The Desire brand has been a relative no-show for HTC in the United States up until this year, as far as official availability or through wireless carriers is concerned, but that recently changed with the Desire 610 launching for AT&T at the end of July. Now, HTC has confirmed their Desire family is expanding in the U.S. starting August 12.

HTC has officially announced that the Desire 816 will launch for Virgin Mobile USA beginning Tuesday, August 12. It’ll land on the wireless carrier for $299 sans a contract, and be available on the network’s Beyond Talk plans. The Desire 816 features a 5.5-inch 720p HD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor clocked at 1.6GHz, and 1.5GB of RAM. It has 8GB of built-in storage, and offers support for a microSD card slot up to 128GB. There’s a 13-megapixel camera on the back, with a 5MP front-facing shooter on the other side. The Desire 816 is also available unlocked directly through HTC.

The Desire 610 has been available on AT&T’s network since the end of July, but HTC has announced that anyone else who might want to get an unlocked handset can order directly from HTC if they so choose. Also, like the Desire 816, it will go on sale at other retailers in the coming weeks.

Here’s what HTC says they offer with the Desire Experience, from the press release:

“Best-in-class sound – HTC BoomSound™ and its dual front-facing speakers have become instantly recognizable to HTC One users and offer a premium audio experience.

Outstanding image capture, editing, effects and sharing – The advanced camera features deliver creative, professional-looking photos and amazing effects, giving consumers more choice in creating, editing and sharing photos. Consumers can tap into the unique functionality of Zoe™

Highlights, which lets consumers create mini-movies complete with personalized soundtracks and visual effects.

Content integration – The inclusion of HTC Sense® 6 with the HTC BlinkFeed® experience aggregates the consumers’ chosen news feeds into a snackable experience on their homescreens.

High-quality display – The HTC Desire family features large, graphic-rich screens housed within beautifully designed phones made of premium materials that feel great in your hand.

Variety – The HTC Desire family will be offering a variety of bundles of features, sizes and color options in smartphones launching across multiple carriers and retailers through the end of the year.“

How do you like the Desire lineup?