HTC announced Tuesday the pending availability of the HTC One E8, a line extension of its popular One M8 model. The immediate apparent difference between the two models is that the M8 has a metal case and the new E8 is offered in a plastic unibody frame - technically, polycarbonate. This also makes the E8 nearly 10 percent lighter than the M8. The E8 is slightly thicker, but the difference is barely perceptible.

Naturally, the E8 will retail at a lower price point than the M8, although price is not yet set in stone. The E8 is apparently destined for the Chinese market initially, and it is not known if or when it may wash up on U.S. shores. Current estimates place the retail price of the smartphone at approximately the equivalent of $450, several hundred dollars lower than the M8. The company claims the model will be available to consumers in early June.

The E8 will be sold in four colors, at least for now - Polar White, Electric Crimson, Maldives Blue and Misty Gray.

The E8 differs from the M8 in a few respects. The E8 offers a dual curve design, designed for both esthetic appeal and for easy handling; something HTC calls Selfie Perfection, a system that features a 5MP front-facing wide-angle camera in addition to its 13MP main camera, with a screen side countdown timer and built-in Touch Up software that balances skin tones while retaining a natural look; and dual SIM card holders for accessing multiple mobile accounts, although this will not be available in some markets. Both cameras can also capture video at 1080p.

Two important features from the M8 that make the feature roster on the E8 include Motion Launch and HTC's BoomSound stereo speakers. Motion Launch provides the ability to use gestures or movement to access shortcuts without turning on the phone, for example, answering a call by raising the E8 to the ear or activating the camera by tapping the volume rocker. BoomSound offers stereo sound through two front-facing speakers with built-in amps and balancing software that auto-corrects bass and treble levels .

The E8 is pre-loaded with 16GB of onboard memory with expandable SD storage capacity. Like the M8, the full HD LCD E8 display measures at 5". The battery is non-removable, and capacity is listed at 2,600 mAh. As the E8 uses the same screen, battery size and performance specs as the M8, battery life on the newbie should be pretty close to that of the M8.

The E8 is powered by a quad core Snapdragon 801 processor with 2GB of RAM. The operating system is Android 4.4.2 Kit Kat.