14 DAY TRIAL // On Tuesday, wireless carrier Sprint officially announced the exclusive availability of the HTC One (M8) Harman Kardon edition on its network, confirming that users would receive an enhanced audio music experience on it.
Sprint’s HTC One (M8) had already been discovered to pack Harman Kardon audio inside, but no formal announcement on the matter has been provided as of now.
According to the wireless operator, the device will be able to provide users with HD Audio sound, and it arrives on shelves as the result of a long collaboration between Sprint, HTC and Harman Kardon.
The mobile phone also comes with an exclusive HARMAN’s Clari-Fi application, which was designed to deliver richer, deeper and clearer sound quality when it comes to compressed digital music (such as MP3 files or streaming music).
Moreover, the handset will also deliver lossless HD Audio music reproduction via a 24bit/192kHz DAC, which is capable of offering around six times the information that compact disc music can deliver, and 60 times the information of MP3s when playing high-res digital (FLAC) downloads.
The HTC One (M8) Harman Kardon edition arrives on the market with HTC’s proprietary front-facing speakers, as well as with dedicated custom amps for the speakers and headphones, and with a custom set of Harman Kardon AE-S headphones with extended bass response.
On top of that, the smartphone will provide users with the possibility to store almost 16GB of music on their phones, courtesy of 32GB of internal memory, and a microSD memory card slot with support for 128GB cards (the user-available memory will be lower than that).
“For years, mobile music has been watered down and compressed into small, low-resolution digital files,” Dan Hesse, Sprint CEO said.
“The technological advances in smartphone processors and memories make high-quality audio possible today, so Sprint, HARMAN and HTC have partnered to bring this breakthrough to our customers.”
The new HTC One (M8) limited edition will come with the same hardware specifications as the original, including a 5-inch full HD touchscreen, a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 CPU, and the Duo Camera setup on the back, which uses the HTC UltraPixel module and depth sensor.
Users who will purchase the HTC One (M8) Harman Kardon edition will also get the option to grab the Harman Kardon Onyx Studio, which is available exclusively at Sprint, for only $99.99 (€72).
The Harman Kardon Onyx Studio was designed as the ultimate companion for all smart devices with Bluetooth capabilities, with four speakers and dual passive radiators, capable of offering a great audio experience at a $399.99 (€290) retail value.
The HTC One (M8) Harman Kardon edition will become available for purchase online on May 2 and will land in Sprint’s stores on May 9. The phone will be available for $0 down (plus tax), with 24 monthly payments of $28.34 (€20.5).