Well, that was quick. On Monday afternoon we were hearing of a $249.99 starting price for AT&T's 32GB model of the HTC One, but HTC quickly put that rumor out to pasture. The company announced on Tuesday it will begin taking pre-orders for the HTC One on April 4, and that the phone will cost 50 bucks less than expected.
That's right, the 32GB model of the HTC One will be available through AT&T for $199.99 with a two-year contract. The 64GB HTC One, meanwhile, will retail for $299.99 on the same contract.
The HTC One will be available on April 19, and by all indications it looks like it's going to beat Samsung's Galaxy S4 to the market. The Galaxy S4 will be available for pre-order on April 16, meaning the HTC One could have as much as a week head-start on its rival.
The 4.7-inch, 1.7GHz quad-core-powered HTC One is a make-or-break moment for HTC, as the company looks to turn its fortunes around. With much hype surrounding Samsung's Galaxy S4, the short head-start is welcome, but the HTC One needs to put that timespan to good use and turn some heads if it wants to stand a chance.
Here are some of the phone's most-touted features, courtesy of HTC's press release:
- HTC BlinkFeed provides customized content and real-time updates streamed live on your home screen. HTC BlinkFeed aggregates your content from a variety of media sources, serving up fresh content all in one place, without the need to jump between multiple applications and websites.
- HTC Zoe mode on the HTC One lets you grab the entire moment and bring it to life in three-second snippets. Special moments can be captured in HTC Zoe highlights, and displayed in a living gallery that you can set to music and special effects. AT&T Locker helps you hold onto those memories no matter where you are. You can automatically store photos, videos and documents in the cloud, so you can access and share from your smartphone or computer.
- The HTC UltraPixel Camera with a breakthrough sensor gathers 300 percent more light than traditional smartphone camera sensors and delivers outstanding low-light performance.
- HTC BoomSound provides rich, clear sound with minimal distortion, as well as the authentic sound experience you expect from built-in BeatsTM by Dr. Dre Audio. HTC One features dual front-facing speakers and a built-in amplifier to bring music, movies and games alive. Since the speakers are on the front of the device, you no longer have to worry about muffled sound when setting your phone down.
- HTC Sense TV lets you use your HTC One as an interactive TV guide and remote control. It can be set up in a few simple steps and gives you the ability to access electronic program guides and control a receiver, including AT&T U-verse®, and home theatre right from your phone's screen.
