Samsung had announced its Galaxy S4 smartphone in March 2013. The company is retailing the unlocked Samsung Galaxy S4 with Nexus experience for $ $649 (approximately Rs. 39,000). The unlocked HTC One on the other hand is available in the Play Store for $599 (approximately Rs. 36,000). In contrast to the three capacitive buttons on other stock Android smartphones, the HTC One has just two buttons (Back and Home) and the HTC logo in the middle. In addition to this, on the stock version of HTC One, you will have to bid goodbye to the Beats Audio software and the HTC camera app.
Both Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One with Nexus are SIM unlocked, which means they should work on GSM operators across the globe. However, as of now these smartphones are not available outside the US. It is expected that they will be available in other markets soon.
As per a news report by phandroid.com, both HTC One and Galaxy S4 are running kernels supplied by their respective device manufacturer and so they will not be getting the Android update directly from Google. The Nexus devices that Google offers - like the Nexus 4, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 - are the first to get Android updates directly from the Internet search giant. This bit of information might be a bummer for consumers looking forward to Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One with 'stock' Android for quick updates.
After Samsung and HTC, there are news reports suggesting that Sony too is gearing up to launch its flagship smartphone Xperia Z with stock Android.
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