HTC and Google recently announced that an HTC One variant running a pure Google operating system with no Sense overlay will be released on January 26. Google purists everywhere are probably ecstatic that such a powerful smartphone will soon be available with no carrier-forced user interface, although the Sense 5.0 UI delivers features like Blinkfeed and Sense TV that have been especially popular with smartphone shoppers. To keep early adopters which have already purchased an HTC One on the Sprint or AT&T networks happy, the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer is considering allowing HTC One owners and buyers to trade in their Sense UI for a “pure Android” OS experience.
The HTC One 4G is available for a reduced sale price now starting at $0.01 – $549.99.
The HTC One has already sold 5 million units according to an anonymous HTC executive that recently spoke with the Wall Street Journal. Making all of those customers happy by giving them their choice between the Sense UI and Google Nexus-like operating system experience is a smart move by HTC. The company confirmed with website The Verge that it was, in their words, “examining the best way to support early adopters of the One” that may prefer a pure, stock Android experience over the Sense user interface.
One way to do this would be to push out an over the air transfer that would allow HTC One owners to choose between a stock Android ROM and Sense Android overlay. The powerful HTC One 4G has been available for roughly a month in the United States, and delivers the highest pixel density of any smartphone at 468 ppi. The screen is also one of the largest high resolution displays available, and HTC has added their exclusive Beats Audio sound enhancement package. A powerful quad core processor is on board, as is high resolution video capture and extreme camera customization features.
HTC said their goal before releasing the phone was to improve in four major areas. By delivering a premium metal unibody design, a new UltraPixel camera technology, while also delivering dual front facing speakers and an upgraded HTC Sense UI (versio 5.0), the company was successful in meeting their goals. The quad core Snapdragon 600 CPU has been advertised as 40% more powerful than the Snapdragon S4 Pro, and has been clocked at 1.7 GHz. The HTC One handset also delivers a full 2.0 GB of RAM memory and 32 GB of onboard storage space.
The 4.70 inch Super LCD 3 display spreads 16 million different colors across that screen for a resolution of 1,080 x 1,920 pixels. A layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 2 offers scratch resistance, and the handset can deliver up to 16.0 hours of talk time from a single charge. Video capture runs 1,080P HD resolution with the rear facing camera, an 8.0 megapixel model that can capture up to 300% more light than other smartphone cameras with 8.0 or 13.0 megapixel sensors. The handset also offers a built-in YouTube video player and Stereo FM radio with RDS display capabilities.
The HTC One 4G can be purchased at a discounted price tag now starting at $0.01 – $549.99.
