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HTC brings One Developer Edition to America

HTC One fans in the U.S. have a new Developer model just for them.

Brian Bennett Former Senior writer
Brian Bennett is a former senior writer for the home and outdoor section at CNET.
Brian Bennett
Meet the new HTC One Developer Edition. HTC

If you live in America and are passionate about HTC smartphones, the company has a treat in store. HTC just announced via its official blog a special Developer Edition of its hotly anticipated HTC One flagship handset. The device costs an unsubsidized $649 and will ship only to buyers with U.S. ZIP codes.

What separates this version from the basic 32GB HTC One is 64GB of internal storage, an unlocked SIM card slot, meaning you can add it in a snap to compatible cellular networks, plus an unlocked bootloader. The latter is the real kicker, though, since the phone won't resist big software enhancements right out of the box, such as rooting and flashing the device with custom ROMs.

Now this is serious catnip to experienced tweakers who thumb their nose at carrier bloatware and often custom software UIs grafted over Android. Tired of HTC's funky BlinkFeed or HTC Sense altogether and want to install pure Jelly Bean? Apparently that won't be an issue for the HTC One Developer Edition.

Of course you'll have to supply your own copy of a stable ROM, and the know how to get it up and running. Oh, and don't go crying to HTC if things go south and you turn your pricey One into a fancy aluminum paperweight.