14 DAY TRIAL // Following the official unveiling of HTC One M8 yesterday, info on the device’s arrival in various markets around the world has started to emerge, including Australia, where the phone will be offered starting with April 1.
The HTC One (M8) will be released in the country with a RRP of $899 ($826USD/€597) attached to it, but wireless carriers there will have it at lower prices, it seems.
According to a recent article on Ausdroid, major wireless carriers in the country have already confirmed plans to add the new device to their offerings, including Optus, Telstra, and Vodafone.
Unfortunately, Virgin Mobile won’t join the launch party, it seems, though this carrier’s customers will still be able to grab the unlocked handset.
Optus has already kicked off pre-orders for the new HTC One (M8), and it has announced plans to have it available for purchase in-store starting with April 1.
The smartphone was announced on the carrier’s $60 ($55USD/€40) My Plan, with $12 ($11USD/€8) monthly phone repayments attached to it, though the offer will be available only until April 10, it appears.
Telstra will offer the handset to its customers too on April 1, with an outright price of $840 ($772USD/€558) attached to it. However, the carrier also unveiled various monthly offers for the device, such as the $12 handset repayment per month on a $70 ($64USD/€46) Mobile Accelerate Plan.
With a total cost of $1,968 ($1,810USD/€1,307) for 24 months, the deal will offer $700 ($643USD/€465) worth of included calls and MMS, unlimited SMS, and 1.5GB of data. Users can register for the HTC One M8 on the carrier's website.
At Vodafone, the new mobile phone will be available on the $65 ($59USD/€43) Vodafone Red 24-month contract with $10 ($9USD/€7.3) handset repayments each month, with the signing of a 24-month contract.
The deal includes 3GB of data, unlimited national calls, along with unlimited texts (national and international). Users can already pre-order the phone through this page on the operator's online portal.
The new HTC One (M8) arrives on shelves with a nice range of enhancements when compared to last year’s HTC One smartphone, including a 5-inch full HD touchscreen display and a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor inside.
The mobile phone was also unveiled with 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal memory, a microSD memory card slot for expansion purposes, and all the usual set of connectivity capabilities. It also sports the entire range of sensors, including an IR Blaster at the top.
Moreover, it comes with dual cameras on the back and with a 5MP camera on the front. The handset runs under the Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system, with the new Sense 6.0 UI loaded on top.