When will Aussies be able to get their hands on the HTC One?
Despite being announced earlier in the year, the One still hasn't officially been released in Australia.
We already know that the HTC One will be sold through all major Australian carriers. Telstra, Optus, Vodafone Australia and Virgin Mobile were identified among a total of 183 global carriers that will sell the device.
What we don't know is when the One will go on sale. There's been no word yet on an official Australian release date or pricing details. Rumours have suggested the phone is set to go on sale by the end of April, but HTC Australia has been tight lipped with any concrete details.
Given the lack of details provided, Aussies might have to wait a little longer than those in Asia and Europe to get their hands on the HTC One. If there is any delay in an Australian release, this is likely to be a boom for online retailers such as MobiCity. These stores will sell the HTC One through what is known as grey importing, also called parallel importing.
A grey import tech product is one that is imported from another country without the permission of the intellectual property owner, in this case HTC. This can be achieved by an Australian business that buys the product overseas and then sells it online, or simply an International business that will ship the product to Australia.
The differences between an Australian model and an imported model of the One are likely to be minimal, besides any local telco software customisation. The main difference will be carrier branding, often in the form of a telco logo when you turn the phone on and some pre-loaded apps and services.
There are different variants of the HTC One that will be sold in various parts of the world but the model you'll need to buy for use in Australia is the 801n. This model has 32GB of internal memory and is 4G compatible in Australia on the 1800MHz network band used by Telstra and Optus. It is available in silver and black variants.
Buying the HTC One?
You can pre-order the HTC One online from a variety of Web sites, most of them International retailers.
One of the most reputable is MobiCity. It currently lists the HTC One for $769 and will sell both the silver and black variants. The store says it currently expects to receive stocks of the One between Thursday 25 and Monday 29 April, though it is important to note that these dates are not set and can change at any time.
MobiCity is slightly pricier than other alternatives, but it does offer a 12 month Australian warranty. This is not a HTC warranty, but is serviced by a company called Australian Warranty Services.
The basic warranty that comes with any MobiCity purchase includes replacement within the first 48 hours if the product is dead on arrival (DOA), an assessment guarantee within 48 hours of receipt and a repair guarantee within 30 days. MobiCity also says that a replacement device will be offered if it is unable to repair the HTC One within the guaranteed time frame.
Expansys is another site that will sell the One. It lists both silver and black variants of the One but has not yet released pricing details.
Expansys offers a 12 month repair warranty with an entitlement to a full refund or replacement within 14 days from the date of dispatch in the event of a faulty product, or simply if you've changed your mind. The latter only applies if the phone is in as new condition with no missing packaging, accessories and manuals. Additionally, Expansys offers an optional extended warranty (12 months basic warranty plus three months extended) for an extra cost of $30.
Two of the most popular online stores for tech devices are UK pair Handtek and Clove.
Handtek currently lists the one for £419.99 (around $606 Australian dollars at the time of writing) while Clove is charging £425 (around $613AUD). Clove will charge £24.00 for the cheapest International Mail shipping down under (around $34.90AUD) while Handtek charges £15.00 for the same service (AUD$21.80), though a DHL Express option is available for £23.90.
Other online stores that are expected to sell the HTC One include Kogan, Millenius, dMavo, Techrific, Unlocked Mobiles and SG Best.
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