The HTC One won’t be hitting UK shop shelves on Friday as expected — instead the 4.7-inch smart phone will be arriving at the end of this month, or the beginning of April.
When the One, which plays host to HTC’s Sense 5 interface and risky 4-megapixel camera was revealed in February, HTC said it would be on sale in the UK on 15 March, which is two days from now.
HTC confirmed the delay as in a statement, saying, “We will start fulfilling pre-orders by the end of March in certain markets and will roll out product to more markets as we approach April.”
The delay follows reports that the phone has been delayed due to a lack of parts required to build the phone.
Delay disaster?
Smart phone delays are common, but this latest hitch could be more troublesome than most, mainly because Samsung is going to reveal its follow-up to the Samsung Galaxy S3 tomorrow night.
Had the HTC One hit shop shelves mere hours after the Galaxy S4 was revealed, more impatient shoppers could have snapped it up, unwilling to wait for Samsung’s phone to be released. With this delay however, HTC could lose its lead, potentially seeing its new toy going on sale at the same time as its biggest rival.
Last year HTC’s One X struggled in the shadow of the all-conquering Galaxy S3, so the HTC One is a very important mobile for the ailing manufacturer. Will its metal magic outshine whatever Samsung has to offer? Or could this latest delay prove fatal for the new phone? Let me know in the comments or on our Facebook wall.