HTC One 16GB model to hit Taiwan stores this week: carriers

Taiwan-based HTC Corp.'s tailor-made version of its newest flagship smartphone for its home market will go on sale this week, the top three local carriers said Monday.

Chunghwa Telecom Co., Taiwan's largest mobile service provider, told CNA that both the black and silver versions of the new HTC One with a 16-gigabyte (GB) storage capacity will be available for its customers as soon as May 1.

The other two major telecom operators, Taiwan Mobile Co. and Far EasTone Telecommunications Co., said they will begin to sell the black version of the 16GB model this week, without giving any specific dates.

Pricing for the 16GB HTC One will start from NT$19,900 (US$672), while the 32GB and 64GB models will be sold for NT$21,900 and NT$24,900, respectively, according to HTC.

In contrast, the 16GB model of Apple Inc.'s iPhone 5 starts from NT$21,900 in Taiwan, similar to the pricing for the 16GB model of Samsung Electronics Co.'s new flagship Galaxy S4.

HTC said in March that it would delay shipments of the new HTC One in certain key markets by as much as one month because of component shortages.

The delay dragged down the company's first-quarter revenue to NT$42.8 billion, missing its original sales forecast of between NT$50 billion and NT$60 billion.

According to foreign institutional investors, the component supply shortage has been resolved to some extent after HTC added more certificated manufacturers to its supply chain to boost production.

http://focustaiwan.tw