Regarded in some quarters as a smaller, cheaper version of the Desire, the HTC Wildfire smartphone is aimed at a younger demographic, according to HTC officials. To be launched in Australia in August, it will be exclusively available from Telstra.

Hardware features include a 3.2 in, 240 x 320 pixel touch screen, 5MP camera, GPS, microSD slot, FM radio, b/g Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 2.1. The battery is said to give up to 440 minutes of talk time and up to 690 hours on standby, and there's a choice of black or white finishes.

The Friend Stream app provides access to Facebook, Twitter and Flickr data in one screen, Caller ID displays additional information including the caller's Facebook status and birthday.

One issue picked up by overseas reviewers is that the Wildfire's relatively low resolution screen is incompatible with some apps.

"[T]his little powerhouse provides one-touch access to Google services like YouTube and Gmail as well as Telstra apps like Mobile Foxtel from Telstra," said Ross Fielding, executive director, mobility products, at Telstra.

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"Wildfire's easy-to-use menus can be filled with fun apps and games from the Android Market," he added.

Pricing will be announced closer to the release date. For now, Fielding only referred to "an ultra-affordable price tag".