Riding on the success of the popular HTC Hero the manufacturer has now launched an upgraded model to take the design forward, the new HTC Legend offers many of the previous models features inside a similar designed handset however there much more to the Legend than meets the eye.

The HTC Legend still packs in a 5.0 mega pixel camera with an LED flash and autofocus as well as a good multimedia player, FM radio and that all important 3.5mm audio jack for using standard headphones, however these features are now crammed into a housing similar to that of the Google Nexus One.

It’s main body is manufactured from a single piece of aluminium making for a robust unit, the gaps are filled with plastic bumpers which house important communication technology such as the GPS and Wi-Fi antennae (these obviously wouldn’t perform inside the aluminium casing). These bumpers have been finished in a matt black colouring which looks great against the main silver body of the phone.

Running the Android 2.1 operating system the HTC Legend offers the same functionality as the Nexus One and HTC’s own brand Desire handset which essentially is a reworked version of Google’s handset with added Sense UI and flash support.

Powering the HTC Legend is a 600MHz Qualcomm processor which should make light work of the huge array of Android applications, more fun and tools can be downloaded from the Android Market which continues to swell with new applications every day.

Unlike the previous HTC Hero the new Legend handset swaps the trackball navigation button in favour of a new optical one, this will please many a Hero user as they have found over time that the trackball has worn with some having to replace it.

The HTC Legend is set for release on the very same day as the HTC Desire and another newcomer the HTC HD Mini, the latter is a new, slimmed down version of the HD2 model which has swapped the massive 4.3 inch touch screen for a smaller 3.2 inch display.

All three of these new HTC phones are set for release on April 12th 2010, the HD Mini is the cheapest of the bunch with the Legend just behind and the Desire demanding the largest price tag. The HTC Desire does however offer a larger 3.7 inch AMOLED touch screen also found in the Google Nexus One.