HTC unveiled two news versions of its Desire smartphone, which will launch from mid-October in Europe and Asia. In addition to the latest Android 2.2 operating system, the HTC Desire HD and Desire Z will feature an updated version of the company's user interface, HTC Sense, with enhanced multimedia and location-based services. Some of the new features include the ability to edit photos taken with the phone's camera, on-demand access to maps stored on a SD card with HTC Locations, and the Kobo e-reader for reading books and accessing dictionaries and translations. HTC is also moving into cloud services with the launch of HTCsense.com, where users can manage phone settings and access content on the phone from a PC. This includes downloading ringtones and wallpapers to the device, making the phone ring to find it, localising the phone on a map, blocking the phone and wiping its data if the device is stolen. The new HTC Desire HD features a 4.3-inch LCD screen, Dolby Mobile and surround sound, and a faster 1GHz Qualcomm 9255 Snapdragon processor. The phone comes with an 8 megapixel camera and can record 720p HD video. The HTC Fast Boot feature also reduces the start-up time of the phone. The HTC Desire Z targets multi-taskers and features a qwerty keypad that slides out from under the touch screen. The keypad comes with hot keys for quick acess to popular services. The Desire Z has 4GB internal memory, a 720p HD videocamera, 5-megapixel camera, the new 800MHz Qualcomm 7230 processor, and HTC Fast Boot. The Desire HD will sell for EUR 579, and the Desire Z costs EUR 499 including VAT. HTC said the Desire Z will also launch in North America later this year.
