Released in 2011, the HTC Explorer was a budget smartphone that offered some impressive features for its price point. It featured a compact design, a 3.2-inch display, and a 3-megapixel camera, among other features. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the HTC Explorer and its specifications, design, and performance.
Design and Display
The HTC Explorer had a compact and stylish design, with dimensions of 102.8 x 57.2 x 12.9 mm and a weight of 108 grams. It had a plastic body with a metallic finish that felt solid and durable in the hand. The back cover of the phone was removable, allowing access to the battery and SIM card slots.
On the front of the phone, there was a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels, resulting in a pixel density of 180 ppi. The display used TFT technology, which provided good color reproduction and brightness. The display was protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, which helped prevent scratches and damage from accidental drops.
Specifications and Performance
Under the hood, the HTC Explorer was powered by a single-core 600 MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 processor and 512 MB of RAM. This combination provided decent performance for most tasks, but may struggle with more demanding apps and games. The phone ran on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, which was a popular version of Android at the time of its release, but has since become outdated.
The HTC Explorer featured 3G connectivity, which provided faster data speeds compared to 2G. It also supported Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, and GPS with A-GPS. The phone had 90 MB of internal storage, which could be expanded up to 32 GB via a microSD card.
Camera and Battery Life
The HTC Explorer featured a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera with fixed focus and VGA video recording. The camera took decent photos in good lighting conditions, but struggled in low light situations. There was also no front-facing camera, which made it difficult to take selfies or make video calls.
The phone was powered by a 1230 mAh battery, which provided up to 7.5 hours of talk time and up to 445 hours of standby time. The battery life was decent for a phone of this size and price range, but heavy usage may drain the battery quickly.
Specifications:
- Dimensions: 102.8 x 57.2 x 12.9 mm
- Weight: 108 g
- Display: 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen, TFT technology, 320 x 480 pixels resolution, Corning Gorilla Glass
- Processor: 600 MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S1
- RAM: 512 MB
- Operating System: Android 2.3 Gingerbread
- Connectivity: 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS with A-GPS
- Storage: 90 MB internal, expandable up to 32 GB via microSD
- Rear Camera: 3-megapixel with fixed focus and VGA video recording
- Front Camera: None
- Battery: 1230 mAh
Conclusion
The HTC Explorer was an affordable and compact smartphone that offered some decent features for its price point. It had a stylish design, a good display, and decent battery life. However, its specifications and features are now outdated compared to modern smartphones. If you’re looking for a budget smartphone with similar features, there are better options available in today’s market. But if you’re looking for a nostalgic trip down memory lane, the HTC Explorer is definitely worth considering.
