Since their creation back in 1997 HTC have grown spectacularly to become one of the biggest producers of mobile phones in the world, with only Apple and Samsung ahead of them. As a highly innovative company who specialise in their intuitive and highly regarded Sense interface they have a very broad range of mobile phones on offer aimed at all parts of the market from the cutting edge to budget phones. Many of their models also receive updates allowing customers who prefer certain models to upgrade to very similar phones. The range of models is so broad that consumers should be sure of their needs and look at the full range of available phones before choosing, to ensure they get the right phone for them.

Their top of the line model is the new HTC Sensation, a highly specified dual-core smart phone, clocked at 1.2 GHz, making it one of the fastest phones on the market and a direct competitor to the Motorola Atrix, Samsung Galaxy S II and the rumoured new iPhone from Apple. The processor is supported by 768 MB of RAM and one gigabyte of storage, backed up by the microSD card slot which allows the storage to be further expanded by up to 32 GB. This design is aimed at media consumption with virtual surround sound and a large, 4.3 inch qHD 540 by 960 pixel screen which makes it ideal for watching movies and shows on the go. Free phone contracts start at 25 per month and it can be bought sim-free and carrier unlocked for around 480.

Placed in the middle of the market but well specified to beat the majority of their competition is the HTC Desire HD, one of the updated versions of the popular Desire phone. Until the last few months this phone would have easily been a competitor with the best but it cannot compete with the latest dual-core mobile phones to be released. It runs a single 1 GHz processor with 768 MB of random access memory and 1.5 GB of storage. With this much memory the phone remains smooth and responsive even with heavy and demanding use. The storage can be further enhanced via the microSD card slot adding up to another 32 GB. The HTC Desire HD screen is large at 4.3 inches and has decent resolution as a WVGA screen running 480 by 800 pixels. Connectivity is standard with 3G, wireless-N and Bluetooth but lacks any of the more recent high speed mobile data technologies such as LTE. At 8 mega-pixels its camera is extremely competitive with other phones, comparable to current top of the line mobile phones. The HTC Desire HD comes free on contracts of 20 or more per month and can be bought sim-free for around 300.

The HTC Desire S is similarly specified to the HD model with a 1 GHz processor alongside 768 MB of RAM and 1.1 GB of storage but has a smaller screen at a modest 3.7 inches though with the same resolution, 480 by 800. Like the HTC Desire HD it can record video at up to 720p but lacks the processing power necessary for 1080p and only has a 5 mega-pixel sensor for the camera. The HTC Desire S is available on contracts starting at 20 monthly with a free phone and for under 300 sim-free.

One of the modern classics of the HTC line is the Legend, released a year ago now, it’s now a lower end phone in terms of the hardware and is priced to reflect that but has the outstanding and still highly appealing feature of an aluminium uni-body that is single-piece which is attractive and very tough. The processor is a single core 600 MHz chip, slow by modern standards but still a capable phone, combined with 384 MB of RAM and 512 MB of memory. Its screen is a rather low 320 by 480 pixels 3.2 inch, making it less suitable for media than other models such as the HTC Desire S and HTC Desire HD. Available for just over 200 sim-free and for around 15 per month on contract with the phone being free.

Another budget model is the very small and svelte HTC HD Mini. These mobile phones are suitable for users with smaller hands or who find the larger models inconvenient. The processor is, like the Legend a 600 MHz single core and the screen is also similar at 3.2 inches and 320 by 480 pixels. It also has the same memory and storage and a 5 mega-pixel camera. The strong point of the Mini is its weight at a mere 110 grams and its small size with the largest dimension being only four inches. It is also unique among the phones in this article for running Windows Mobile 6.5, all of the other models run Android. The Mini can be bought for 270 sim-free and is free on contracts of 20 or more per month.

Choosing the right HTC phone comes down to knowing which features you need and using the phones themselves, making it a good idea to handle the phones in a store before buying.

There are many phones available from HTC with designs to suit all users and needs from the most powerful to budget and unusual designs for every niche of the market.

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