New HTCJ Butterfly announced for Japan, offers better specs than the M9

Although the body of this phone is plastic instead of metal, the insides are as premium as ever with a 5.2-inch QHD display, a Snapdragon 810 processor, a 2700 mAh battery, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage with microSD, BoomSound front-facing speakers, a 20.2MP duo camera and a 13MP front cam. The J Butterfly (HTV31) is available in three different colors (red/white/blue) and it also sports water-resistance.

The J Butterfly will be heading to Japan, exclusively through carrier KDDI, later this summer. It is also very possible the phone will be re-branded as the Butterfly 3 in other markets. For those in the United States, it is less likely that you’ll ever see the device officially launched, though anything is possible.

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So why did HTChold off these special extra (high-end duo camera, better front facer, QHD), instead of releasing them with the M9? That’s a good question, though really only HTCknows the answer to that.

Not too long ago, AA’s Nirave wrote a post about how Sony and HTCcould risk falling further behind the crowd, due to their design/hardware decisions made with the Xperia Z4 and One M9.  Whether you agree or not, it is interesting that HTCchoice to forgo extras like QHD on its primary flagship, only to turn around and include them in other devices like the One M9+, E9+, and now the J Butterfly.

Do you think that HTCmade the right move by avoiding the QHD trend with its flagship? Conversely, would J Butterfly-level specs have been enough to sell you on the One M9, even if design stayed largely the same?