HTC launches India's most expensive Android phone, Butterfly

Taiwanese manufacturer HTC has launched its new flagship smartphone, Butterfly, in India. The top-of-the-line device has broken all price barriers for Android smartphones in India and will cost buyers Rs 44,900. This places new HTC phone above Apple iPhone 5's base model and Nokia Lumia 920 in terms of pricing, and much ahead of Samsung Galaxy S III.

The distinction of being the most expensive Android phone was previously held by Samsung Galaxy S III, which was initially launched at Rs 43,180 in May 2012. However, this price was soon cut to sub-Rs 40,000 levels and the device currently sells for approximately Rs 32,000 on the internet.

HTC Butterfly, known as Droid DNA in the US market, features a 5-inch Super LCD3 screen. This display has pixel density of 441ppi, the highest in any phone currently available in the market, and supports full HD videos (shot at 1920x1080p resolution). This smartphone comes with Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), layered with HTC Sense UI, out-of-the-box and can be upgraded to Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean).

The upcoming Butterfly is powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core processor with 2GB RAM. It will have 16GB onboard memory and will support microSD card expansion up to 32GB. Connectivity options in the device include 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB. Since the device is not listed on HTC's India website, it is not known whether the device meant for the market will support 4G LTE or not. Butterfly will sport an 8MP autofocus snapper with LED flash on the back and 2.1MP camera in the front.

Sony has also showcased a new smartphone with a full HD screen, Xperia Z. Apart from features similar to HTC Butterfly, this phone is also resistant to water, dust and shocks.