The launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4 last week was something of a relief following the months of rumor and speculation, but while many Android fans will have eagerly anticipated the Korean company’s latest smartphone, it’s certainly not going to enjoy a completely unchallenged release. HTC looks to have put together a very strong challenger to Android’s most-lauded device in the form of the questionably-entitled ‘One’. With a beautiful aluminum unibody nicely complimented by a Gorilla Glass 2 front panel, it certainly looks the part, and according to an official press statement from HTC itself, it will be heading to the United States by the end of April. More details right after the jump.
Meanwhile, those residing in other nations, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and the company’s native Taiwan, should see a launch as early as next week. Asia Pacific countries will also see the release at the end of this month.
Having attended the initial launch event in London’s Oxford Street, I have to say, I’m pretty excited by the One. Although the company has somewhat gone back on its word to not confuse the consumer (by going with ‘One’ after ‘One X’ and ‘One X+’), it’s certainly the closest thing we’ve seen to a realistic Galaxy contender in a very long time, so you can imagine how much we’re impressed with the device.
The previous two flagships from the “quietly brilliant” company were certainly quiet, and not particularly brilliant for that matter, so the onus is on the One to try and claw back some of the market share from a rampant Samsung.
With the Galaxy S4 also launching in April, it’s going to be a very interesting contest indeed. Obviously, the Galaxy will outsell its HTC-branded rival, but analysts and commentators will be keen to see whether the promise offered by the One translates into stronger sales this time around.
With not long to go before the big Android face-off, which side of the fence are you sitting? Personally, I’m all-but sold by the HTC One, but there may be slight bias in that statement since I’ve had the benefit of a hands-on. Of course, I will probably give the new Galaxy a whirl before coming to a decision, but on first impressions, I’m not too keen on what is essentially a powered-up S III.
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