Report: Verizon to Release HTC One Later This Year

Following the introduction of the HTC One in late February, the absence of Verizon Wireless as a carrier partner was met with shock by the press and enthusiasts, as Verizon is generally considered to be one of HTC’s largest partners in the US owing to previous flagship and exclusive devices on the carrier.

After first being announced and being subsequently downplayed by Verizon PR in favor of the then recently released DROID DNA/HTC J variant, Verizon may indeed be preparing for its own HTC One variant later this year according to a new report by AllThingsD.

The report cites its own sources within Verizon that have confirmed that the carrier is indeed testing its own variant, with the caveat that it will trail releases on AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint owing to Verizon’s famously stringent device testing and development cycle which means that the phone may launch all the way out into June compared to the other carrier variants with a one to two month lead time.

As Verizon typically chooses to heavily modify its HTC devices to fit within the DROID line, the internal testing and development of the HTC One without any major modification would be the best news for HTC as it continually struggles to turn around its dismal fortunes and attempts to recover its former position as the most well-known and profitable smart device manufacturer, that position now taken by Samsung, who is expected to reveal the fourth version of the Galaxy S smartphone tomorrow night in a launch event in New York City.