HTC has expanded its Desire range with the introduction of new mid-range smartphones, the Desire 501 dual-SIM, Desire 601 dual-SIM, and Desire 700 dual-SIM in India.

The HTC Desire 501 dual-SIM has been launched at Rs. 16,890, the HTC Desire 601 dual-SIM has a pricing of Rs. 24,190 and the HTC Desire 700 dual-SIM comes at Rs. 33,050.

Earlier, HTC announced the three Desire smartphones (Desire 501 dual-SIM, Desire 601 dual-SIM, and Desire 700 dual-SIM) in Taiwan at a press briefing.

The HTC Desire 700 and Desire 601 dual-SIM smartphones run an unspecified version of Android Jelly Bean OS with HTC Sense UI on top, featuring BlinkFeed. The HTC Desire 501 runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with Sense UI, but does not feature BlinkFeed. It's not clear at this stage whether the OS version in all the Desire 700 and Desire 601 smartphones is Android 4.2 or Android 4.3.

The HTC Desire 501 dual-SIM as the name suggests is a dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) smartphone with dual active support. It comes with a 4.3-inch WVGA (480x800) display. It is powered by a 1.15GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM. The smartphone sports an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and BSI sensor. It also includes a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera. There is 8GB of inbuilt storage, which can be expanded up to 32GB via microSD card. There is 2100mAh battery and includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, DLNA, Micro-USB and built-in NFC as connectivity options.

On the other hand, the HTC Desire 601 dual-SIM (dual standby) is a variant of the Desire 601 which was announced in September this year. The HTC Desire 601 comes with a 4.5-inch qHD display with a 540x960 pixels resolution. It is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor (unspecified chipset) along with 1GB of RAM. It sports a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and also includes some HTC One camera goodies like Sequence shot, Always Smile, Object Removal and HTC Zoe. It also sports a VGA front-facing camera.

The device comes with 4GB of inbuilt storage which can be expanded up to 64GB via microSD card. The HTC Desire 601 also features dual-front stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers. Connectivity options on the device include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS and 3G. The Desire 601 dual-SIM includes a 2100mAh battery that the company claims can deliver up to 12 hours of talktime and up to 582 hours of standby time.

The HTC Desire 700 dual-SIM as the name suggests is a dual-SIM smartphone with support for GSM+GSM and features dual active support. It's worth pointing out that the smartphone supports micro-SIM cards in both slots, instead of one with the regular SIM size. The HTC Desire 700 features a 5-inch qHD (540x960 pixels) display. It is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor alongside 1GB of RAM, although the chipset has not been revealed, yet. It comes with 8GB of inbuilt storage, which is further expandable up to 64GB via microSD card.

The Desire 700 dual-SIM sports an 8-megapixel rear autofocus camera with LED flash and also houses a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera with BSI sensor. Much like the flagship smartphone HTC One, the Desire 700 dual-SIM features HTC BoomSound dual-front stereo speakers with built-in amplifier. It includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, DLNA, GPS/AGPS and 3G connectivity options. The smartphone packs a 2100mAh battery which can deliver up to 11.6 hours of talktime and up to 582 hours of standby time.

HTC Desire 501 dual-SIM key specifications

HTC Desire 601 dual-SIM key specifications

HTC Desire 700 dual-SIM key specifications

The search engine giant confirmed the news via a post on its Nexus' Google+ page. As per the company, the Android 4.4.1 update brings camera improvements like faster focussing, particularly in low light situations; quicker white balancing for truer colours; ability to pinch-zoom the viewfinder in HDR+ mode and less shutter lag. Google has also shared some images showing the difference between HDR+ mode and normal mode after the update.

Further, the Google+ post also detailed about the advantages of the HDR+ mode. According to Google, the HDR+ lets users take shots in more tricky situations where there's a large contrast of bright and dark portions of the scene and also in low light situations.

Earlier we reported about the issues with Nexus 5's camera which features an 8-megapixel Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) camera module. The issues majorly included complaints regarding slow auto-focus, shutter lag, blurry images and inconsistent colour reproduction in images.

In addition, Google's Director of Engineering for Android, Dave Burke in an interview with The Vergeconfirmed that the Nexus 5's camera took longer to focus, although post update the smartphone would have faster shutter speeds. Burke claimed that post the Android 4.4.1 update, the camera on Nexus 5 will launch a full second faster that it did earlier. Burke also said that the camera would get better with time, as he admitted that a lot has to be done to improve the camera performance.

Google globally announced the Nexus 5 which is also the platform lead device for Android 4.4 KitKat in November this year. It comes with a 4.95-inch full-HD IPS display with a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels and boasts a pixel density of 445ppi. The Nexus 5 also sports Corning Gorilla Glass 3. It is powered by a 2.26GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor alongside 2GB of RAM. The Nexus 5 sports an 8.0-megapixel rear camera with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and a 1.3-megapixel front camera. It comes in 16GB and 32GB storage options, with Black and White colours to choose from. Unfortunately, much like the Nexus 4, the Nexus 5 does not support expandable storage.

