Hasta La Gadget!

As the HTC One nears release here in the United States and is delayed – just a bit – in the UK, we thought it time to do some educated breaking down of what the handset will cost in the states up against its upcoming rival: the Samsung Galaxy S4. With the Samsung Galaxy Note II costing right around 430 pounds in England right this minute and the HTC One costing essentially that same amount at 425, we can safely assume that the HTC One’s pricing in the United States will be essentially the same as that top-tier Samsung smart device.

As the Samsung Galaxy Note II will cost you right around $199.99 here in the USA on-contract and brand new, it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch to assume that the HTC One will be arriving at that price as well. It’s been tipped once or twice in the past few weeks (even before the reveal of the device itself) that the HTC One would be coming in more than one variant (different internal storage sizes, that is), for prices between $199.99 and $299.99 on-contract.

When the HTC One X was launched last year on AT&T, the device arrived for $199.99, and the carrier currently has new models available for $299.99 on-contract. As the HTC One will not be coming in a 16GB version (at least to AT&T), we’ll be seeing a $199.99 price point at least – perhaps $249.99 with the 32GB right out of the box. Then there’s the release date question.

Earlier today we received confirmation from HTC that the March 15th release date in the UK would be pushed back:

“We will start fulfilling pre-orders by end March in certain markets and will roll out to more markets as we approach April.” – HTC

With this release date pushed back, it’s possible that the USA will not be getting their models in until April at the earliest. With a release inside April, the HTC One and the Galaxy S4 will certainly be approaching the same timeframe for market rollout across the United States – not to mention the rest of the world. The Samsung Galaxy S4 will also quite likely have a pricing structure not unlike the Galaxy Note II, especially given the rumored specifications placing its processor at a higher point than that already-beastly handset.

Have a peek at our collection of recent HTC One hands-on experiences, analysis, and news bits to keep up on the release, and get pumped up about rolling out with one yourself – soon!

HTC One USA carrier pricing and release date predictions: very unofficial is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We caught wind of the HTC One possibly being delayed last week due to HTC struggling with the manufacturing process of its flagship device. It seems those rumors have been proven to be true as HTC has released a statement delaying the launch of their HTC One.

“We will start fulfilling pre-orders by end March in certain markets and will roll out to more markets as we approach April,” HTC said in a statement released today. The company didn’t reveal what the cause of the delay could be, but rumors have circulated in the past regarding HTC having issues getting enough UltraPixel sensors manufactured. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Yellow/Gold iPhone 5S In The Works?, Samsung Galaxy S3 Refresh Coming (Rumor),

With the HTC One launch coming on quick and suggestions that the camera software has not been bumped up to its highest potential before launch, today’s announcement from Clove is not an especially welcome one. Straight from one of the more prevalent UK (and international) retailers for smartphones online, Clove has made it clear today that though the original launch date for the international edition of the HTC One was March the 15th, they will not be getting stock until the 29th of this month. This news appears to have no affect on the launch date for the USA, though no official date has yet been confirmed.

This launch date has been pointed specifically at the UK, with no other launch dates affected – though the UK is indeed the only place this device would have been available on the 15th one way or another. Those of you trying for the HTC One internationally or inside the USA will have a bit longer to wait – unless you’re all about picking this machine up online from across the pond, of course.

UPDATE: an HTC Spokesperson has replied to SlashGear.

“We will start fulfilling pre-orders by end March in certain markets and will roll out to more markets as we approach April.” – HTC

The HTC One is being released at a time when several monster manufacturers of devices are pushing their new heroes for 2013. You’ll find the LG Optimus G Pro launching across Asia while the Samsung Galaxy S4 hits the USA later this week. This summer will also likely play host to the iPhone 5S and Motorola has been tipped to be releasing a Google Nexus device as well – some of these suggestions are more likely than others, of course, but one thing is true: the HTC One has some competition!

From what we’ve seen thus far, you’ll be glad to hear, this HTC beast will be able to hold its own – and more! Hopefully sooner than later, too!

