14 DAY TRIAL // HTC One is one of the most awarded smartphones ever launched on the market. The handset has been praised by both media and Android fans for its design and ease of use since its launch back in March 2013.
Unfortunately, the HTC One's sales were not on par with its praise and awards it received during the year, which is one of the reasons that the Taiwanese handset maker had a very rough 2013 financially speaking.
Another reason for HTC's demise on the Android smartphone market would be the fact that the company has decided not to pursue the mid-range market and solely focus on the high-tier segment.
However, HTC's fans are probably thrilled to know that their favorite handset maker will launch two mid-range smartphones in the coming weeks, and rumors on another two have started to emerge.
More importantly, the HTC Desire 816 surpassed 1 million pre-registrations in China, which, even though it doesn't translate into sales, is proof that the company may sell its mid-range smartphones very well if they are priced accordingly.
Anyway, the most important market for HTC remains the high-tier Android smartphone one, where the company will have to battle Samsung, LG and Sony.
While Sony and Samsung have already announced their flagship smartphones, the Xperia Z2 and Galaxy S5, which are expected to go on sale in April, HTC and LG are the only ones that have come forward with their products.
Word has it that LG G3 will be launched on the market sometime in May/June with truly QHD display and a very powerful hardware inside.
Until then, though, HTC will announce its flagship smartphone on March 25. For the time being, we will refer to it as HTC One 2014, given the fact that the Taiwanese company has yet to confirm the official market name of the device.
The HTC One 2014 will be unveiled during a “twin event” that will take place in London (UK) and New York (US), two of the most important markets for HTC.
If you aren't excited enough, you should know that HTC plans to put the One 2014 on sale immediately. Carphone Warehouse has already confirmed that the HTC One 2014 will be available for purchase at select locations about 30 minutes after it goes official.
Another piece of information that has yet to be confirmed suggests that Verizon Wireless will be the exclusive retailer of the HTC One 2014 in the United States. Apparently, the carrier will start selling the smartphone beginning March 25 and will have exclusivity rights over the HTC One 2014 for the next two weeks after its launch.
If the information is accurate, it means that HTC One 2014 will be first flagship smartphone among those that matter that will go on sale. Both Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z2 will only hit shelves in mid-April.
It's true that only Carphone Warehouse and Verizon Wireless will be able to sell the HTC One 2014 starting March 25, but that should still be accounted as a big advantage for HTC over the other two handset makers.
HTC One 2014 will be released in more than 110 countries two weeks after its official reveal on March 25, which puts the smartphones release on the market around the same timeframe as its rivals.
How would the HTC One 2014 fair when put against Xperia Z2 and Galaxy S5? Well, the latest info coming through various channels suggests that HTC decided to maintain the same design line started with the HTC One.
It comes equipped with a 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, an Adreno 330 graphics processing unit and 2GB of RAM.
Unlike the predecessor though, HTC One 2014 will pack microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 64GB). Rumor has it that there will be three variants available on the market: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB.
Another improvement over the previous model is the slightly larger 5-inch Super LCD3 capacitive touchscreen display that supports full HD (1080p) resolution, which features Corning Gorilla Glass 3 coating.
Another major innovation would be the so-called “Duo camera” embedded on the back of the smartphone. The HTC One 2014 is said to pack dual 5-megapixel camera, as well as dual-tone LED flash for better pictures in low-light conditions.
The smartphone will be powered by a slightly better 2600 Li-Polymer non-removable battery and will offer the full connectivity package, including LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC (Near Field Communication).
Software-wise, there's no surprise that HTC One 2014 will run Google's latest Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system, along with HTC Sense 6.0 UI.
Although we are still waiting for confirmation, rumors claim that HTC One 2014 will be available for purchase for only $600 (€435) outright, which makes it around $50 (€35) cheaper than the Galaxy S5.
More info on the HTC One 2014 will probably leak in the next few days that have remained until the smartphone's official reveal, so stay tuned for more details.