HTC One news roundup (May 19-24, 2013)
It’s been a busy week at Pocketables, as we continued to absorb Google I/O and catch up on some reviews. It was easy to miss a few newsworthy HTC One items, but luckily, we’ve gathered up the most important nuggets for you below.
Google Wallet is now officially available on the HTC One.
If you were missing Google’s mobile payment app on your new HTC One, we’ve got good news: it’s now officially available for the HTC One on Sprint. You can download it from the Play Store right now, and Pocketables reader Mikesan was even able to set it up, buy some breakfast at McDonalds, and confirm that it’s working properly.
There’s also good news if you’re carrying around the Samsung Galaxy Note II on Sprint or US Cellular, or the Galaxy S4 – Google Wallet’s available for you now, too.
The HTC One has reportedly sold 5 million units.
Even though HTC seems to be on shaky ground, the Wall Street Journal has reported that the company has already sold 5 million units of the HTC One. According to an unnamed HTC executive, “Orders are pretty good so far and are still more than what we can supply. This is partly due to the shortage of components. When the issue is resolved next month, we will have a better idea if it’s doing really well or not.”
Granted, this isn’t quite on the same level of Samsung, which has reportedly sold 10 million units of the Galaxy S4 already. However, at the same time, HTC has been plagued by supply shortages and other problems, so this is actually really good. Maybe Peter Chou won’t have to resign, after all.
Thanks, Bill!
“Google Experience” HTC One might arrive this summer.
If you were excited by Google’s announcement at I/O that a stock, pure Android version of the Galaxy S4 would go on sale soon in the Google Play Store, you’d probably be even more excited about HTC doing something similar. Granted, HTC officially went on record shortly after Samsung’s announcement, stating that there were no plans to do anything similar with the HTC One. However, sources from within HTC have confirmed that, due to all the buzz Samsung has generated, HTC execs may have changed their mind.
This is still all a rumor, and until HTC says otherwise, it’s probably best not to get your hopes up. But at the same time, an unlocked, Sense-less HTC One that’s updated directly by Google does sound pretty sweet.
HTC might release a bigger variant of the HTC One.
Speaking of rumors, how would a bigger, better HTC One sound? Even though HTC seems to be convinced that 4.7-inches is the perfect screen size for a smartphone, sources within HTC are saying that the manufacturer is considering releasing a variant with a screen between 5 and 6 inches. All other specs are supposedly exactly the same, except for the larger screen.
Again, HTC is said to be capitalizing on the success of Samsung’s larger screens in the Galaxy S4 and Note 2. If this were true, it would seem that HTC is doing a bit more following than leading, but in any case, this is all just a rumor at this point. It’s one we’ll be sure to keep our eyes on, though.
HTC is giving some users $25 to compensate for shipping delays.
Last but not least, if you ordered your HTC One directly from HTC, check your email. HTC is sending its direct customers an email with instructions on how to redeem $25 in Google Play credit, in order to compensate for all those delays at release. That’s not shabby at all!
[Engadget | Ubergizmo | Geek | Pocket-Lint | Android Central]
