HTC Incredible S and Desire S Build on Last Years Smartphones

HTC has announced a pair of smartphones that build on a couple of its most popular current models. The HTC Incredible S and Desire S will be Android OS devices with large screens, front-facing cameras, and other high-end features.

These are going to be released in Europe and Asia first, but a U.S. release of one or both is a possibility.

HTC Incredible S
The HTC Droid Incredible was released by Verizon in the U.S. last year, where it sold in large numbers. Its successor is going to sport a larger screen and a better camera.

The Incredible S is going to include a 4-inch WVGA (800 x 480) Super LCD display, up from 3.7-inches. This will be set in a standard bar shape that's 4.7 by 2.5 by 0.5 inches.

It is going to run Google's operating system on a 1 GHz Qualcomm processor, and have 768 MB of RAM, 1.1 GB of internal storage, and a microSD memory card slot.

This smartphone will have an 8-megapixel camera vs. the 5-megapixel one in its predecessor. And, unlike the current model, it will include a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video conferencing.

The version that was announced today is for Europe and Asia, but a N. American version could be in the works.

Other features are going to include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and a 1450 mAh battery.

HTC Desire S
The HTC Desire is better known in Europe than the U.S., but it is available from U.S. Cellular.

The upcoming Desire S will have the same 3.7-inch WVGA display as the current model, but will feature Qualcomm's new 1 GHz 8255 Snapdragon processor.

In addition, HTC added a VGA front-facing camera to this smartphone.

It is going to be one of HTC's uni-body models, with a chassis sculpted from a single block of aluminum.

Desire S is going to be based on the Android OS with the HTC Sense user interface layered on top.  This model will include 768 MB of RAM, 1.1 GB of internal storage, and a microSD memory card slot.

It will have much in common with the Incredible S, such as support for 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and a 1450 mAh battery.

Availability
It was announced today at the Mobile World Congress that the HTC Incredible and S HTC Desire S will be broadly available in major European and Asian markets during the second quarter of this year.

So far, there has been no word of a N. American release for either smartphone, but that doesn't mean it's not going to happen. HTC often releases devices in Europe and Asia before their U.S. debut.

No prices have been announced yet.