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Very likely, Illinois teen Roshan Jamkatel really did post an early review of HTC’s upcoming smartphone, code-named the M8, to YouTube (though in one instance he claimed that someone else posted it, and in another that it was a fake phone).
And although a Twitter sleuth has suggested Jamkatel’s family had no ties to HTC, very likely his father did work at HTC, had signed an NDA and has since been fired.
Also very likely is that the world knows perfectly well—and knew ahead of Jamkatel’s antics—what HTC plans to quote-un-quote unveil March 25.
HTC has started the hashtag #HTCOneUp, suggesting the name of the new phone. (It has already introduced a One, a One X and a One Max. So why not?).
Anyone wanting an early look at the One-but-better, button-free face can check out Daily Motion—which, as of March 23, has been hosting a video overview of the phone—in German.
Various reports over recent weeks suggest the newest HTC will run Android 4.4 (KitKat) and the Sense 6.0 user interface, have the same Snapdragon processor as the Samsung Galaxy S5, 2GB of RAM, a microSD expansion slot and improved front-facing speakers with a change of branding.
The headline maker, though, is that the newest HTC features two back cameras. As Phonearena has reported, this isn’t about capturing 3D photos but better 2D photos. Taking a photo will be pretty standard—the benefits show up when a user chooses to edit.
“You can apply ‘Duo effects’ to the picture,” Phonearena said in a March 24 report. (HTC’s invite to the event shows two leaping dogs, two cups of coffee and two giraffe heads.)
“We’d also guess that HTC has bundled in effects like post-capture focusing [the German video seems to demonstrate this], a depth map and the possibility to erase objects from an image … other changes in the actual shooting process should be in faster focusing and a more pronounced depth of field.”
Competition in the smartphone market is brutal and HTC has had a tough time of it these last few years. The company has made some excellent phones—attractive, comfortable-to-use phones with fantastic cameras and audio and beautiful displays—but that too few people (relative to Samsung’s sales) have purchased.
So what do you say? How about, when the big reveal comes, we all behave nicely and pretend to be surprised.
My fingers are crossed that, while the surprise is feigned, there’ll be delight in the room that’s for real.
Follow Michelle Maisto on Twitter.