Virgin Mobile signs new HTC Desire with LTE, BoomSound
The no-contract carrier adds a budget-friendly cousin of the HTC One.
Virgin Mobile on Monday announced the immediate availability of the HTC Desire smartphone, not to be confused with 2010's model by the same name, sold by U.S. Cellular.
In fact, this variant, known in other markets as the Desire 601, is best described as an affordable cousin of the flagship HTC One.
Priced at $279.99, the no-contract handset runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and features midrange hardware and 4G LTE, to go along with a 4.5-inch qHD display, a 5-megapixel rear camera, and dual-core 1.4GHz Snapdragon 400 processor.
As is the case with other HTC models of the year, this rebooted Desire features the custom Sense UI and software touches -- HTC BlinkFeed, HTC Zoe camera mode, and Video Highlights. Also like the HTC One, the phone features HTC BoomSound, the dual front-facing speakers with built-in amplification.
Sit tight, CNET will review the Desire as soon as possible.