HTC Rhyme hands-on (photos)

The HTC Rhyme is Verizon's latest Android smartphone and will be available starting September 29 for $199.99 with a two-year contract. The price includes three accessories: a desktop dock, a cell phone charm that lights up when you have incoming calls, and tangle-free headphones. HTC and Verizon were careful to say that the Rhyme wasn't specifically for females. Instead, the companies said it was for those who want a stylish handset with a solid set of features and a collection of accessories.

The smartphone runs Android Gingerbread along with slightly different version of HTC Sense, designed specifically for the Rhyme. This includes a new home screen that has a less cluttered look and provides access to just the essentials. Now, you can simply tap on the icons on the left and quickly see if you have any new messages, launch the music player and photo gallery, and more.

You now also have the option to remove home screen pages if you don't need all seven.

The HTC Rhyme also comes preloaded with custom wallpapers.

Like all of HTC's devices, the Rhyme is very solid and attractive. It features a unibody design and measures 4.6 inches tall by 2.4 inches wide by 0.4 in thick. Verizon will only offer the phone in plum, which is very nice, but we're not sure if it will attract anyone but women.

The Rhyme does come in other colors, including "clearwater" and "hourglass." However, those styles will only be available globally.

The top of the phone features a power button and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The back of the phone features a three-tone color scheme, as well as the 5-megapixel camera and LED flash. There's also a front-facing VGA camera for video calls.

The camera app includes new tools and options. For example, like the T-Mobile MyTouch Slide 4G, the Rhyme offers HDR, panoramic, and burst-shooting modes.

There is also a new setting that instructs the camera to automatically upload photos to a specific Facebook or Flickr album.

The included cell phone charm plugs into the 3.5mm headphone jack and illuminates when you have an incoming call. We could see how this would be appealing to some users, but we don't think it will be for everyone. Its included in the cost of the device and you don't have to use it if you don't want to.

Below the camera, you'll find sensors for the desktop dock.

The HTC Rhyme docking station is actually a very neat accessory. It features integrated speakers, so you can listen to your phone's music library or use it as an alarm clock. It also charges your phone.

The best part of the docking station? It comes included with the phone!

There are other accessories for the HTC Rhyme that you can purchase separately, such as a Bluetooth speaker system for the car.

You can also choose from various cases.

There were some rumors that the HTC Rhyme would come preloaded with shopping and calorie-counter apps, but fortunately, we didn't find any on the device. Instead, the smartphone comes with the usual Google apps and several Verizon services.