HTC has officially announced two new additions to its Desire family: the Desire 601, previously referred to as the HTC Zara, and the Desire 300.

The HTC Desire 601 may not be that much of a surprise due to recent leaks. It is a mid-range device with LTE support, touting some of the features found on the HTC One handsets, including HTC Zoe, BoomSound and BlinkFeed.

The HTC Desire 300, meanwhile, comes as a bigger surprise, as the entry-level smartphone was not expected.

"Changing the face of the mid-range, the HTC Desire 601 introduces 4G LTE speeds and innovative features from the flagship One family, including HTC Zoe with Video Highlights and HTC BoomSound. Setting a new standard for entry-level smartphones, the HTC Desire 300 offers a powerful, large-screen browsing experience and HTC BlinkFeed," the company touts in its press release on Tuesday, Sept. 3.

"For the last 17 years HTC has challenged the mobile industry to develop innovations that change the way in which people use their mobile phone. Now we're not only changing the way people view the mid-range and entry-level market but setting the bar even higher when it comes to our premium devices and capabilities," added HTC Corporation CEO Peter Chou. "We are committed to offering the most innovative portfolio of products on the market. Our Desire family has become synonymous with affordable quality. Offering some of the most advanced capabilities of any smartphone, these phones truly represent premium quality in a more affordable price bracket."

HTC Desire 601

Previously leaked as the HTC Zara, the HTC Desire 601 is a mid-range device offering some premium features that aim to offer customers more than they would normally expect from a mid-tier smartphone.

The handset sports the same dual front-facing speakers found on the more expensive smartphones in the HTC One family, which means that it should also work with the newly-announced BoomBass accessory. Under the hood, the Desire 601 packs a dual-core Snapdragon 400 processor paired with 1GB of RAM. The smartphone comes with 8GB of internal storage, but has a micro SD card slot for additional memory.

A 5-megapixel camera will allow owners of the device to snap photos on the go, while features such as HTC Zoe, BlinkFeed and Video Highlights will help the Desire 601 stand out from other mid-range rivals. Its 4G LTE support is another strong point, as only a handful of smartphones offer in this range.

On the other hand, mid-range specs does mean that something's got to give, and in this case the sacrifice seems to be the display. The HTC Desire 601 sports a 4.5-inch qHD display with a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels.

The smartphone will be available in a choice of black, white, and red color options and will start shipping "from September" to some countries in the EMEA region. The company has yet to announce pricing details and which other markets will get the HTC Desire 601.

HTC Desire 300

The entry-level Desire 300, meanwhile, also aims to bring some of the popular functionality of more expensive, high-end smartphones to a more affordable price point.

The smartphones sports a 4.3-inch display, a dual-core Snapdragon processor clocked at 1GHz, a 5-megapixel rear camera and 4GB of storage, expandable via micro SD. It does not boast 4G LTE or the camera-specific features such as HTC Zoe and Video highlights. It does offer, however, HTC BlinkFeed and Sense 5, which is nonetheless impressive for an entry-level smartphone.

The HTC Desire 300 will come in a choice of black or white and will be available in "select markets" from October. The company did not disclose any pricing details at this point.