HTC Butterfly available for pre-order in the UK – but is all that it seems? [UPDATED]

Contrary to what we’ve been told about the lack of UK availability, Expansys are now offering the HTC Butterfly for pre-order on their UK website. However, there’s no price, no expected date for stock to arrive, and if you place an order they say that when stock becomes available you will be notified and asked if you still want to purchase the device.

This can be taken in several ways:
a) Face value – Yay, we’re getting it!
b) Expansys are going to be importing mainland European models and selling them as such
c) They’re hedging their bets, trying to ascertain what the demand would be if they were to launch in the UK and using that to persuade HTC to change their minds
d) None of the above, but they must have a reason for doing it

To be honest, we’re pretty sure that Expansys have no idea of anything apart from a rough guess at the spec, but whatever the reason, according to them you could “be the first” to own the UK version of the HTC Butterfly by placing a pre-order now. With a spec sheet like the one below, will you be tempted?

  • Platform: Android™ with HTC Sense™
  • CPU: 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon™ S4 quad-core processor
  • Memory: Internal phone storage: 16GB / RAM: 2GB / MicroSD, up to 32 GB
  • Display: 5-inch screen, 1920×1080 pixels resolution (Full HD), Corning® Gorilla® Glass 2
  • Camera: 8 megapixel camera with LED flash, backside illumination sensor, F2.0 aperture and 28mm lens, 1080p HD video recording, 2.1 megapixel front camera (1080p for video chat)
  • Connectivity: Bluetooth® 4.0 / Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n / 3.5 mm stereo audio jack / Micro-USB / DLNA
  • GPS: A-GPS GLONASS
  • Network: GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz / HSPA/WCDMA: 850/2100 MHz
  • MicroSIM
  • Sensors: Gyro sensor, accelerometer, proximity and pmbient light sensor
  • Studio-quality sound with Beats Audio™ built in
  • Battery: Embedded rechargeable li-polymer battery, 2020 mAh
  • Weight: 140 grams with battery
  • Dimensions: 143 x 70.5 x 9.08 mm

UPDATE: If you answered “b) Expansys are going to be importing mainland European models and selling them as such” then grab yourself a cuddly toy! HTC’s PR company have tweeted us, stating Expansys will only be selling grey imports.

Shame