The HTC Rhyme Android phone has just been unveiled in New York today, and it’s a HTC Desire S with a twist. A new look and a new version of HTC Sense are part of that facelift, but it also sports a very curious accessory: its own “charm” cube, which plugs into the headphone jack and flashes for alerts. Ideal if you dump your phone in a handbag, supposedly.
Make no mistake, the HTC Rhyme is no Sensation or Titan: its screen measures a mere 3.7-inches across (800×480), packs a 5MP camera and is powered by a single core 1GHz processor. But it’s designed to look a bit more chic than those man toys, and comes in plum (purple), clearwater (no idea) and hourglass (also no clue).
HTC’s Android 2.3 skin, Sense, has also been revamped: you now get its excellent HTC Watch movie streaming service, and some revised widgets, which is promising, as we’ve long said HTC needs to rework Sense to avoid it becoming long in the tooth.
It also comes with a few intriguing accessories, including a sports armband, docking stations, headphones (Not Beats Audio, alas), and most surprising of all, the “HTC Rhyme Charm.” It’s a small light emitting cube at the end of a cable that glows on calls or messages, and can double up as a yank cord to pull your phone out of a bag. Not quite as ambitious as Sony Ericsson’s LiveView, but at least it’ll work all the time without dropping connection, we guess.
The HTC Rhyme is out in Europe next month, with the purple variant exclusive to O2. Stockist Clove.co.uk tells us it is expecting units in around 8 October, but expect a hands on later this week.
Out October | £TBC | HTC
