As expected, HTC has launched the Desire 616 and One E8 in the Indian market, at an event held in Delhi. The Desire 616 is priced at Rs 17,200 and will be available starting tomorrow. On the other hand, the One E8 carries a slightly hefty price tag that reads Rs 34,990 and will be available by the end of the month.
The HTC One (E8) is a watered-down HTC One (M8), and has similar specifications, without the high-end metal body. Running Android 4.4.2 KitKat and the HTC Sense UI, the One E8 features a 5-inch SLCD 3 full-HD (1080×1920 pixel) display, which is the same as the one seen on the One M8. In fact, it also shares the 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, 2GB of RAM and the Adreno 330 GPU, with the HTC flagship.
Another common trait is the BoomSound speaker setup on the front side of the E8, which should ensure loud audio. It comes with 16GB of internal storage ( further expandable up to 128GB via microSD card). In terms of connectivity, there’s HSPA, Cat 4 LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0, and GPS with with A-GPS, GLONASS. The One E8 is a dual-SIM device. Finally, there’s no Ultrapixel shenanigans on the E8, which gets a 13-megapixel camera on the back, along with a selfie-friendly 5MP clicker on the front.
Launched earlier this month in China, the mid-range dual-SIM Desire 616 sports a 5-inch HD display and sports a 1.4GHz octa-core processor. It comes with a decent 1GB of RAM, a 8-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front shooter. Disappointingly the internal storage is just 4GB ( further expandable up to 32GB via microSD card), and there’s a 2000mAh battery as well. The connectivity options include Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi b/g/n, GPS, GPRS/ EDGE and 3G.
At this launch price, the Desire 616 has a great opportunity to be HTC’s big hit, but the competition has grown by leaps in the last few months and there are new rivals such as Xiaomi around the corner.
