As a flagship-level device, it's no surprise to see Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 chip with 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, microSD expansion, IR blaster, NFC and LTE-Advanced radio (225 Mbps down, 25 Mbps up) here. With this in mind, the Butterfly 3 sits somewhere between the M9 and the M9+ -- same chipset as the former, same screen plus main camera as the latter; but all inside a waterproof (IP55 and IP57) plastic body. We don't mind the lack of fingerprint reader here, but we are a little baffled by the slightly smaller 2,700 mAh battery, as both the M9 and M9+ come with 2,840 mAh.

Other than that minor niggle, we're liking what HTC's offering here. Let's face it, the Butterfly 3 is much prettier than its predecessor and, in some ways, the M9 series; at least there isn't a sharp ridge running around the phone this time. Folks in Japan can grab one in early June, but if you'd rather have a fingerprint reader and don't mind missing out on the Duo Camera, then you may want to wait for the mysterious M9e. Until then, feel free to check out some hands-on photos above, courtesy of our friends over at Engadget Japanese.