HTC just unveiled the One Max and said carriers would announce when they'd offer the phablet to customers. Verizon is the first U.S. carrier to confirm it will carry the 5.9-inch smartphone.
In quite the role reversal, Verizon is the first U.S. carrier to confirm that it will offer the HTC One Max to its customers. Verizon was the only major U.S. carrier to sit out of the launch of the HTC One. As the smartphone got more popular, Verizon customers urged the carrier to offer the all-aluminum handset. Verizon finally gave in to its customer's requests and started selling the device in August.
The carrier has now announced via its Twitter page that the HTC One Max will be coming to its network "this holiday season." Verizon has not released any specifics and it's unclear whether it will offer both the 16GB and 32GB options.
The HTC One Max boasts a 5.9-inch display with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 and ships with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and HTC Sense 5.5. It uses a 1.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor and 2GB of RAM to keep things flowing smoothly. HTC will offer the One Max in two storage capacities, 16GB and 32GB and, unlike the HTC One, the One Max includes a microSD expansion slot that will allow users to increase their storage. That will come in handy especially when using the HTC UltraPixel rear camera, which features a dedicated HTC ImageChip, BSI sensor, Smart Flash, and ability to record Full HD 1080p video. The front-facing camera is a 2.1-megapixel shooter that can also record 1080p video.
Its wireless connectivity options include 4G LTE radio, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 LE (low energy), GPS and NFC. The phablet will also include a fingerprint scanner on its rear, which will allow users to unlock the device and launch different applications by assigning a finger to each. Just like the HTC One, the One Max will ship with HTC Boom Sound, which uses dual front-facing stereo speakers with built in amplifiers to provide what some reviewers claim is the best sound experience on any smartphone. HTC ships the One Max with a large and non-removable 3,300 mAh battery.
We'll have to wait to hear a specific release date from Verizon, but it's great to know that it's not taking the same stance it took with the HTC One and customers can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the new HTC phablet is definitely coming.
