Taiwanese smartphone maker is reportedly planning to launch a plastic variant of the flagship HTC One (M8) next month.
Chinese media house, TMT Post citing sources has claimed that HTC is prepping to release cheaper HTC One M8 model in May. Only discernible difference is said to be the plastic casing, and everything else (design language and internal specification) will remain the same as the metal-clad model.
The report seems to be contradicting the HTC USA President, Jason Mackenzie, who while unveiling HTC One M8 in New York City had taken a dig at Galaxy S5's cheap plastic cover.
"If you want to buy a product built out of cheap plastic, there's a solution for you," Mackenzie said of the Galaxy S5 during a chat with Business Insider. "But we're going after a different customer, someone who wants the best.", he added.
Now, the company seems to be making a u-turn, but that's understandable considering the company's current financial predicament, which recently posted loss in the first quarter revenue.
TMT Post's tipster has revealed that usage of plastic in HTC One M8 is said to significantly reduce the total cost (of metal model in China) from ¥5,299 (around ₹51,630) to ¥3000 (around ₹29,220) for plastic variant.
As of now, there is no official comment from the company regarding the reports in the media, but if the rumored low-cost HTC One M8 handset turns out to be true, the Taiwanese firm's decision will certainly appeal to price-sensitive markets like India, China and other Asian regions and have a fighting chance to overturn the current financial mess to profits and take on the reigning smartphone leader Samsung.
(ED:VS)
Key specifications of HTC One M8:
| Model | HTC One M8 |
| Display | 5.0-inch Super LCD 3 full HD (1920x1080p) screen with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 shieldPixel density: 440 ppi |
| OS | Android v4.4.2 KitKat OS with HTC Sense v6.0 UI(to get update for next two years) |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 series quad-core processor with 2.3GHz CPU speed- chipset: MSM8974AB(some select markets in Asia to be released with 2.5GHz CPU speed, chipset: MSM8974AC) |
| GPU | Adreno 330 |
| RAM | 2GB DDR3 RAM |
| Storage | 16GB/32GB, expandable up to 128GB |
| Camera | Main: 4.0-UltraPixel dual-camera with dual-color LED flash (True Tone), 1/3'' sensor size, 2µm pixel size, HTC ImageChip 2, automatic simultaneous video and image recording, geo-tagging, face and smile detection, HDR, panoramaFront: 5.0-megapixel wide-angle camera, full HD video recording, HDR |
| Battery | 2600 mAh (Li-Po, non-removable battery);Talk time: up to 20 hours (3G)
Standby mode: Close to 496 hours (3G) [Under 'Extreme Power Saving Mode' HTC One M8 can deliver 60 hours of extra standby time at 20% power, 30 hours at 10% power and 15 hours at 5% power ] |
| Network | 3G & 4G-LTE Category 4 (50Mbps speed) |
| Add-ons | Metallic body (90-percent), Nano-SIM, Bluetooth v4.0 (with A2DP), Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac), NFC, microUSB v2.0, MHL, microSD card slot, BoomSound audio system, Infrared blaster, |
| Dimensions | 146.4 x 70.6 x 9.4 mm |
| Weight | 160 g |
| Colours | Gunmetal Gray, Glacier Silver and Amber Gold |
| Price (in China) | Metal variant: ¥5299 (around ₹51,630)Expected Plastic model: ¥3000 (around ₹29,220) |
