The HTC One E8 is the phone I never thought I'd see. Given HTC's big push into making design the most important element of its flagship One M8phone, why lose it?
And this theme returns when you turn the phone over: all the talk of the importance of the duo camera, with Ufocus and other assorted Ultrapixel gubbins, is gone in favour of an off-the-shelf 13MP sensor.
What gives, HTC? It's nearly 30% cheaper? Oh. That makes sense.
Beyond that, we're treated to the HTC One M8 spec for spec. That means a Snapdragon 801 chip inside, the same larger 2600mAh battery, a glorious Full HD 5-inch Super LCD3 screen, a microSD slot and, well, you might as well just read the spec sheet for the One M8 to get the full picture.

HTC One E8 review

Oh - the IR blaster on the top is gone. That's important if you like the thought of controlling your TV with a phone.

Plastic back

So, let's get down to it: how does the new polycarbonate cladding feel in the hand? I was sent the Electric Crimson version of the phone to test out (come on, if that's an option on the list to choose, it was impossible to go for anything else) and it's a shiny plastic, rather than the matte grey finish.
This means it's as slippy, if not even less grippable, than the metal of the One M8, although if you plump for the matte version you'll be able to hold onto it a little better.

HTC One E8 review
It's hard to explain how slippy this phone is

The plastic back feels solid, makes the phone lighter and, as I said, dispenses with the IR blaster on the top, which has the effect of moving the power button to the centre. It's a slightly odd place to put it, but it's easy to hit and still raised.
It's intriguingly the same design as seen on the original HTC One... well, intriguing if you've got nothing else to think about.

HTC One E8 review
The power key - full of design mystery

The volume key on the right-hand side is also plastic, as you'd expect, and probably feels like the cheapest part of the phone. I'm not a fan of the lighter chassis, as I loved the great balance of the One M8, but the One E8 will probably appeal to those looking to spend less without losing the unibody package experience.

No IR

Is the lack of an infra-red port, the thing that lets you control your TV with your phone, a big loss to the phone? Well, apart from making the aesthetic of the One E8 a little less sumptuous, it's barely missed.
I keep pointing out that holding your phone like a remote control is impossible as you're missing the tactility of the buttons, but apart from LG with the G Flex (which had the sensor on the back, meaning you could hold the phone up to see what you're pressing) nobody has done anything about it.
The disappearance might irk some, but in reality it wouldn't be missed on the One M8.

Lower price

Of course, the main reason for losing many of the good bits of the One M8 on the E8 is the price drop, and it's pretty big considering.

HTC One E8 review
The locked-in SIM and microSD trays remain

Word is it could come in at around £350 in the UK and in india pirce 44800, and will be around 30% cheaper than the One M8 in other markets SIM free, so if you get your hands on the One E8 (and that's a big if, as HTC has yet to confirm availability in the more premium smartphone markets, focusing the E8 in other more developing parts of the world) you'll be paying a lot less.
It's hard to say whether this is the right move - it depends if the One M8 and E8 will be sold side by side. If they are, then it's a cannibalisation exercise. People won't want to pay that much more for a metal back and two cameras, and it could harm the sales of the One M8 as a result.

HTC One E8 review
Confirmed: you can use it on trees

Also, where does the One Mini 2 fit into the equation? Or the Desire 816? For a company that was planning to make fewer phones, HTC is certainly churning out the handsets.

Upgraded camera

Here's something that will confuse a lot of people if the two phones are placed side by side in a shop (although we've yet to find out if they will): the camera on the HTC One E8 is going to be a 13MP affair, with single flash LED rather than the all-singing One M8, with its Duo Camera and Ultrapixels and Ufocus background defocus.
The 13MP snapper here has all the power and toys the One M8 has (bar the defocus post processing) so you can take Zoes, HDR shots, videos and more without a problem.

HTC One E8 review
Doesn't look as fancy as the Duo Camera

The front facing camera remains the same (well, I'm pretty sure about that but am awaiting confirmation) so this should be another brilliant phone if you like to take loads of self portraits.
But the back camera looks great still, and the sharpness from the off the shelf sensor seems to be very good indeed. HTC better hope that shops don't sell these phones with 13MP and 4MP specs listed next to one another, or else it will get very confusing.

Early verdict

There's a lot here that I'm missing from the One M8, but not as much as I thought I would. The build quality is a lot lower, but the colour of my sample and the well-packaged unibody mitigates that somewhat.
The camera, in the early tests, performs very well, but I've not tried it in the full range of low light and differing texture tests, so I'll be intrigued to see how that pans out.
Essentially, this budget version of the One M8 isn't that budget - but it does provide competition to the likes of the Nexus 5 and the OnePlus One for a high-end phone with great specs and a lower price, and it appears HTC has managed that well here.