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HTC Desire 816 impresses with design and price (pictures)

A plastic version of the HTC One M8, the Taiwanese company's latest mid-range effort strikes all the right chords.

Aloysius Low
Aloysius Low is a Senior Editor at CNET covering mobile and Asia. Based in Singapore, he loves playing Dota 2 when he can spare the time and is also the owner-minion of two adorable cats.
Aloysius Low
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1 of 9 Aloysius Low/CNET

HTC Desire 816

Sporting a 5.5-inch HD display, this midrange smartphone from HTC runs on a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor and has 4G LTE.

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Taking its visual cues from the flagship One M8, the Desire 816 is similar, but makes its own impact. It runs Android KitKat 4.4.2 and has HTC's Sense 6 UI on top.

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At 5.8 ounces (165g), it's slightly heavier than the One M8.

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To allow for a better grip, HTC has made the edges matte instead of slippery glossy like the rear.

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These front-facing speakers are powered by HTC's BoomSound tech, and they make for a great experience when watching video.

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The phone packs a 13-megapixel camera, but doesn't have the same capabilities (such as Zoe) found on the flagship M8.

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The shiny plastic back may not be to your liking. Under the hood lies a 2,600mAh battery that you can't replace.

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The 1,280x720-pixel screen is more than sharp enough.

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Reminiscent of Apple's iPhone 5C, HTC has crafted a classy mobile from a humble plastic shell.

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