HTC One E8 is a plastic M8, coming early June
The HTC One E8 has been confirmed to bring its polycarbonate shell to "selected markets" in "early June."
A wallet-friendly plastic version of the HTC One M8 previously confirmed for China is now heading for other shores in the next few weeks.
The HTC One E8 is very similar to HTC's M8 flagship Android smartphone, only with a polycarbonate casing and a dual-SIM option. According to HTC's announcement today it's heading for "selected markets" in "early June."
The E8 comes in blue, red, black and white. There'll be a dual-SIM version in some countries, allowing you to make and receive calls from two numbers in one phone -- handy for people who like to keep their business and personal lives separate. Them, and adulterers.
Like the M8, the E8 has a 5-inch 1080p screen, which is good news for anyone wanting a cheaper way to enjoy high definition video and games. It also has Android 4.4.2 KitKat, BoomSound audio, and Motion Launch gesture control, which enables you to answer incoming calls by raising the phone to your ear or fire up the camera by tapping the volume rocker.
Aside from the budget back, differences include a 13-megapixel camera -- as opposed to the M8's dual-lens Ultrapixel snapper -- which could well be the same 13-megapixel job found in the HTC One Mini 2 . Meanwhile the front-facing camera is a 5-megapixel snapper for those all-important selfies the kids are talking about these days.
Speaking of the One Mini 2, it's good to see budget versions of flagship phones that still offer similar features rather than skimping across the board to bring down the price -- and in the process straying too far from the flagship name. Changing the case to plastic is a trick also employed by Apple with the iPhone 5C , a slightly cheaper version of the glass and metal iPhone 5S .
The E8 also gets its own line of Dot View cases , which have perforations on the front so you can see basic information in fun dot matrix style without opening the cover.
HTC has yet to announce which parts of the world will see the E8. If it does arrive in your neck of the woods, would you be interested in a budget version of the M8? Let me know in the comments.