Samsung is now reportedly resuming the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean for its flagship smartphone of 2012, the Galaxy S III (GT-I9300) in UK.

Samsung recently suspended the Android 4.3 update for Galaxy S III following complaints from users who installed the update. Users complained about issues like an unresponsive handset, particularly the lock screen; erratic Wi-Fi connectivity; poor battery backup, and a system hanging problem that required the battery to be pulled out to restart the smartphone.

As per Sammobile the new update for the Galaxy S III fixes all the major issues of previous firmware. The site claims that the Android 4.3 update for Galaxy S III is currently is available only in UK, with other regions to follow soon. As per the report, the update is available both OTA (over the air) and via the company's Kies software. Unfortunately, there is no word when the new Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update for Galaxy S III will hit India.

The change log of the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update for the Galaxy S III is similar to the previous update.

The changes include Galaxy Gear support; core UI elements updated, now similar to Samsung Galaxy S4; new Samsung keyboard; updated GPU drivers; new lock screen with multiple widgets and improved ripple effect; new Screen modes (like Galaxy S4); Daydream; Driving mode; new actionable notifications; new move to SD card feature; additions in notification centre; revamped settings UI and new Camera mode with Sound and Shoot.

The new Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update for Galaxy S III also reportedly introduces new Samsung apps like calculator, contacts, gallery and music apps; Samsung apps now can work in full screen mode and revamped S-Voice (similar to the Galaxy S4).

Notably, the Android 4.3 update for Galaxy S III brings Galaxy Gear support, Samsung's first wearable tech device, making the S III the fourth device to sport that functionality after Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition and Samsung Galaxy S4, as previously reported.

The South Korean handset maker seems all-set to launch another mid-range quad-core smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Win Pro.

The successor to Samsung Galaxy Win I8550, which was launched in India as the Galaxy Grand Quattro, is listed on Samsung Mobiles' China portal (above image translated via Google Translate). So far, there has been no official announcement by the company, and availability and price remain unknown, though most specifications are featured on the listing.

The Samsung Galaxy Win Pro is a dual-SIM (WCDMA+GSM) smartphone that runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. It is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, but the memory and storage capacity are not mentioned by the company.

The Galaxy Win Pro flaunts higher resolution but smaller 4.5-inch qHD (540x960) display, compared to its predecessor, which had a 4.7-inch WVGA (480x800) display. Apart from a VGA front-facing camera, the smartphone boasts of a 5-megapixel AF rear camera with LED flash with shooting modes like panorama shooting, continuous shooting etc., the camera can also record sound while shooting photos.

The battery power has been slightly improved with a bump up to 2100mAh from 2000mAh on the Galaxy Grand Quatrro. Other specifications of the Galaxy Win Pro include full-HD video playback capabilities, apart from Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G, GPS and Micro-USB connectivity.

Recently Samsung had announced the successor to the Samsung Galaxy Grand, the Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 runs Android 4.3 Jelly Bean out-of-the-box. The Galaxy Grand 2 is a dual-SIM device with support for GSM+GSM. It features a 5.2-inch HD TFT display with a resolution of 720x1280 pixels.

The Galaxy Grand 2 is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor alongside 1.5GB of RAM. It sports an 8-megapixel autofocus rear camera accompanied by an LED flash. It also houses a 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera. It comes with 8GB inbuilt storage, which is further expandable up to 64GB via microSD card.

Samsung Galaxy Win Pro key specifications

The Maxx MX100 Leader comes with a large 4400mAh battery. The company claims that the battery can also be used as a power bank to charge other phones. The Maxx MX100 Leader also features in-built LED torch, Bluetooth, digital camera (unspecified megapixels), MP3/MP4 player and FM Radio. Further, the Maxx MX100 Leader is a dual-SIM phone and also includes GPRS connectivity option. The phone can support up to 16GB of expandable storage, however no word on the inbuilt storage. The MX100 Leader's exterior can protect the phone from dust and water to a certain extent, claims the company.

Commenting on the announcement, Ajjay Agarwal, CMD and Founder, Maxx Mobile said "Mobile phones have become the most ubiquitous mode of communication today and have spread to almost every nook and corner of the country. We believe this specially designed feature phone will introduce as many consumers to the mobile ecosystem as possible. Now, our consumers can possess a quality mobile with all the features which are essential for the demographics of the rural market, at a reasonable price"

Krishna Singh, COO, Maxx Mobile said, "The current mobile handset penetration in rural India is less than 40%. We are aware of the great potential which lies in these markets. It is for this reason that we have paid special attention to the specific requirements of our consumers who hail from semi-urban and interior parts of India and tailor made the MX100 Leader."

Maxx MX100 Leader key specifications