As expected, HTC announced a phone called the Desire 500 in Taiwan today. According to Engadget, it’s going to cost $400. For that you’ll get a 4.3 inch WVGA (800 x 480 pixel) screen, quad core Snapdragon 200 processor, and an 8 megapixel camera. Translation: This thing is a rip-off.
Now don’t get me wrong, if you want an 8 megapixel camera phone, knock yourself out, but $400 will buy you a 2012 flagship phone if you know where to shop. Assuming you’re in America, you can buy HTC’s One X for $400, which speaks to just how fast prices drop for “old” hardware. Why is HTC pricing this thing into oblivion? Your guess is as good as mine. I assume they’re blowing a ton of money on marketing the One, and they want to recoup that by raising their prices.