The Gratia By HTC Boasts The HTC Sense User Interface

The handset measures 103.8x 57.7x 11.7 millimetres, so it is rather more compact than most of the Android handsets currently available.  However, don’t let its pocket friendly appearance fool you.  The specification list of the HTC Gratia looks similar to that of many of the major players in the Android Smartphone market.

The handset comes with a 3.2 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen which is able to display up to 256 thousand colours within 320x 480 pixels.  It comes with both accelerometer and proximity sensors, flip-to-mute, and an optical trackpad as an alternative means of navigating HTC Sense UI.

Both vibration and ringing alert users to incoming calls, messages and other notifications such as those from social networks like Facebook, and the phone comes with the ability to support MP3 files as ring tones, meaning users can assign any song they wish from their music collection for this purpose.

Alongside the standard internal capacity of 512MB ROM and 384MB RAM, there is also a microSD card slot which comes with a pre-installed 2 GB memory card.  Although this is sure to prove ample for the needs of most users, it can be replaced with a memory card of up to 32 GB, meaning that the HTC Gratia is able to store your music collection or any other files such as videos and downloaded apps.  Therefore, there is no need to carry a separate MP3 player, as you can keep all your favourite tracks on your phone, and with you at all times.  Many different music file formats are supported by the versatile internal media player, and the presence of a 3.5 millimetre audio jack means you can use an everyday pair of headphones for listening to music via the phone.

In areas with 3G coverage, the HTC Gratia allows users to browse the Internet at speeds of up to 7.2 mega bytes per second thanks to an HSDPA connection.  However, a faster Internet connection can be achieved thanks to Wi-Fi, whenever users have access to the appropriate cellular networks be they in commercial, domestic or public locations.  To connect to compatible hardware devices, both Bluetooth and micro USB connections are also provided as standard.

Despite its small size and light weight of 115 g, the HTC Gratia is also an effective camera phone.  With a 5 mega pixel offering on the back of the handset users are able to take high quality snapshots as well as the added bonus of being able to shoot video footage.  Face detection is included to simplify the task of taking great photos, whilst GPS allows geo-tagging to function so users can keep track of where they took their photos.

Android 2.2 (Froyo) is the operating system of choice, and this works alongside a 600 MHz Qualcomm processor for a fast and effective use experience.  Being an android handset, the full package of Google features is included as part of its standard spec list, along with a selection of both productivity and entertainment features.

If you are on a budget or simply looking for something different yet has all the features of many more established Smartphone models, the HTC Gratia ticks all the boxes and looks set to be a success.