As the HTC One nears release here in the United States and is delayed – just a bit – in the UK, we thought it time to do some educated breaking down of what the handset will cost in the states up against its upcoming rival: the Samsung Galaxy S4. With the Samsung Galaxy Note II costing right around 430 pounds in England right this minute and the HTC One costing essentially that same amount at 425, we can safely assume that the HTC One’s pricing in the United States will be essentially the same as that top-tier Samsung smart device.
As the Samsung Galaxy Note II will cost you right around $199.99 here in the USA on-contract and brand new, it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch to assume that the HTC One will be arriving at that price as well. It’s been tipped once or twice in the past few weeks (even before the reveal of the device itself) that the HTC One would be coming in more than one variant (different internal storage sizes, that is), for prices between $199.99 and $299.99 on-contract.
When the HTC One X was launched last year on AT&T, the device arrived for $199.99, and the carrier currently has new models available for $299.99 on-contract. As the HTC One will not be coming in a 16GB version (at least to AT&T), we’ll be seeing a $199.99 price point at least – perhaps $249.99 with the 32GB right out of the box. Then there’s the release date question.
Earlier today we received confirmation from HTC that the March 15th release date in the UK would be pushed back:
“We will start fulfilling pre-orders by end March in certain markets and will roll out to more markets as we approach April.” – HTC
With this release date pushed back, it’s possible that the USA will not be getting their models in until April at the earliest. With a release inside April, the HTC One and the Galaxy S4 will certainly be approaching the same timeframe for market rollout across the United States – not to mention the rest of the world. The Samsung Galaxy S4 will also quite likely have a pricing structure not unlike the Galaxy Note II, especially given the rumored specifications placing its processor at a higher point than that already-beastly handset.
Have a peek at our collection of recent HTC One hands-on experiences, analysis, and news bits to keep up on the release, and get pumped up about rolling out with one yourself – soon!
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HTC One USA carrier pricing and release date predictions: very unofficial is written by SlashGear.
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