It never hurts to repeat an important message, if only to make sure it's really been heard.
HTC did just that today, releasing a statement about its new flagship phone, the One, and it's-really-happening-don't-start-thinking-it-won't availability.
"HTC has seen unprecedented demand for and interest in the new HTC One, and the care taken to design and build it is evidenced in early reviews.
"The new HTC One will roll out in the U.K., Germany and Taiwan next week and across Europe, North America and most of Asia-Pacific before the end of April. We appreciate our customers' patience, and believe that once they have the phone in their hands they will agree that it has been worth the wait."
Release woes
The statement comes 10 days after news broke the One wouldn't release on March 15 in the U.K. as previously announced, prompting wonderment as to what was holding up the hotly in-demand phone.
HTC is still staying quiet on official reasoning for the slight delay, though reports have pointed to the ol' "parts are in short supply" excuse that can, from time to time, impede a device's release.
The parts in question looked to be related to the One's UltraPixel-packing camera, though again, this is unconfirmed by HTC.
HTC vowed to get the One out to pre-orderes by the end of the month, and start a roll out to more markets "as we approach April," so today's statement provides a little more concreteness to those claims.
Pending any more delays, folks waiting for their One and only shouldn't have to be patient much longer.
What's the best mobile phone? Our verdict on the best smartphone/best phones - constantly updated
We've all got at least one mobile phone each, right? The trouble is, how do you decide which is the best one for you?
Well, this is where we make it easy. Because here we have our continually updated comparison of the top 20 best smartphones you can get in the UK.
The last update saw the Samsung Galaxy S3 take the top spot most people thought it deserved... but with the iPhone 5, HTC One and Sony Xperia Z now upon us, has the Korean brand held off ANOTHER onslaught from the Cupertino, Taiwanese and Japanese powerhouses? And what of the supercheap but powerful Google Nexus 4 by LG? Does price matter over software? And what of the impending Samsung Galaxy S4?
But we probably shouldn't forget the Apple iPhone 4S as a viable option, and while the Nokia Lumia 900 used to be top dog in the Windows Phone 7 game, it's the Nokia Lumia 920 that's flying the flag for Windows Phone 8.
If that still doesn't help, well, there's always our extensive mobile phone reviews pages as well - or check out our personally crafted smartphone buyer's guide:
Samsung has enjoyed two years at the top of the TechRadar standings, with the Galaxy S2 setting the bar, followed 12 months later by the excellent Galaxy S3.
Apple has always pushed Samsung hard with the iPhone 4, 4S and more recently the iPhone 5, but 2013 has seen Sony and HTC step up to the plate to really challenge for the best smartphone title.
iPhone takes a(nother) tumble
After being unceremoniously thrown to the floor of a Finnish TV studio, the iPhone 5 has taken another tumble, this time down our rankings to fourth.
The impressive Sony Xperia Z nestles in at three, just below the S3 which manages to grasp second place thanks to its excellent feature set and lower price.
Our top 20 always produces a generous amount of debate, as fans sing the praises of their favourites while highlighting the flaws of the competition - and remember we're still waiting to put the Galaxy S4 through its paces before seeing where it will lie.
If you're launching a new service that you want people to rely upon, it's not the best idea to get everybody excited by, er, killing off a service that lots of people rely upon. That's exactly what Google has done, though: no sooner had it rubbed out Google Reader than it introduced Google Keep.
"Keep" is of course short for "We'll keep this running forever, unless we change our mind like we did with Google Reader and Google Notebook".
According to Google engineer Katherine Kuan, Keep is for people who "often discover that the desk, fridge or magazine wasn't such a clever place" to leave things they want to remember. Better, surely, to rely on something more permanent.
Like Google Reader. Ho ho!
Phone it in
Last week was dominated by the Samsung Galaxy S4 launch and the associated "world's best smartphone" chat, but are we looking at the wrong phone? Could HTC's confusingly named HTC One - not to be confused with the One X, One X+, One SV or defunct pop magazine Number One - be the best Android device money can buy?
Gareth Beavis is on the case, giving the One four and a half out of a possible five stars. It's "the best HTC phone ever, without a doubt," he says - and "it's the best phone on the market full stop." Not only that, but it managed to launch without offending anyone.
That's more than you can say about the Galaxy S4, whose launch made Joe Hanlon wonder whether the tech industry is still too sexist. The S4 has also been a bit of a let-down this week in the UK as it was discovered the nation wouldn't be getting the octa-core version of the phone. Instead the handset will be powered by a still-mighty quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon. As John McCann explains, it's all for 4G.
The S4 will have quad-core and 4G in the UK
Pictures and tweets
While McCann pondered the big picture, we were pondering big picture takers: Canon's 100D, a tiny SLR, and the high-end Canon 700D, which is an upgrade to the current 650D. Our early verdicts on both cameras? We think Canon has a pair of winners on its hands. Fuji also revealed the hardy XP200.
Another winner is Twitter, which is celebrating its seventh birthday this week. Author Michael Marshall calls it "a punch in the face for modern friendship" while TechRadar's own Gary Marshall reckons that if it served beer, it'd be the world's best pub.
They're both right, of course: Twitter is as good or as bad as the people using it. As Smith says, tech is "bringing thousands of people we don't actually know into our new-tech caves. And disappointingly few are bringing hostess gifts, or bottles of fine wine."
The world's best pub (if it had beer)
Next week Twitter's going to be full of games chat, because the annual Games Developers Conference, or GDC for short, kicks off on March 25. We've been polishing our crystal balls to predict the highlights, which should include PS4 playtime, Xbox 720 details and a glimpse of gaming's future.
And then a few weeks later it's E3 time again, a spectacle of sound and fury where we'll see the games we'll be playing later this year and next.
Apparently at E3 2013 we'll even see Unreal Engine 4 "really rip the seams of reality". That sounds rather like the beginning of Doom to us, but it's not the only odd thing happening in tech right now: as Hugh Langley reports, Apple has been reverse engineering cats to create phones that land on their feet, or something.
Apple's patented invention "essentially shifts the insides of a device when it's falling in order to reduce chances of damage." That'd be handy to have in an iPhone, but it'd be even better in toast.
Nokia boss Stephen Elop revealed the firm has "beautiful phones still ahead" during a interview on Finnish TV during which he also flung the presenter's iPhone to the floor.
When the interviewer revealed to Elop he had an iPhone the CEO said, "Oh, how embarrassing. I can take care of that right here" before chucking the Apple handset to the ground.
Recent Nokia handsets have been more substance than style, with the oppressively heavy Lumia 920 and chunky Lumia 820 not quite hitting the same design notes as their Apple, Samsung and HTC rivals.
During a persistent wave of questioning regarding the existence of the rumoured Lumia 928, Elop managed to deflect attention away from future handsets and tried in vain to promote the budget Lumia 620.
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