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Verizon HTC One: 4 Reasons Why It Will Come Before September

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Verizon has dropped the price of the Droid DNA, its current flagship HTC smartphone, for a limited time. The price cut is yet another sign that the Droid DNA is being pushed out by Verizon in an attempt to clear shelves for the Verizon HTC One release which unfortunately still remains in the shadows as the month of July begins.

For weeks now, the Verizon HTC One has been official though the carrier remains mum on the specific details of its launch. We’ve heard whispering about a release several weeks from now and we’ve seen HTC claim that details in regards to the launch will be coming “soon.” However, earlier today, a potential bombshell emerged, one that Verizon HTC One owners likely won’t be happy about.

Read: Verizon HTC One Release Promised “Soon” to Frustrated Buyers.

We could see a Verizon HTC One at the Verizon announcement.

The Verizon HTC One release could come in September though we think that unlikely.

Earlier today, we saw a press shot of the device leak out for the first time, a sign that something might be brewing. However, the render shows a date in September, September 5th to be exact, and it’s possible that the Verizon HTC One release could be taking place around that time. In the past, we’ve seen launch and release dates tipped in these promotional photos so the date, as we mentioned earlier, is plausible.

Summer of course extends from the end of June to the end of September, meaning September is in the realm of possibility for the HTC One release date. And while that news is certainly grim for prospective buyers of the Verizon HTC One, there are signs that HTC and Verizon probably won’t be waiting that long to release the Verizon HTC One.

Here’s why we don’t think the Verizon HTC One release date will come in September.

Verizon Would Have Waited to Announce It

Verizon can be a cruel beast when it comes to smartphone release dates. With the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy Note 2, it was the last carrier to release both, by far. In the case of the Galaxy S4, we saw the carrier announce the Galaxy S4 for arrival during the month of March, but not release it until late May. However, those that are worried about a similar fate for the HTC One should relax.

The Galaxy S4 was a brand new smartphone and one that wasn’t yet out on any carrier, let alone Verizon. So it wasn’t surprising to see the carrier announce the device way ahead of time to keep pace with its competitors.

HTC One sales are at 5 million while the Galaxy S4 sales hit 10 million earlier this month.

Verizon wouldn’t have announced it so far in advance.

The HTC One has been out on shelves since late April, a completely different situation. AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint all carry it and have been carrying it for awhile. So, the carrier had no reason to announce the phone when it did. No pressure, nothing. It could have waited until today to announce it if it wanted to.

Instead, it announced it before the beginning of summer. Given the timing, and the fact that the HTC One is already out, it’s hard to imagine Verizon waiting more than three months from announcement to release for a phone that is already out on shelves. If it was planning to release it in September, it likely would have announced the phone way deeper into the summer.

Plans can certainly change but it would be extremely odd to see an announcement in June and a release in September taking place right around the time of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 launch.

Verizon is Clearing Out Droid DNA Stock

Verizon is trying to get rid of the Droid DNA.

Verizon is trying to get rid of the Droid DNA.

Verizon had been rumored to be clearing out stock of two other HTC devices, the HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE and the HTC Droid DNA. We now know that it is definitely trying to get rid of the latter as the Droid DNA is now on sale for $50 for a limited time through the carrier. This is a heavy discount on one of its premier phones, something that doesn’t happen all the time at Verizon.

While the carrier won’t confirm it, this is a really good sign that something new is on the way. Verizon doesn’t list an ending date for the Droid DNA promotion but it wouldn’t be surprising to see it extended or end just before the Verizon HTC One release.

The Likely Hold Up

As we’ve said all along, we believe that there is one major snag with the Verizon HTC One release and that’s Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, the update that has yet to roll out to the international HTC One. The Verizon HTC One is said to have Android 4.2 on board and we imagine that HTC and Verizon might be holding back so it can release the software to the international variants first. It’s also possible that the software is still in testing.

The HTC One Android 4.2 update release is thought to be imminent and thus, we could finally see Verizon make the specifications of its HTC One official once the update is official for HTC’s earlier variants.

September Doesn’t Make Sense, Cents

While we still don’t have a Verizon HTC One release date, we know that Verizon was at least planning to get it out soon. An unauthorized leak from @evleaks seemed to indicate that the device would be out before the month of July. That didn’t happen when we’re wondering if the lack of Android 4.2 for the HTC One in June was the snag.

We’ve also heard from HTC leaker @LLabTooFeR who claims that the device would be out three to four weeks from around June 25th. That puts it squarely in the month of June. Throw in the fact that Verizon is clearly trying to offload stock of the Droid DNA and the fact that the device is already official and has been for weeks, a release two months from now doesn’t make much sense.

