New phones of the week

This week HTC raised some eyebrows with its reluctance to let go of the One series. It unveiled the HTC One S9, which is decidedly less exciting than it sounds.

It's essentially a mid-range phone in a One M9 body. Yes, the stereo speakers are back on the front, but the rest a bit of a disappointment after the big promise of the HTC 10 and especially at this price - €500!

The phone has a 5" 1080p screen, a Helio X10 chipset with 2GB RAM, 13MP camera, a measly 9.24GB left from the 16GB storage. The fingerprint reader has gone missing too. At this point, the One A9 is so much better.

The Meizu m3 is on the opposite end of the price scale - a highly affordable $92. You get plenty for it - a 5" 720p screen, an octa-core processor with 2GB or 3GB RAM, 13MP camera and a selection of lively color options.

The m3 already scored 4.5 million registration (it took just 24 hours). Granted, registrations are not the same as pre-orders, but it's enough to show higher interest compared to the Meizu Pro 6 (which scored 3 million registrations).

The Huawei Honor 5C was announced Friday and has a lot in common with the still-unofficial P9 lite. With a 5.2" 1080p screen, a Kirin 650 chipset, a 13MP main camera and a fingerprint reader, this phone is ready to give the HTC a run for its money.

And it has a metal body at just $140, slightly more if you want the 4G version.

The new phone with the lowest price this week wasn't the Meizu, it was the ZTE Blade L5 Plus. At the equivalent of $85, it offers Android 5.1 Lollipop on a 5" 720p screen, quad-core processor with 1GB RAM and an 8MP main camera.