HTC Announces a Developer Edition of the HTC One with Unlocked Bootloader & SIM Slot

[dgstorm]

This is certainly intriguing news for HTC fans. The company may be doing very poorly , but they seem to be striving hard to correct that, and here is one way that will likely help. They just announced they will offer a developer edition of their new flagship the HTC One. It will come with an unlocked bootloader and an unlocked SIM slot. The device will launch at the same time as the usual carrier devices sometime later this month. It will be available in limited quantities for $649. Here's a quote with HTC's press release,

What could be better than the HTC One; an all-metal phone with 64GB of memory and a 1080p Full HD screen? How about the same phone shipped SIM and bootloader unlocked?

Introducing the HTC One Developer Edition, the most powerful smartphone HTC has delivered specifically for our developer community:

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor
• 2 GB RAM
• 64 GB of storage
• SIM and bootloader unlocked
• Open APIs for Bluetooth Low Energy, Infrared, and more
• Front-facing stereo speakers
• Two dual-membrane microphones for recording

Multiple frequency compatibility:

• HSPA/WCDMA: 850/1900/2100 MHz
• GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• LTE: 700/850/AWS/1900 MHz (US)

And let’s not forget that gorgeous 1080p Full HD display that brings graphics, photos, and videos to life. With the HTC One Developer Edition you have a modern platform to build and test your apps.
The HTC One Developer Edition will be available in limited quantities to customers with a US Zip Code for $649 when the HTC One is released in the United States. In the meantime, what are you most looking forward to doing with your HTC One Developer Edition smartphone?

Source: HTC

 

[FoxKat]

Now we're talking!! :biggrin::icon_ banana:

Come on, Moto/VZW, get with the program!

 

[Dusty]

All things D reported that the HTC One is coming to VZW 1-2 months after the initial US release to the other carriers

So maybe this too???

 

[johnomaz]

I'm sorry, this just kills it for me. I do not want to have to buy a different version of the phone to have an unlocked bootloader. I doubt you can get this version at a subsidized price either.

 

[tgyberg]

We have always said that us hackers / rooters are a very small and un-noticeable bunch. I don't think that is the case any more!

 

[pwrdbykyank]

So since the developer edition has support for 700mhz LTE, does it mean we can pop in a verizon lte chip and it will work?

 

[FoxKat]

So since the developer edition has support for 700mhz LTE, does it mean we can pop in a verizon lte chip and it will work?

Interesting hypothesis... Let's try!

 

[dgstorm]

You guys must have missed the update I added to one of my stories yesterday: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/dr...und-quality-impresses-battery-life-tests.html

There is a good rumor that the HTC One will be coming to Big Red after-all. In fact, we will have a follow-up story on the subject this afternoon.

 

[skennelly]

I'm sorry, this just kills it for me. I do not want to have to buy a different version of the phone to have an unlocked bootloader. I doubt you can get this version at a subsidized price either.

Agree 100%. When the announcement of this phone coming to vzw, I think we all knew it was going to get locked down. Hopefully HTC does what Sammy did and leak a file to the dev community.