HTC launches One M9+ and One E9+ in India, One M9 won’t be offered

HTC announced today its new lineup for the Indian market, including the One M9+ and the One E9+.

The One M9+ was launched last week in China, and while HTCsaid it wouldn’t be selling the larger M9 version in the West, the device has now made its way to India. The One M9+ will be available from March 3 for Rs. 52,500 (around $840), a notch above the starting price of the M9+’ biggest competitor, the Galaxy S6, which is Rs. 49,900 ($800). It looks like HTChopes the M9+ will compare favorably with Samsung’s flagship, helped by the slightly larger screen and the presence of a microSD card slot.

The One M9+ is powered by a MediaTek Helio X10 processor (instead of Snapdragon 810, like the M9) and features a 5.2-inch Quad HD display, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage (expandable), a 2840 mAh battery, and a 20.7MP camera with depth sensor. Its hero feature however is the swipe-based fingerprint sensor, mounted on the front of the device.

HTC introduced another “Plus” smartphone in the plastic-clad One E9+. Featuring a 5.5-inch Quad HD display, an octa-core MediaTek MT6795M processor, 3GB of RAM (expandable), a 20MP camera, and a 2,800 mAh battery, the One E9+ will debut in India from the second half of May. HTChas not revealed pricing or further availability details for the E9+.

Asked about the 5-inch One M9, the head of HTCSouth Asia, Faisal Siddiqui, said the device wouldn’t be coming to India. With that said, the M9+ is similar enough to the M9, and in some areas arguably better, to satisfy the demands of Indian HTCfans.

So, if you had Rs. 50,000 to spend, what would it be? One M9+ or Galaxy S6?