eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
The delayed HTC One smartphone is now available online and in retail stores at AT&T, Sprint, Best Buy, Radio Shack, Walmart, Target, Amazon, Costco, Car Toys, Sam’s Club, HSN.com, as well as on the HTC Website, HTC announced April 19.
T-Mobile is selling the One online as of April 19 and will have it in stores April 24.
HTC introduced the One—its new flagship phone and latest attempt to more effectively compete against Apple iPhones and Samsung Galaxy S devices—at a Feb. 19 event in New York City.
The One is thin, light and fast and has a gorgeous 4.7-inch display, a new BlinkFeed home screen that’s the result of HTC partnering with content providers from ESPN to MTV, industry-first dual front-facing speakers, and a feature-rich camera that can, among other things, take what HTC has described as “life in 3-second snippets” and video-plus-movie montages called “Zoes.”
The One’s unique camera, however, proved tricky for HTC’s supplier, ultimately causing massive delays and undoing HTC’s comeback plan. While HTC planned to release the One in 80 markets during the first quarter of 2013, the phone made it to just three. Consequently, instead of kicking off a fiscal and market share turnaround, on April 8 HTC posted its worst quarter since it began reporting results in 2004.
HTC is celebrating the One’s U.S. arrival with a series of big-name, small-venue concerts. Pharrell will play tonight in New York City while Grouplove plays in Chicago, and on April 25 Manchester Orchestra will play in Los Angeles.
For the One’s arrival, HTC has also launched a new U.S. marketing campaign designed to familiarize consumers with the One’s unique features—and remind them that HTC is still in the game.
Benjamin Ho took the chief marketing officer position at HTC in January, and in March told the Wall Street Journal that HTC would be retiring its “Quietly Brilliant” tag line.
“We have a lot of innovations, but we haven’t been loud enough,” Ho told the Journal, adding that moving forward HTC plans to be “bolder.”
In one new ad, showing off the One’s front-facing BoomSound speakers, bands are shown performing with their backs to the crowd.
“Wouldn’t they sound better facing the right way?” says a voiceover. “We thought the same about our speakers.”
The new tag line at the end: “It’s everything your phone isn’t.”
Sprint and AT&T are now selling a silver, 32GB version of the HTC One for $199.99 with a two-year contract. Online only, AT&T is also selling a 64GB version for $299.99. Soon, both will also offer the phone in black.
T-Mobile is selling a 32GB silver HTC One for $99.99 down, with 24 monthly payments of $20 to customers who qualify.