD card slot. The latter is necessary...
...as well as a microSD card slot. The latter is necessary...
...since storage is quite limited.
...since storage is quite limited.
The main camera has 8 MP and comes equipped with an LED flash.
The main camera has 8 MP and comes equipped with an LED flash.
The camera up front has 1.3 MP.
The camera up front has 1.3 MP.
The gaps between adjecent parts...
The gaps between adjecent parts...
...are clean and evenly spaced.
...are clean and evenly spaced.
The visual appearance is a matter of personal preference.
The visual appearance is a matter of personal preference.
But the performance speaks for itself.
But the performance speaks for itself.
The HTC Desire 610: overall a convincing package.
The HTC Desire 610: overall a convincing package.

Similar Smartphones

Price Comparison

Pros

+Good viewing angle stability
+Even brightness distribution
+Good build quality
+Touchscreen accurate even at the edges
+Application and gaming performance
+Current Android version 4.4 KitKat
+Storage can be expanded via microSD cards
+Fast internal storage
+LTE capable
+GPS reception
+Front stereo speakers
+Decent voice quality
 

Cons

-Battery not removable
-Back of the phone looks cheap; the haptic design leaves to be desired
-WLAN reception subpar
-Both cameras overexpose photos

Shortcut

What we like

The number of useful features: LTE, GPS, microSD, and a few more.

What we'd like to see

A brighter screen for outdoor use.

What surprises us

The decision to integrate the battery and WLAN reception quality.

The competition

Huawei Ascend G730

LG G2 Mini

Samsung Galaxy Core LTE SM-G386F

Zopo ZP1000

Bewertung

HTC Desire 610 - 05/30/2014 v4(old)
Michael Moser

Chassis
80%
Keyboard
65 / 75 → 87%
Pointing Device
86%
Connectivity
44 / 60 → 73%
Weight
93%
Battery
92%
Display
82%
Games Performance
53 / 63 → 84%
Application Performance
24 / 70 → 34%
Temperature
91%
Noise
100%
Audio
69 / 91 → 76%
Camera
58%
Average
72%
81%
Smartphone - Weighted Average
Michael Moser, 2014-06- 8 (Update: 2018-05-15)