Test drive the HTC One M9 at select Best Buy locations, see for yourself if it’s worth the hype

Sometimes seeing is believing. When it comes to the HTC One M9, it’s definitely one of the most beautiful Android devices to date (it has been since the One M8). The premium aluminum materials, 2-tone finish, and polished edges, pick one up and you’ll feel the difference right away. HTC knows this and it’s why you’ll soon be able to give the One M9 a whirl at your local Best Buy.

We know, everyone has been coming down kind of hard on HTC for nearly recycling last year’s design. But it’s not entirely unheard of in mobile. Take a look at the last few Sony Xperia flagships, LG’s devices, or even Samsung’s, and you’ll have a hard time telling them apart from their latest. We loved the way the HTC One M9 felt in the hand when we played around with it at Mobile World Congress and quite honestly, we think you will too.

If you’re on the fence about which new Android to buy this year — the HTC One M9 or the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge — it seems Best Buy has you covered. For store availability (you’ll want to call ahead of time to make sure they have a display set up), you can check out Best Buy’s HTC One M9 landing page here.

OnePlus wants you to get on their hype train, makes no apologies about marketing tactics

Love it or hate, there’s probably only reason you’ve even heard of OnePlus and much of that has to do with their grass roots marketing. When the smartphone startup and brainchild of former OPPO exec Carl Pei joined Google+, they used it as a way to generate buzz amongst Android’s most die hard users without pouring countless ad dollars into online or television marketing campaigns like the big guys. So far, it’s worked. Except when it hasn’t.

The company’s motto of “Never settle” had a way of backfiring on them at times, especially when it came to faulty devices, customer service issues, or the company’s insanely frustrating invite system. Despite all this, the OnePlus is set to do it all over again with their next flagship device, the OnePlus 2.

OnePlus has been teasing the phone for the better part of a few weeks now and if you thought maybe they’d tone down their “marketing” or do things differently this time around — think again. Lately they’ve been trickling out details on the device’s specs as they near its inevitable launch and tomorrow, they’ll unveil another component in an effort at keeping the hype train rolling. Don’t like the way OnePlus is doing things? Too bad. That’s the sentiment OnePlus is conveying in their latest blog post.

According to OnePlus, their marketing budget is extremely small (outside of Google+, it’s virtually nonexistent) and in order to stay relevant they need to be loud. Really loud. It’s the only way they can go head-to-head with the Samsungs and LGs of the world who have already gotten off to a great start with their 2015 flagships. In other words, OnePlus is going to continue doing what they’ve always done, because it worked out so well for them the last time. If that takes you and your wallet elsewhere, then so be it.

We can’t help but wonder if a company’s marketing — even OnePlus’ — has ever really turned someone away from buying an Android device. In Android circles, we typically find it’s more about hardware and specs than anything else (customer service, software, support, etc.). Even though OnePlus’ #neversettle hashtag was hijacked, we’ll find out soon enough if their phone is worth the hype.

[OnePlus]