Virgin Mobile USA has launched the HTC Desire 601, offering the smartphone for a very enticing price tag of $279.99 off-contract.

The HTC Desire 601 is also known as the HTC Zara and it is an affordable smartphone with some attractive specs for its category.

For some reason, Virgin Mobile is listing the HTC Desire 601 simply as the HTC Desire, but a quick look at the specs makes it obvious that it's not the 2010 Desire.

The HTC Desire 601 comes with a 4.5-inch qHD display with a resolution of 960 x 540, a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor clocked at 1.4GHz, and 1GB of RAM. The smartphone has 8GB of internal storage capacity, with a microSD card slot that allows for up to 64GB of additional memory.

Other specs of the HTC Desire 601 include a 5-megapixel rear camera with auto focus, LED flash, and the ability to capture full HD 1080p video, as well as a VGA front-facing shooter. The handset also features 4G LTE support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC, and runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. A 2,100 mAh battery keeps things up and running.

Although it is a mid-range handset with a low price tag off-contract, it has several features that are popular with HTC smartphones. The HTC Desire 601 comes with the much-touted HTC BoomSound, HTC BlinkFeed and HTC Zoe, as well as front-facing stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers, and an FM radio with the NextRadio app.

Off-contract smartphones usually sport steep price tags, even if they're mid-range, but Virgin Mobile is offering the HTC Desire 601 at an affordable $279.99 price point on a no-contract plan. Interested buyers can also get financing for the HTC Desire 601 with Virgin's Bill Me Later option.

It may not be a high-end smartphone with top-of-the-line specs and features, but the $279.99 price tag off-contract will likely make it appealing to plenty of shoppers, especially with the holiday shopping season just around the corner.

Head over to Virgin Mobile's product page for the HTC Desire 601 to learn more about the smartphone or to place your order.