HTC has formally announced the HTC Rhyme, a handset designed to appeal to a particular type of person. And that type of person is someone who wants "advanced features" from their phone, but also one that "fits seamlessly into their lives".
Isn’t that everybody?
Although HTC describes the phone in lifestyle terms and distinctly doesn't say "for girls", the preceding leaks of this handset under the name of HTC Bliss make it difficult to think of it as anything but the HTC handset pitched at the fairer sex.
Of course, this is an HTC handset, so you’ll still find a 3.7-inch Super LCD touchscreen display on the front with a nice sharp 800 x 480 resolution. You get a regular arrangement of touch buttons beneath the screen, as you do on other HTC Android handsets.
Around the back you’ll find a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, autofocus and instant shutter, typical HTC Android fare.
The HTC Rhyme does look a little different however, thanks to a new homescreen. Rather than using the standard HTC Sense screen we've seen for the past couple of years, the HTC Rhyme appears less cluttered and perhaps a tad more sophisticated, a neat widget providing five shortcuts down the left-hand edge for quick access to your most important apps.
We wouldn’t go as far as saying it's more feminine, but coming in three colours described as Clearwater, Hourglass and Plum, we can’t really escape that message.
Other HTC Sense 3.5 goodies find their way into the phone, including the likes of HTC Watch for movies, FriendStream to keep your social networks connected and all the joys of Android.
Oh, and if you do want the specs, you’ll find a 1GHz single core processor and 768MB RAM inside, with 4GB of internal storage. Naturally you’ll get GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and microSD card slot to upgrade the internal memory.
There are also a range of accessories which might garner more attention than they merit, the HTC Rhyme Charm specifically. This is a light-emitting cube that attaches to your phone to alert you to calls and messages, as well as, in HTC’s words: "find your phone buried in your cluttered purse or backpack". It comes in the box, along with a docking station and headphones.
HTC Rhyme Docking Station - The Docking Station simultaneously recharges the phone while turning the Rhyme into an alarm clock and music center so you can wake to your favorite songs played directly from the built-in Bluetooth capable speakers.
The full list of accessories are:
HTC Rhyme Charm - The Charm is an innovative approach for discretely alerting you to incoming calls or messages while the HTC Rhyme is deep in your bag. The Charm is a small light-emitting cube that attaches to the phone by a cord that can dangle from your bag and also be used to quickly pull the phone out of your bag. It also makes it easy to find your phone buried in your cluttered purse or backpack.
HTC Rhyme Sports Armband - The Sports Armband allows you to work out in style while keeping your apps and music close to you.
HTC Rhyme Tangle Free Headphones - The Tangle Free Headphones take the hassle out of listening to your favorite music.
HTC Rhyme Bluetooth Headset - The wireless headset follows the same design cues as the phone itself and enables for easy hands free use.
HTC Rhyme Bluetooth Car Speaker – The wireless speaker clips onto sun visor in your car for easy and safe driving.
The Plum colour will be landing on Verizon in the US and O2 in the UK, dates are still to be confirmed.
Update: O2 has told us that we can expect the HTC Rhyme to go on sale on 17 October and that it will be an O2 only handset. The phone is only going to be available in the plum colour for the time being.
