FollowHTC has already made it known they wish to have a chunk of the growing phablet market with its upcoming HTC One Max, which means the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 has every reason to feel threatened. There does exist a distinct phablet market which sits above the smartphone segment but at a rung lower than the tablets. HTC has already tasted success with its One device in the smartphone arena, which means a natural progression for them will be to venture out in the phablet space as well. And they do have what it takes to give the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 a run for its money in the form of the HTC One Max. The latter can even be considered to better the Samsung offering in that the One Max incorporates an all metal body compared to the plastic cladding for the Galaxy Note 3.
Now coming to the rumor stories, The HTC One Max is likely to be released in September, which is also when Samsung is expected to launch the Note 3 as well. MobileGeeks also confirmed the release schedule as well as the likely specification in their latest report. Another source where the release period of September can be confirmed is in a leaked Verizon document which has since been removed. @evleaks, quite good at their job of capturing and making others aware of these bits of information specifies September 6 as the release date. The Verizon edition of the HTC One should be a reality before this date.
The IFA 2013 event is all set to kick off in Berlin on Sep 6 which means it could be the likely event where HTC could announce the launch of their HTC One Max. Samsung too will have a sizeable presence at the IFA event and the Galaxy Note 3 will be one of the major attractions of their camp. However, what seems likely is that Samsung will hold a separate event before that date for the launch of the Note 3.
So far as specs of the HTC ONE Max are concerned, what is natural is that it would compete with the Galaxy Note 3 in every aspect. The phablet will likely come powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chip rated at 2.3 GHz, 2 GB of RAM along with internal storage options of either 32 or 64 GB. Upfront, it’s a 6 inch full HD display that is being rumored, which if true will make it larger than the Note 3 and at par with the Sony Xperia Ultra. The battery pack would be of 3200 mAh as per the speculations.
For those who would like to get a comparative figure vis-à-vis the Galaxy Note 3, the Samsung device is rumored to come with a 5.75 inch 1080p display. The processor is going to be either an Exynos Octa 5 chip or Snapdragon 800. RAM would be 2-3 GB and the storage capacity of 16 GB.
If the above is indeed true, than what is evident is that the higher onboard storage capacity of the HTC One Max would sure be an advantage for them. Fortunately for Samsung, they usually have MicroSD card option on their devices that allow more storage should one need it.
So going by the release dates as is being rumored, there is sure to be a good fight between Samsung and HTC, something that should bring back the memories of the Galaxy S4 vs HTC One duel. Meanwhile, HTC is also planning to come out with the HTC One Mini in July this year which will come with a 4.3 inch 720p display along with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chip at its core.
