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HTC unveils premium One M9 smartphone

 by: Chris Griffith

 From: The Australian

 March 18, 2015 8:40AM

The HTC One M9 sports a better camera while keeping such previously lauded elements as a

metal design and polished finish. AP Source: AP

AUSTRALIANS last night saw how the falling dollar could wreak havoc with premium

Android phone prices with the launch of one of the best handsets so far.

HTC’s One M9 is similar to its predecessor but addresses one sticking point that the M8 was

widely criticised for -- the relatively unspectacular 4 megapixel main snapper on the M8.

HTC had argued that a much larger pixel size meant the M8 camera could snap photos that

were as good, or better than the opposition, but it proved a hard argument to win.

The M9 instead has a high resolution 20 megapixel main camera. The front facing camera has

a 4 megapixel big pixel or “UltraPixel” camera that HTC says is perfect for selfies taken in

low light. It promotes it as one of the high points of the smartphone.

In what is a role reversal with Samsung, the HTC One M9 sports a slot for a microSD card

and can augment its 32GB internal memory with another 128GB. Another 100GB of Google

Drive cloud storage for two years is thrown in.

In contrast Samsung has ditched having a microSD card, a removable battery and even

waterproofing in its Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge models due for release in Australia soon.

The elephant in the room is price: a recommended $1099 outright, up from $899 when the

One M8 went on sale in April last year.

Distribution costs of phones in Australia have regularly led to higher handset costs, but the

drop in the Aussie dollar to around 75 cents is a double whammy. It will make 2015 a more

expensive year for tech.

Apple’s newly souped-up MacBooks too are about $200 more than last year. Still, the One

M9 is no more expensive than a medium-storage sized iPhone 6 and the eventual outright

retail price might end up less.

But in the US it will cost hundreds less. While pricing is yet to be revealed officially, Best

Buy prematurely showcased a 32GB model online with a retail price of $US650 before

removing the listing. Other reports have the M9 selling eventually in the $US600s.

In HTC’s home country of Taiwan, where it will go on sale first, reports say the 32GB and

64GB versions will cost $US690 and $US750 respectively. So in Australia the One M9 looks

a strong candidate for parallel importers.

Price aside, the One M9 will take the challenge right up to Samsung. A bigger battery than

the M8, its pitching as a preferred multimedia phone especially for younger users, good

cameras, strong sound and a 441 pixel per inch full HD display should make it highly

competitive. It could prove a very good year for HTC.

HTC’s One M9 handset is available for preorder from today and will go on sale officially on

March 24. Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and Virgin Mobile will stock it and it can be purchased

outright.

The One M9 comes with HTC Sense overlayed on Android Lollipop. You’ll be able to read a

full review in The Australian soon.