HTC’s latest Android smartphone is the gorgeous HTC One - probably its last chance to reclaim the former glory as the Android handset leader from Samsung. While it has been available since late-March in the UK, Germany and Taiwan, due to some component shortages, the North American launch was delayed. It is now finally being launched this week on multiple U.S. and Canadian carriers.
The One has an impeccably crafted all-aluminum body, housing a 1.7 GHz Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor, and HTC’s new UltraPixel camera. It runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean with the new Sense 5.0 UI. It has already been getting rave reviews, many calling it one of the best smartphones ever made, and we couldn’t wait to be able to get our hands on one to test. Telus Mobility was kind enough to send us a retail boxed version of the HTC One, and you can check out our unboxing of this sexy phone, and a quick overview of the hardware, in the video below.
The HTC One will be available in both silver and black in the US on April 19th from AT&T and Sprint, and April 24th from T-Mobile. The 32GB model will be $199.99 on a 2-year term, and the 64GB model, which is exclusive to AT&T for $299.99 on a 2-year term. As part of T-Mobiles ‘Uncarrier’ re-branding, their HTC One will be available for $99.99 with no contract, the catch being you have to make 24 monthly payments of $20 to cover the credit they extended you.
In Canada the One will be released on April 19th from Telus, Rogers, and Virgin Mobile for $149.99 on a 3-year term (yes, sadly Canadians still have to lock themselves in for that ridiculous term to get the best deal), and only the 32GB model in silver will be initially available. Hopefully the black version will show up at a later date.
You can check back with us soon for a more detailed look at HTC’s latest masterpiece.
You can also check out some of our previous coverage of the HTC One – an interview with HTC Design Director Jonah Becker, and our hands-on from the February NYC launch event.