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HTC pledges to replace your phone's cracked screen for free

In a generous move, HTC will resupply unlucky handset owners saddled with damaged displays free of charge.

Brian Bennett Former Senior writer
Brian Bennett is a former senior writer for the home and outdoor section at CNET.
Brian Bennett
2 min read
Sarah Tew/CNET

Fear not clumsy HTC One smartphone owners, if your butterfingers have doomed your device's display to an untimely fate you can breathe a sigh of relief. That's because HTC has generously proclaimed it will replace cracked screens at no extra cost.

Of course as with any special offer, there is a catch, or actually several. First off HTC will resupply fresh devices to customers who have owned phones for under six months. Second, the company will only swap out HTC's current One family of handsets. Specifically that means the flagship HTC One, HTC One Mini, and HTC One Max. So if you crave a refurbished One S, or One X, for no cash you're out of luck. Thirdly, HTC will honor the offer just once, so repeat screen-breakers need not apply.

Another aspect of HTC's new support system is a pledge to push timely Android software updates to its devices. Quick to toot its own horn by highlighting the HTC One's recent upgrade to Android 4.4 KitKat (and take a swipe at Samsung no doubt), HTC had this to say:

HTC was the first in the United States and Canada, outside of Google-owned companies and Google Play editions of devices, to begin delivering KitKat to its customers. HTC not only strives to deliver faster updates, but to provide full transparency to consumers on the process and status of each device update.

With the Samsung Galaxy S4 taking its sweet time to enjoy the KitKat upgrade, though it apparently will happen soon, HTC's boasts are words I like to hear. That said, with both Samsung and HTC poised to announce fresh flagship smartphones in the coming weeks, all this software update furor will likely get lost in the shuffle.