People say that experience is the best teacher. And as cliché
as it may sound, this holds true even for tech industry heavy weights such as
HTC and Samsung, who are now about to refresh some of their products based on what
they’ve seen on consumer preference and behaviour.
On one hand we have the HTC One, which according to reports
will be released in a plastic version in order to attract the more
budget-conscious consumers. HTC’s One phones have long been the known for its craftsmanship
utilizing aluminium in its construction.
However, the phone maker’s choice of materials has caused
the One to be a bit more expensive than its Korean Rival – Samsung’s Galaxy S
series. The shift to a plastic body should make the One more affordable. With a
projected price tag of $483, the plastic HTC One will be $217 cheaper than the
metal version which retails for around $700 (even more in some regions).
Other than the casing, the plastic One (M8) will have the
same internals as the original M8 and should start shipping sometime next
month.
On the other hand, Samsung has given us an announcement date
for the Galaxy K Zoom – the successor of the Galaxy S4 Zoom. Samsung Mobile’s
Facebook page has posted an image yesterday announcing a special event at
Singapore’s Red Dot Design Museum on April 29.
The Galaxy K Zoom is expected to have a 4.8-inch 720p
display, a 1.6GHz hexa-core/quad-core processor and a 20MP camera with 10x optical
zoom. But unlike its predecessor, the huge camera module on the Galaxy K Zoom
will no longer protrude making the handset more manageable to use as a
smartphone.
