By The HTC Desire that we’ve been waiting on for so long is finally on its way to the United States courtesy of regional carrier US Cellular. Starting August 27th, you’ll be able to order one of these at your local store or online. The Nexus One with Sense (as many called it when it was first released) is the second Android handset for US Cellular – the first being the Samsung Acclaim. Three more handsets are expected to follow, so US Cellular customers have a lot to look forward to this year and most probably next. Press details are below.
U.S CELLULAR ADDS HTC DESIRE™ – THE SECOND OF FIVE ANDROID-POWERED PHONES PLANNED FOR ITS SMARTPHONE LINEUP
CHICAGO (August 11, 2010) – HTC Desire™, U.S. Cellular’s much-anticipated second Android-powered phone, launches August 27 to offer customers another engaging way to connect with their favorite people, entertainment and applications on the wireless company’s nationwide 3G network. HTC Desire, one of five Android-powered phones that the company is introducing this year, will be available in stores and at uscellular.com just weeks after U.S. Cellular customers welcomed the Samsung Acclaim™. The Samsung Galaxy S™ will join the smartphone lineup in October, with two LG Android-powered phones following closely behind.
“With 160,000 Android-powered phones activated each day, there’s no question that they are among the hottest phones on the market right now,” said Edward Perez, vice president of sales and marketing operations for U.S. Cellular. “For us, it’s not just about delivering this array of cutting-edge phones that our customers want and deserve. We also have their backs with industry-first, customer-focused programs, like Overage Protection and Battery Swap. We love making our customers’ lives easier.”
The allure of HTC Desire is apparent at first glance, with its slim, stylish design and vibrant 3.7-inch touchscreen that shows streaming video and graphics in vivid detail. The phone also delivers a five megapixel, autofocus camera with flash and integrated GPS. Its Wi-Fi capabilities allow users to connect to the Internet via wireless hotspots at home or on the road. Customers can upload pictures and videos to a variety of social networking and sharing sites including Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube. With a tethered modem data plan, the HTC Desire can be connected directly to a laptop for yet another way to access the Internet on the go.
HTC Desire is preloaded with U.S. Cellular applications such as My Contacts Backup, City ID, Tone Room Deluxe and Your Navigator Deluxe. Customers can also easily access Google services like Gmail, Google Maps and Google Talk instant messaging, and synch their Google calendars and contacts.
Combining the Android platform with a blazing-fast 1GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ processor offers a true mobile computing experience. HTC Desire delivers a fast wireless experience on U.S. Cellular’s 3G network, allowing customers to quickly download applications and music, browse the Internet and share pictures and videos.
The Android TM 2.1 platform offers many of the same familiar Google services found on the desktop, and a growing Android Marketplace ™ of more than 70,000 applications for customers to personalize their phones. The market recently crossed the one billion download mark, according to analytics provider AndroLib.com. More than 60 percent of the applications are free. To personalize the entire experience, customers can customize HTC Desire by arranging the content in the seven-panel homepage anyway they want, whether it’s for building unique scenes for work, travel or play.
“We believe that it’s okay to expect more from your wireless company and with Android, you can expect much more from your phone than ever before,” Perez said.
Eh…this would have been major, show-stopping news if it was April (pre Incredible/EVO/Droid X/Droid 2/etc. releases). Specs are good but now an afterthought given the more powerful Android phones out there now.
Is this going to head to the big GSM carriers, like Tmobile or AT&T
This is a agreat device! I have the Evo and I would not say this news as “eh”. Its basically the Nexus one with out the trackball, why do we keep talking down on other devices like these? I still recommend the Nexus to a lot of people, I think it is an awesome device as this one.BTW dont knock it till you try it.
Sent through my HTC Evo 4G
What markets does US Cellular serve?
@Mike D
I know it is in Virginia and Chicago
When is it coming to AT&T?! I’m dying for this phone. and why does U.S. Cellular have this when their not a big carrier?
I just saw a U.S. Cellular store yesterday in southern Oregon with an Android advertisement displayed out front. So yeah, I guess Oregon.
HTC Desire is an awesome device! I’ve had mine for a couple of weeks now and even my friends with iPhone 4 seem a bit interested in it. It’s definitely more value for money.
The build quality is excellent. Compared to the Samsung I9000 Galaxy S it’s in a own league of Android devices. Sure the Galaxy touch screen is bigger with it’s 4″, nevertheless Desire has more edge. The UI that HTC calls Sense is very comfortable and easy to use, but isn’t as great as the iPhone 4 UI. Not far behind, though. In Sweden the Desire costs half of what the iPhone 4 costs and isn’t put shame in any sense in comparison.
Desire is simply more clever and to a much lover cost. The Desire has been sold out many times. The high demand for devices speaks for itself.
Eastern Washington as well.
This will be big in the US. The desire is really big in Europe and Asia as Jonas mentioned, it’s definitely more value for money and a good alternative to the iPhone 4.
In New Hampshire
@Brandon, why would you want to know when T-Mobile is getting this? They have the Galaxy S. The Galaxy S is better in almost every single way. Larger and far more beautiful screen, faster cpu and far faster gpu. The Desire has SLIGHTLY more RAM, probably a notification light and HTC Sense. Those things just don’t add up to the greatness of the Galaxy S.
US Cellular covers most of the Midwest, including Milwaukee(where I am), Chicago and Minneapolis. I have been with them for 10 years and in the past, where they lacked in device choices, they MORE than made up for in customer service. I feel like I an always get a real person on the phone and they have even swapped devices for me in the past when I wasn’t happy with the call quality. This is better than great news to see them getting great Droid phones like the Desire and Galaxy S! Im f’in pumped!
North Carolina as well.
Maine…