HTC unveils flagship Desire HD exclusively with VHA

At a swanky press event in London’s Old Billingsgate market, HTC lifted the lid on the next generation of its Desire smartphones and Sense UI. It has also announced the launch of HTCSense.com, a website for owners of HTC phones.

As one might guess from the name, HTC was focused on the multimedia features of the Desire HD such as a dual-flash, 8 megapixel camera that is capable of recording 720p videos. It is also a sleek looking phone, adopting the same aluminium unibody contruction method that debuted a few months ago in the form of the HTC Legend.

Contrary to early rumours, the Desire HD is set to use a 4.3in Super LCD display and will run on a Second generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 8255 processor (still a single core processor, the third generation of Snapdragon will be dual core).

Joining the Desire HD will be the Desire Z. This smartphone is built around a pop-out QWERTY keyboard designed to satisfy those who don’t like software keyboards. It is slightly lesser powered than the Desire HD, with a 5 megapixel camera capable of HD recording at a currently unspecified resolution. It runs an 800MHz Qualcomm 7230 processor.

The Desire Z: slightly lesser powered than the Desire HD, with a 5 megapixel camera capable of HD recording

PC Authority phone experts who were at the London launch said these are both quite powerful looking phones.

The new Sense UI brings with it a host of features designed to leverage the new phones. There are new video editing options to complement the HD video recording. There is also HTC Locations, which is designed to streamline gps use while avoiding the pitfalls of data streaming and the associated roaming costs incurred when using gps on the go. 

Perhaps in preparation for a move into the tablet space, Sense now also features integrated e-book reader software and a dedicated bookstore thanks to a deal with e-reader manufacturer Kobo.

HTCSense.com is a collection of tools designed to help you manage your smartphone from the web. The site will allow for smoother transition of data like contacts between HTC phones, while also allowing  a host of tools that can be used with lost or stolen phones. This ranges from making your phone ring even if you have it on silent to remotely wiping all personal data in the case of theft.

The new phones and Sense UI will start rolling out to stores next month. We don’t have any specific details on which carriers will be working with HTC for the launch, but considering the Telstra exclusivity deals on the Desire and Wildfire we wouldn’t be surprised if history repeated itself.

VHA has announced that the HTC Desire HD will launch exclusively through Vodafone and 3. Pricing and availability will be announced closer to the launch date.