HTC One (M8) Developer and Google Play editions launched

The company revealed that the HTC One (M8) Google Play Edition will be up for pre-order at the Play Store starting Tuesday for $699 (Rs. 42,250 approximately).

However, the Google Play store (US) listing notes that the device will leave the warehouse in two to three weeks, which means that the One (M8) Play Edition will be available by mid-April in the US.

Notably, the HTC One (M8) Google Play Edition will offer stock Android experience and will run Android 4.4.2 out-of-the-box, while the innards will remain the same.

The HTC One (M8) Developer Edition, on the other hand, is said to be available at HTC's own site and will be priced at $650, roughly Rs. 39,000, according to Engadget.

(Also see: Apple iPhone 5s vs. Sony Xperia Z2 vs. Samsung Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8))

Google confirmed the availability of the One (M8) Play Edition on its Google+ page and said, "Congratulations to our partner HTC on the launch of their highly anticipated HTC One (M8). With its high quality metal unibody, this is a premium Android smartphone that sports great design. The HTC One (M8), Google Play edition, will be available for sale on Google Play soon."

In addition, HTC also released its first promotional video of the One (M8) on YouTube. The promo video of the One (M8) shows the handset's metal body design and the new dual camera setup. Notably, the HTC One (M8) promo video looks a bit reminiscent of iPhone 5s' metal mastered TV ad that did hit TV spots after global launch in September 2013.

The Taiwanese handset maker has already revealed to NDTV Gadgets that the One (M8) India launch can only be expected in the third week of April.

For those unaware, the One (M8) runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat with the company's brand new Sense 6 UI on top, which HTC is calling the biggest upgrade since Sense debuted. The phone is powered by a 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, alongside 2GB of RAM. The HTC One (M8) comes with a 5-inch full-HD display and will be available in 16GB and 32GB storage options, with support for expandable storage via microSD cards of up to 128GB capacity.

The HTC One (M8) comes with a body that's '90 percent metal' and exudes the same premium feel as its predecessor. The highlight of the HTC One (M8) is the dual camera setup that puts a 4-UltraPixel camera alongside a depth sensing camera that lets you do cool things like refocusing images after they've been clicked and other stuff. A 5-megapixel front camera is included as well. The phone packs a 2600mAh battery and supports Nano-SIM. HTC One (M8) will be available in Gunmetal Grey, Amber Gold, and Glacial Silver colour options.