HTC One M9’s first official release date is March 16th

HTC’s mid-March release window for the HTC One M9 is about as accurate as you can get. The company has just announced the first official availability date for the device. It’ll go on sale beginning March 16th in their home turf of Taiwan in conjunction with 5 of the nation’s largest carriers.

According to local press, HTC held the initial launch in Taiwan so as to instill some Taiwanese pride among the hometown people excited to buy their phone. They drove that point home with traditional festivities such as drum performances and a performance by a local orchestra. This is in contrast to last year’s strategy of making United States’ Verizon Wireless the very first carrier to call dibs on the HTC One M8.

HTC mentioned that while the M9’s officially recognized launch date is March 16th, it wouldn’t start showing up on store shelves of local carriers until March 23rd. Whether an international or global launch will happen at that point remains to be seen (B&H once let loose a March 25th date for those of us in the States), but if the phone is primed for one market then it should be good to go in many more.

We’ll try to get a more pointed release date as it pertains to everyone not in Taiwan, so sit tight (unless, of course, you’ll be fortunate enough to be in the nation next week and buy one for yourself). In the meantime get a good look at what to expect from our hands-on time with the device from Mobile World Congress last week.

[via Digitimes]