Starting Friday, Sprint will begin offering the HTC One exclusively in red (no, not Iron Man-red). The phone will come preloaded with NextRadio, an interactive FM radio app that sips data and battery power.
Sprint is offering the red HTC One (not affiliated with the Red campaign) in addition to the traditional black or silver models you can get through the other carriers. HTC’s flagship One is already one of the best looking Android phones out there, and while I haven’t seen the red model in person, it really pops in Sprint’s press photos.
Sprint also announced that it has signed a deal with NextRadio to offer its FM radio app service across Sprint’s smartphone lineup. The red HTC One will ship with the app preloaded, and starting today it can be downloaded from Google Play for all Sprint HTC One devices as well as the HTC EVO 4G LTE. Sprint plans to roll out the service to additional smartphone models over time.
NextRadio is free to download and use (if you have a supported device). It uses your phone’s FM receiver to tune into local radio stations, so audio quality is dependent upon your reception. On the plus side, since audio is received over the phone’s FM tuner rather than the internet, you use three times less battery power and only 10 percent of the data used by streaming radio. Just keep in mind that not all smartphones have FM tuners — in fact, most don’t.
In addition to tuning in stations, NextRadio allows you to browse artist and album details for whatever song you’re listening to, including the ability to share and purchase songs. It also allows you to call in or text radio shows.
And if you’ve been thinking about buying an HTC One on Sprint, now’s the time. The carrier is offering a buy one, get one free promotion for any color model through the end of August.
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