One of the biggest surprises in the area of the mobile scene this year is the war that’s been waging in the entry-level segment – you know, phones that are priced below $200. Taking into account that carriers have totally ditched the subsidy model that we’ve all been accustomed to following, it’s going to be even more crucial for phones to really show that they have a ton of value for the money. Even though it’s been a tough year for HTC, the Taiwan-based company is always continuing to diversify its robust portfolio. This time, here comes the HTC Desire 626. Knowing what’s out there already, can this sub-$200 offering stand out in a sea already filled with some killer options?
The package contains:
HTC Desire 626
microUSB cable
Wall charger
Stereo headphones
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Important information
Design
It’s the same old, very predictable design. Still, it’s pretty charming.
By now, HTC’s Desire line has followed a particular and predictable design language that hasn’t seen any dramatic changes in the last couple of years. So, to no one’s surprise, the HTC Desire 626 follows in familiar fashion with its two-toned, all-plastic construction. Our particular unit, the marine white variant, combines a white body with a blue colored accent, but it comes in other color combinations that we find charming. It’s certainly not an original design, that’s for sure, as it boasts many of the traits we’ve come to expect from the Desire line.
In standard Desire fashion, its buttons and ports are found in their usual locations – so that means the power and volume controls on its right edge, 3.5mm headphone jack on top, SIM and microSD card slots on its left, and microUSB port on the bottom. Initially, it seems like it stays faithful to HTC’s practice of offering dual front-firing speakers, but it’s only the bottom grill that’s used for audio output, as the top one is reserved for the earpiece only.
The subdued tone of the display makes it tough for it to stand out.
Accompanied with a 5-inch 720 x 1280 Super LCD screen, it certainly fits the bill for a phone in its price category. Neither exceptionally detailed with its 294 ppi pixel density, nor polarizing with its qualities, the display at the very least is effective for everyday use. Surprisingly enough, the panel favors a warmer tone with its ~6300K color temperature, which is close to the ideal reference value if 6500K. Topping it off too, is the fact that it’s able to accurately reproduce most of the color gradients in the sRGB color spectrum chart – save for the colors of green, which have a sprinkling of yellow to them. There are undoubtedly some good qualities about the screen, but there’s just this subdued tone that prevents it from being livelier to the eye.
The numbers below represent the amount of deviation in the respective property, observed when a display is viewed from a 45-degree angle as opposed to direct viewing.
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set (area) of colors that a display can reproduce, with the sRGB colorspace (the highlighted triangle) serving as reference. The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x: CIE31' and 'y: CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display's measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance (balance between red, green and blue) across different levels of grey (from dark to bright). The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones, the better.
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