T-Mobile to Launch HTC One M8 in April - Analyst Blog

T-Mobile US Inc. TMUS is set to unveil the next-generation HTC One (M8) in the U.S. with unlimited text, data and voice on its superfast 4G LTE network. The Un-carrier plan will offer the phone without any hidden costs or annual service contract and customers will also not have to wait for phone upgrades.

T-Mobile's Un-carrier plan necessarily pays a major part of the termination fees that a customer incurs on switching to its network by violating a service contract.

The metal designed HTC One M8 is the latest smartphone from HTC and runs on Google Inc.'s GOOG most modern Android offering, KitKat. The phone features a 5-inch screen and is equipped with a 2.3 GHz quad-core processor along with an improved 5 mega pixel front facing camera.

T-Mobile, under its Un-carrier plan, is offering the smartphone at zero down payment with 24 monthly instalments of $26.50 dollar, totalling $636.

Rivals Verizon Communications Inc. VZ, AT&T Inc. T and Sprint Corporation have already launched the phone at $199 under a two-year contract. However, T-Mobile customers have to wait till April for the launch. T-Mobile might lose some devoted HTC users to its rivals due to the deferred launch.

Nevertheless, the biggest competition for the carrier will emanate from the Apr 11 launch of Samsung Electronic Company's latest flagship smartphone Galaxy S5. The popularity of Samsung's Galaxy series might impact M8's sales.

The Un-carrier plan and the recent network upgrade program from the company provide an attractive offer to the customers, which might spur sales. TMUS currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).