HTC One M9 Pre-Orders Also Begin March 27, Unlocked Version Priced at $649

At 12:01AM ET on Friday, March 27, HTC will also open up pre-orders of its new flagship, One M9. The in-store date for the M9 is April 10. In other words, HTC is attempting to go head-to-head with Samsung and the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. Hey, good luck with that.

Like Samsung, HTC is leaving it up to carriers and retailers to announce their own specific availability and pricing, but for the most part, you should expect the phone to retail for around $649 without a contract and be available on April 10. Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint are all going to carry the HTC One M9. You will also be able to find it at Best Buy, Amazon, Target, and Costco.

If you want to skip the carrier fun, you can pick-up the unlocked HTC One M9 tonight from HTC for $649. This is the phone to get if you are on AT&T and don’t mind paying full price. HTC’s unlocked versions almost always get updates first and also have no carrier branding.

NOTE:  Here is pricing and availability for all US carriers.

Anyone pre-ordering?

NEW HTC ONE M9 – THE ONLY PHONE WITH UH OH PROTECTION – STARTS SELLING IN U.S. AT MIDNIGHT; WIDELY AVAILABLE IN STORES BEGINNING APRIL 10

Beautifully designed inside and out, the HTC One M9 is the most personal, intuitive, powerful and elegant smartphone from HTC yet

Bellevue, WA —March 26, 2015 — HTC America Inc., a leader in mobile innovation, will begin selling its highly anticipated new flagship device, the HTC One® M9 that comes with the industry-leading UH OH™ Protection, online in the U.S. at 12:01 a.m. ET on Friday, March 27 and in-store on April 10 at major carriers and retailers.

Widely considered smartphone of the year for the past two years, the third generation of the HTC One ups the ante in the smartphone category with the most personal, intuitive and powerful smartphone from HTC yet while continuing the design heritage for which the HTC One is known.

“The craftsmanship of our new HTC One M9 resembles that of a fine watch. We’ve retained our iconic design but made it even better while not compromising on what is important to our customers,” said Jason Mackenzie, president of HTC America.

The HTC One M9 boasts the iconic all-metal unibody design with a new scratch resistant, dual finish that is as distinctive as it is durable. The HTC One M9 is launching in the U.S. in two stunning color options – gunmetal gray and jewelry-like, dual-tone silver with subtle gold mirror polished sides. Its beauty is only matched by its performance. The HTC One M9 is running on the latest Android™ 5.0.2 Lollipop release with the most advanced Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 810 octa-core processor.

“According to Kantar*, HTC One owners listen to music more than the average smartphone user and so we didn’t compromise on what is important for our consumers,” said Mackenzie. “We kept the microSD slot and increased capacity to 2TB because you want your content with you, we made our HTC BoomSound™ experience even better by adding Dolby Audio™ to give you a surround sound experience, and while others are reducing battery size, we increased it so you can enjoy your music and movies even longer.”

The HTC One M9 delivers an unparalleled personalized smartphone experience with the new HTC Sense® 7. HTC Themes offers a unique customizable home screen either by selecting from the theme collection or by creating a custom theme from a favorite photo. Sense Home is a new, intelligent widget that automatically curates apps based on your usage and location. It is contextually aware of location, time of day and what apps are preferred at home, work or on the go and will intelligently recommend apps and nearby restaurants with ratings from friends and followers.

The HTC One M9 cameras are designed to capture every moment with amazing quality. A 20 megapixel rear-facing camera delivers crisp, detailed shots and has a sapphire lens cover to protect it from scratches. The front-facing UltraPixel™ camera captures more light than most 13 megapixel cameras ensuring sharper, more natural and balanced self-portraits in any lighting conditions. A host of new editing effects have been added to HTC EYE™ Experience software include Double Exposure, Shapes, Prismatic, Elements and Bokeh.

The HTC One M9 comes with HTC BoomSound, the iconic dual front-facing speakers, now featuring 5.1 channel Dolby Audio Surround*. HTC BoomSound with Dolby Audio has two modes, theatre mode and music mode. Theatre mode uses HRTF and Crosstalk Cancellation technology to create an extraordinary, cinema-style surround sound effect while watching movies. Whether listening via HTC BoomSound speakers or headphones, users will be blown away by 24-bit high-definition sound. As a hub for home entertainment, HTC Connect® makes it easy to create a multimedia experience beyond your phone. A three-finger swipe on the screen connects the phone to compatible TVs or external speakers. The integration of HTC Connect with Qualcomm® AllPlay™ smart media platform and Blackfire Research™ wireless media technology enables high-quality content to be streamed from the HTC One M9 to multiple home entertainment devices around the house.

“We are not only delivering the best-looking, best-performing smartphone on the market, we are ensuring it stays that way with UH OH™ Protection,” said Mackenzie. “We are the only smartphone company that has your back if something unfortunate happens or if you need to change carriers.”

Purchase of an HTC One M9 includes UH OH Protection. A first-of-its-kind, UH OH Protection provides a one-time free replacement within the first 12 months of purchase for cracked screens, water damage or a different carrier variant for customers wanting or needing to switch networks. If the UH OH Protection isn’t used within 12 months, HTC will give $100 in credit towards a future purchase of an HTC One.*

The HTC One M9 with UH OH Protection will be available at AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon. It will also be available from Amazon, Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile specialty stores, Costco Wholesale and Target. Exact specs, colors, availability and pricing of the individual carrier versions will be shared by the carriers and retailers. An unlocked version will be available on www.htc.com for $649, starting tonight (March 27th) at 12:01 AM ET, with a 12-month interest-free financing option. HTC.com offers carrier versions and the financing option as well.

The HTC One M9 will be available with a range of unique accessories including a second-generation HTC Dot ViewTM case, which adds new color options with a transparent back. It also has cool new interactive features such as a customizable scrolling message, games and animated, holiday or make-your-own themes. Adventure seekers can pair the HTC One M9 with the IP68 water-resistant HTC Active Pro case.

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