The HTC One may not be our overall favorite Android phone of 2013, but it certainly lives up to its name. Though we’ve been looking at it for almost a year, the One is still the best-looking phone on the market. Only Apple’s iPhone 5S can compare to its simple lines and beautiful aluminum design, but HTC may have even eclipsed Apple in some respects. Today, HTC invited us to check out a 24-karat, gold-plated edition of the One. We’re told it’s the only gold One on U.S. soil right now, and it’s worth about $2,500.
Here at Digital Trends, we’ve made it a point to poke fun at Apple’s gold iPhone, and how gold is now suddenly cool again. Despite being covered in gold, however, HTC’s phone manages to look just as classy as it seems to look in every other color. Call it a good paint job if you want, but it really highlights just how enduring this design is. We’re already tallying up rumors for the next HTC One – the One 2, or whatever it will be called – and you can bet that we’re very excited to see what it might look like. HTC is struggling to compete with Samsung right now, but it made some positive moves with the One, One Mini, and One Max this year. We don’t love all three as much as the true One, but most of them match the competition. Hopefully, it can continue its momentum in 2014.
For those interested, HTC has a big banner in Times Square and is holding a contest where you could win this gold One. It involves taking a photo and uploading it to Twitter with a special hashtag. The contest details are here.
