When HTC's new flagship smartphone, the HTC One, was unveiled in mid-February, it was supposed to be available "beginning in March" according to HTC's press release. March came and went with no North American availability, however, and leading carrier Verizon is actually rumored to get the HTC One "a month or two" after the other three carriers according to AllThingsD.
Engadget's Brad Molen, however, shared an anonymous tipster's screenshot yesterday, confirming that AT&T will start taking preorders for the HTC One in its retail stores starting on Friday and online starting Thursday. Meanwhile, T-Mobile is offering a $100 Visa gift card to anyone who buys an HTC One by April 26 and trades in their old smartphone by May 31, but only if you "pre-register to receive information" -- that is, sign up for a mailing list - by Thursday.
T-Mobile's site doesn't say whether or not it will be open for HTC One preorders at that time, but the deadline to "pre-register" does coincide with the date AT&T will reportedly start taking online preorders.
What is the HTC One?
For smartphone buyers, it's a super-high-end Android phone, which combines a 1080p screen roughly the size of the Samsung Galaxy S4's with the iPhone's aluminum unibody design and a Windows Phone's animated live tiles. For HTC, it may be the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer's last, best hope at staying in the marketplace. Samsung dominates the Android smartphone market, and is the only major Android smartphone manufacturer which is actually turning a profit (which may have something to do with its outsized spending on marketing). Unlike Samsung, HTC has no other business besides selling smartphones, so if the One doesn't sell it may be in serious trouble.
What do you have to do to receive the $100 gift card?
Pre-register (sign up for a specific T-Mobile mailing list) by Thursday, buy an HTC One by April 26, and trade in your old smartphone by May 31. You also have to sign up for "a qualifying rate plan," which basically means one of T-Mobile's new Simple Choice plans, which start at $50 for 500 MB per month of high-speed data plus unlimited talk and texting. The HTC One itself will cost $99, and you'll then add a smaller surcharge to your monthly phone bill to pay for the rest of it, which will probably be about $20. You'll also have the option to pay its whole price up front.
What phones will T-Mobile accept in trade?
HTC is actually doing the trade-in program, although its website isn't up yet as of the time of this writing. That means you can't see the "minimum criteria" it has just yet, besides that your smartphone has to be working.
What else is there to know about the program?
Like with many rebate-style offers, you won't get your card immediately. The fine print says that it will be mailed to you "within a maximum of 60 days" after your old smartphone and the "required paperwork" get to HTC.
On the plus side, T-Mobile is also giving out an "HTC One car kit" with online orders. The kit appears to consist of a smartphone mount for the dashboard.
Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/t-mobile-may-sell-htc-one-99-april-160600943.html
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