HTC Desire 500 review: Here To Charm

Display

The HTC Desire 500 is built around a 4.3" capacitive touchscreen of display of WVGA resolution (800 x 480 pixels). The pixel density clocks in at around 217 ppi, which is acceptable for a midranger.

Of course, there are more than a couple of 720p screens in the midrange already, but the Desire 500 has to make do with lower than HD resolution.

Resolution aside, the Desire 500's display has great viewing angles with only minor contrast fading when viewed from an angle, and reasonably good colors, as well.

The HTC Desire 500 display

Indeed, colors are a tad washed out and not as saturated as the ones on the HTC One mini, for instance, but on their own, they look just fine. The white balance on the Desire 500 mini is a bit too cold (bluish) to our taste, while the contrast isn't anything to write home about either.

Display test	50% brightness			100% brightness
	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio
HTC Desire 500	0.19	221	1139	0.45	558	1198
Nokia Lumia 1020	0	172	∞	0	398	∞
Nokia Lumia 920	-	-	-	0.48	513	1065
HTC One	0.13	205	1580	0.42	647	1541
Samsung Galaxy S4	0	201	∞	0	404	∞
Apple iPhone 5s	0.14	163	1145	0.49	596	1219
Apple iPhone 5	0.13	200	1490	0.48	640	1320

The display matrix is a standard RGB row, which we've taken a closer look at using our digital microscope.

The HTC Desire 500 display matrix

When it comes to sunlight legibility, the Desire 500 comes in slightly above average. While not as good as some of the premium offerings, the screen will still be visible in moderately bright environments.

Sunlight contrast ratio

• Nokia 808 PureView
  4.698
• Apple iPhone 5
  3.997
• Apple iPhone 5s
  3.565
• Samsung Galaxy S4
  3.352
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III
  3.419
• Samsung Omnia W
  3.301
• Samsung Galaxy S
  3.155
• Nokia N9
  3.069
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  2.970
• HTC One S
  2.901
• Samsung Galaxy S II
  2.832
• Samsung Galaxy S II Plus
  2.801
• Huawei Ascend P1
  2.655
• Nokia Lumia 900
  2.562
• HTC One
  2.504
• Sony Xperia Z
  2.462
• Samsung Galaxy S III mini
  2.422
• Motorola RAZR i
  2.366
• Samsung Galaxy Note II
  2.307
• Apple iPhone 4S
  2.269
• HTC One X
  2.158
• Nokia N8
  2.144
• HTC Desire 500
  2.129
• Nokia Lumia 1020
  2.103
• Oppo Find 5
  2.088
• BlackBerry Z10
  2.051
• Apple iPhone 4
  2.016
• Sony Ericsson Xperia ray
  1.955
• Samsung Galaxy Camera
  1.938
• HTC Butterfly
  1.873
• Sony Xperia V
  1.792
• Sony Xperia U
  1.758
• LG Optimus 4X HD
  1.691
• HTC One V
  1.685
• LG Optimus Vu
  1.680
• HTC Desire V
  1.646
• LG Optimus G Pro
  1.552
• LG Optimus 3D
  1.542
• Nokia Asha 302
  1.537
• Nokia Lumia 610
  1.432
• Gigabyte GSmart G1355
  1.361
• HTC Desire C
  1.300
• LG Optimus L7
  1.269
• LG Optimus L9
  1.227
• Meizu MX
  1.221
• Sony Xperia E dual
  1.203
• Samsung Galaxy Pocket
  1.180
• Sony Xperia tipo
  1.166
• Samsung Galaxy mini 2
  1.114

You can find more information on our various display tests here.

Battery performance

As for battery life, HTC claims the Desire 500 will be good for up to 435 hours of 3G stand-by time and just over 12h hours of 3G talk. In our own battery test, the Desire 500 managed to achieve an overall endurance rating of the respectable 47 hours with 3G talk times coming in very close to the numbers provided by HTC.

An endurance rating of 47h means that you'll be able to go for almost two days while performing an hour each of talking, browsing and watching videos before requiring a charge. For the full battery test breakdown, check out this post.