14 DAY TRIAL // HTC One is already available for purchase in the UK from various carriers and retailers, and the phone is likely to arrive in the US next month.
The smartphone was initially slated for a mid-March launch in the UK, but it got delayed to some manufacturing issues, such as the fact that the company was not able to secure enough components for the UltraPixel camera that comes packed inside the phone.
Another possible reason of these delays might be the fact that HTC One’s manufacturing process is torturingly long and complex.
According to the Taiwanese company, it takes no less than 220 minutes to manufacture an HTC One unit.
Even though this should make HTC One a very sturdy device, does it really worth it? HTC One will probably arrive in the United States around the same timeframe as the Samsung Galaxy S 4, which is definitely not good for HTC’s business.
The folks over at iFixit have made their usual tearing apart tour to see how solid the HTC One is but also how easy it is to repair one.
The results are atrocious as HTC One scored the lowest possible: 1 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair).
Before awarding HTC One with the lowest score possible, iFixit took into consideration the following facts:
"- Very, very difficult (impossible?) to open the device without damaging the rear case. This makes every component extremely difficult to replace.
- The battery is buried beneath the motherboard and adhered to the midframe, hindering its replacement.
- The display assembly cannot be replaced without removing the rear case—this will make the most common repair, a damaged screen, nearly impossible.
- Copper shielding on many components is difficult to remove and replace."
On the positive side, iFixit has mentioned HTC One’s “solid external construction” which should improve its durability. For more details on how iFixit has reached these conclusions, check out the original article.