The HTC Desire 510 is the first Android smartphone to ship with a 64-bit processor, but that doesn't count for much when performance and other aspects of this budget-minded phone are so disappointing. At $99.99 (off contract), it's one of Boost Mobile's more affordable phones, but like its Sprint counterpart, the Desire 510 is easily outclassed by phones like the $149.99 Sharp Aquos Crystal. The Desire 510 is serviceable, but that $50 savings over the Crystal is hardly worth dealing with middling display quality and low internal storage.

We've already reviewed the Desire 510 on Sprint, which is physically identical to the Boost Mobile model. Head over to the original review for a full rundown on design and features. For this review, we'll focus on network performance and software differences.

Call Quality, Battery Life, and Software

Boost Mobile piggybacks on Sprint's 3G CDMA and 4G LTE networks, and it's important to get a newer phone that supports Sprint's tri-band Spark LTE network. The Desire 510 is good to go in that regard, but so are the Crystal ( at Amazon)  and LG Volt . Less expensive phones like the Motorola Moto G only support 3G, which is painfully slow on Sprint, as we found in our Fastest Mobile Networks tests.

Like so much else with the Desire 510, call quality was only serviceable in my tests. The earpiece doesn't get particularly loud and starts to sound harsh at max volume. Transmissions through the mic sound natural and easy to understand, but there was persistent static in a lot of my test calls, especially at the beginnings and ends of phrases. Noise cancellation was average, struggling with loud street noises, but doing a decent job minimizing low-level distractions.

Editors' Note: The slideshow below is of the Sprint Desire 510, which is physically identical to the Boost model.

In a battery rundown test, where we streamed a YouTube video over LTE with screen brightness set to max, the Desire 510's 2,100mAh battery was good for an okay 4 hours, 46 minutes.

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Of the 4GB internal storage, only a miniscule 889MB is available to users out of the box. There are some preloads, but most are either shortcuts to install the app from Google Play or easily removable. Others, like the awful Lumen Toolbar, can be disabled, but cannot be uninstalled.

Conclusions

Choices are far more limited on Boost Mobile than Sprint, but that doesn't do much to help the HTC Desire 510's cause. It's disappointing by nearly every measure, even if it only commands $100 off contract. Stepping down to $79 gets you a much nicer display on the Moto G ( at Amazon) , but you lose LTE in the bargain. Raising your budget to $150 gets the much nicer Sharp Aquos Crystal, which features a gorgeous, bezel-free 720p display. The Desire 510 can certainly work as a first smartphone, but it's flanked by better options on both ends of the price spectrum. 

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