Meanwhile you’ll be glad to see the massive variety of hands-on looks and up close and personal explorations we’ve got with the HTC One. We’ve had quite a bit of time to write about this device as the details have rained down like candy upon us for the past couple of weeks. Have a peek at the timeline below for more information.

HTC One delayed until March 29th: stateside launch unknown [UPDATE: HTC Statement] is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

So you’ve heard about the Samsung Galaxy S4, and you’re excited for the launch of the HTC One, but you’ve realized that you can’t have both. What do you do? You have a peek at a list of possible specifications for the Samsung device, dig your fingernails into your kneecaps in anticipation of the launch of both that and the HTC One, and hold on tight. There’s a chance that one of the two won’t be in stores for long.

While we’ve seen the HTC One live and in-person more than one time before – both at the launch and during Mobile World Congress 2013 – there’s something about it that just doesn’t click. Can you guess what it is? If today’s report from Android Community is right, it’s the camera. But that’s not what we were thinking here – instead that one crucial element was – and will be – the face that the phone is not going to be out for sale with enough time between its launch and the launch of the Galaxy S4.

There won’t be enough time for the HTC One to grab hold of the public conscious for it to be popular enough to overcome the allure of the most powerful Android-toting brand on the market today: Galaxy. Samsung has done so well with the Galaxy brand over the past few years that the Galaxy S, Galaxy S II, and Galaxy S III have been best-sellers consecutively. And the Galaxy Note line hasn’t been doing too bad itself.

So what does HTC lack that Samsung has? What will douse HTC in a hot mess called irrelevancy?

Samsung’s advertising cash.

If Samsung can do one thing right (and we know they can do more than one thing right), it’s public advertising on the part of their mobile devices. The Samsung brand name is synonymous with cool at this point in history and, based on last years’ ads and the court cases that continue through today, we know they’re the biggest guns up against Apple’s dominance in the mobile market with the iPhone and the iPad.

If HTC had the backing at this point to out-show Samsung with television ad spots and billboards across the country, not to mention online banners and whatnot, would they be geared up and ready for Samsung’s Galaxy S4 launch? I say yes, very possibly.

So which device should you buy – the HTC One or the Galaxy S4? I suppose it all depends on which device you find more appealing. Forget the specification comparisons, forget which device runs the newest version of Android, forget all of that. You’ll see sales follow the brand power. HTC needs to release the HTC One now, and plow through the little time they have left before the Galaxy S4 hits the market – or forever hold their un-sold handsets.

Samsung Galaxy S4 set to disintegrate HTC One before it launches is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The devices you’re about to see are being tipped as coming from Lenovo some time inside the 2013 Summer season, and if you’ll look closely, you’ll see how they’ve essentially lifted the styles of the HTC One X and the HTC One S top to bottom. Though HTC has moved past those devices with the more simply titled HTC One, you’ll see first and fore most that the HTC One X has had its styling looked after on both the front and back of this code-named Lenovo S920. This device is also tipped as coming with many of the same specifications as the Lenovo K900, this time with a bit more affordability attached.

The device above is also being tipped as coming with a quad-core MediaTek MT6589 processor, a lovely 5.3-inch touchscreen up front, and an impressive looking camera on its back with a single LED flash. You’ll also notice the resemblance to the HTC One X on the back with the raised lens and the flash partially interrupting the ring. It’s almost as if Lenovo took an HTC One X and slapped their name on it.

Next you’ll see a device that, if you didn’t know better, you might mistake for the HTC One S or one of the HTC Windows Phone 8 devices revealed over the past few months, complete with the brightly-colored back panel. This is what’s being tipped as the Lenvovo S820 and, according to Unwired View, will be “primarily aimed at women.” This device will also be coming with the quad-core MediaTek MT6589 SoC.

Have a peek at the timeline below and see if you can follow Lenovo’s thought process through to this point in the smartphones they’ve had leaked above. They’ll likely be coming to China first, with a possible (though not guaranteed) launch in the USA afterward. In a much more likely situation that we’ve seen happen before, we’ll be seeing more Lenovo devices here in the USA a little less than one year from now – shown at CES 2014 with another China-only market release.

[via MyDrivers]

Lenovo straight up steals HTC One aesthetics for two leaked phones is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.