HTC just announced the HTC One (E8), which features similar specs to its flagship HTC One M8. The main difference is its plastic body and a new report reveals how significantly that will affect its price.
The HTC One M8 has been one of the most talked about and desired smartphones on the market. It's the company's 2014 flagship and a follow-up to last year's HTC One. The handset has been battling it out with Samsung's Galaxy S5 for smartphone supremacy and now HTC is following in its rival's footsteps by releasing variants of its latest and greatest smartphone.
HTC just announced the HTC One (E8), which for all intents and purposes is the HTC One M8 without its full metal jacket and rear UltraPixel Duo Camera. Instead, the smartphone features a polycarbonate unibody case that reduces the weight of the smartphone and its price considerably. The HTC One M8's dimensions are 146.4 x 70.6 x 9.35 mm and it weighs 160 g, while the HTC One (E8)'s dimensions and weight come in at 146.42 x 70.67 x 9.85 mm and 145 g.
HTC hasn't announced pricing for the smartphone in the United States yet, but Engadget is reporting that HTC has announced pricing for the HTC One (E8) in China and it will cost will cost CN¥2,799, which is about $450 unsubsidized. HTC currently sells the HTC One M8 unlocked through its online store for $699. If the pricing is correct, HTC is about to give Samsung a one-two punch.
While Samsung's Galaxy S5 has been extremely popular, one of its most glaring flaws mentioned in review after review is its cheap-feeling plastic body. The HTC One (E8) will offer users very similar specs to both the HTC One M8 and Samsung Galaxy S5, but undercut the price of both models considerably, mostly because of its plastic case.
The HTC One (E8) features a 5-inch 1920 x 1080 Full HD S-LCD3 display with a pixel density of 441 pixels per inch (ppi). It's powered by a 2.5 GHz in Asia/China or 2.3 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor in other regions. It will ship with 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage, and a microSD expansion slot that will support up to 128 GB microSD cards.
The HTC One (E8) runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat with HTC Sense 6 and BlinkFeed. It has the same dual front-facing stereo speakers found on the HTC One M8 and its camera capabilities consist of a 13-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front-facing shooter for video chat and selfiies. It's packing a 2,600 mAh nonremovable battery that will provide up to 26.8 hours of talk time and up to 504 hours of standby time.
We'll have to wait for HTC to announce U.S. pricing and carrier information regarding the HTC One (E8) and once we hear that, we'll pass it on to you.
