HTC Desire 816

• Pros
• • Stylish looks
  • Smooth performance
  • Supports CDMA on the primary slot
  • Capable snapper
  • Very good battery life
• Cons
• • Large size could be unwieldy for some
  • Glossy plastic back could be prone to scratches
  • No killer feature

• Verdict

A smartphone is supposed to be a Swiss Army knife, serving up a multitude of functionalities rather than just being a communications device. And when it comes to versatility, the HTC Desire 816 manages to differentiate itself well amongst the crowd, standing out thanks to a good blend of looks and performance.One of our gripes with the device is that it doesn’t really have that one killer feature that would make it extremely flaunt-worthy. It’s also quite large for a device with a 5.5-inch display. Ho... Read Full Verdict  

A smartphone is supposed to be a Swiss Army knife, serving up a multitude of functionalities rather than just being a communications device. And when it comes to versatility, the HTC Desire 816 manages to differentiate itself well amongst the crowd, standing out thanks to a good blend of looks and performance.One of our gripes with the device is that it doesn’t really have that one killer feature that would make it extremely flaunt-worthy. It’s also quite large for a device with a 5.5-inch display. However, it racks up brownie points on most other fronts. In case you need a phablet with CDMA support, the Desire 816 should be at the very top of your list. If you don’t need CDMA however, you have loads of choice in the same price bracket. While the Gionee Elife E7  (review) trumps over the Desire 816 in terms of specs, do note that it’s not dual-SIM and runs an older version of Android. In terms of dual-SIM support, the Micromax Canvas Gold looks quite worthy and features loaded specs, though we can’t comment on its real-life performance yet. Sony’s Xperia T2 Ultra Dual (review) is also a strong competitor, but we think the Desire 816 is a better choice.  The HTC Desire 816 has quite a few things in its favour. Its standout design makes it quite covetable, but it scores on quite a few other parameters, offering a lovely screen, smooth performance, a decent camera and very good battery life. And for most, this combination should be more than enough.