Verizon, like most businesses, also likes making money. And if the carrier waited until September to release this phone, it would likely not make much off the Verizon HTC One. One, the Galaxy Note 3 launch is expected at the beginning of the month and two, the iPhone 5S is expected around that time as well.

Waiting that long would jeopardize this device so we expect a release in July and at the latest, August. And that’s what consumers, despite the September date on the press image, should be expecting as well.

8 Comments

8 Comments

  1. Ballbagger Steve

    07/02/2013 at 5:56 am

    once the HTC One gets released what will you waste your time writing about?

    • MJ n Houston

      07/02/2013 at 6:54 am

      LOL

  2. DCABuckeye

    07/02/2013 at 6:59 am

    But you all keep reading. It’s hilarious how many of you complain about these HTC One log posts, but yet you keep coming back, over and over.

    • Naga VH

      07/02/2013 at 6:22 pm

      I was annoyed in the beginning; I kinda like Adam Mills now hes fun.

      • JBF

        07/02/2013 at 6:38 pm

        Actually, the interesting part of it is watching the beginning of the end for Verizon. About a year ago, they had the promise to overtake AT&T. Now it is clear that they are at best going to be #2 behind AT&T. These companies burn away billions in a flash and don’t keep a long term to their customers. The whole HTC one issue is just a case in point. It’s just a phone, but Verizon is showing its true stripes as they bumble its release. It could take HTC down with it as this was supposedly their ” make it or break it phone”. Samsung is walking all over them as far as sales go.

  3. JBF

    07/02/2013 at 12:22 pm

    I guess the author (Adam Mills) is trying to understand what cannot be understood. I can’t blame him, as this is particularly odd behavior in todays fast-moving electronics world.

    Unless Verizon has something in it’s back pocket to “wow” everyone (which it likely does not), it is shooting itself in the foot. This is the summer of iPhone defections to Android and Android phones that really have some value for their money. Verizon is sitting back, doing nothing, and insulting it’s customers by inaction. People, however, don’t forget. Customer loyalty is important in a competitive market, and Verizon is generating precisely the opposite.

    I’m a Verizon customer that could buy a phone now and another in 6 months – forgetting contracts. It’s getting so convoluted now that all I can say is that I will wait, and switch to AT&T in the Fall, and pay cash to avoid contracts. I am that tired of Verizon’s BS.

    • david

      07/04/2013 at 1:20 am

      While I agree Verizon treats their long-loyal customers like garbage, I think there are some other factors at play. Verizon clearly has the best network and nationwide coverage. They have always invested very heavily in infrastructure to ensure the best quality of service (I mean actual signal, not customer service). Almost every Verizon customer I have talked to while shopping around for carriers (my family has been on Verizon for years but I’m finally moving out on my own and able to shop around) has cited coverage as a major deciding factor in choosing Verizon. Where my family lives and works in the Midwest, there are vast expanses of land where other carriers simply can’t keep a call going, while with Verizon, service interruptions are kept to a very low minimum. My uncle lives in really rural Kansas, and we can visit his farm and make calls from there just fine, but when other relatives visit from farther away with other cell providers, their phones are useless. Sure, rural Kansas is an extreme example, but these same properties can often be observed just outside of major cities.

      Furthermore, they’ve done a really good job of snagging people with family plans. These plans share upgrades so if one person’s upgrade comes first but another person’s phone breaks beforehand, the upgrade can be transferred to the phone. This seems great at face value, but pretty soon the family’s upgrade cycles get out of sync. For example, my sister recently upgraded her phone and must stay for another two years to avoid cancellation fees. The rest of my family has three upgrades pending. Two of our devices are reaching the end of their lives and need to be replaced. The other one is in fairly good condition and it would be a shame to waste an upgrade on it at the moment, so we’ll probably hold on to that for a few more months. So we enter two new contracts. By the time those contracts finish, my sister will have upgraded again and entered another contract. So basically, it becomes impossible to ever leave without paying exorbitant fees unless we all agree to collectively avoid upgrades until we can all switch providers together. And splitting up and going to separate providers is prohibitively expensive because of basic plan fees.

      So between Verizon’s superior network and their iron grip on customers, I would say this is very far from the beginning of the end for Verizon. Those issues are big barriers preventing people from leaving regardless of their feelings for the customer service and company policies. They’ll be able to ride the Razr train to the end of the line and then start offering a serious lineup of phones long before they’ll suffer a serious blow to their customer base, and at that point, phone manufacturers will gladly forgive and forget and cater to Verizon because of how big of a market Verizon customers represent.

    • david

      07/04/2013 at 1:24 am

      And I just realized I posted that reply to the wrong comment, haha. I meant to reply to the one above you. But I figure at this point, to correct that would look obnoxious, so I’ll just leave it as is.

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