HTC Desire 601

What's more, the handeset will include several features that have been ported in from the top-tier HTC One and and HTC One Mini phones and is set to go head to head with the likes of the Nokia Lumia 625. The mid-range HTC Desire 300 was also announced, but's it's not yet clear whether this will be coming to the UK

The Desire 601 will include the Blinkfeed homepage, as first introduced on the HTC One, and will also feature the same dual front speakers and the ability to capture a 'Zoe' - HTC's term for a series of stills and a short video clip that are captured at the same time.

The new handset will be available in black, white and red. The red version of the HTC One has proved particularly popular andnew 'Vivid Blue' versions of both the HTC One and One Mini have also just been unveiled). The finish on the 601's chassis is smooth and comfortable to hold, without being too slippery.

The 601 packs a reasonably sized 4.5-inch screen, which was bright and clear and appeared to cope well with simple tasks such as web browsing - we'll be testing out the screen in more detail in our full review.

Along with a Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-core processor clocking in at 1.4GHz, the phone has 8GB of storage (along with a microSD card slot for an additional 64GB) and 1GB of RAM plus a 5MP camera - you won't find the high-end ultrapixel camera featured on the HTC One and One Mini. There's also a more basic VGA camera on the front.

While the price has yet to be announced, the HTC Desire 601 will sport a much more affordable price tag than the top-of-the-range HTC One and One Mini. Add to that LTE connectivity and a nicely desinged chassis, and this could be a serious contender in the mid-section of the phone market.