HTC's Flagship 'One' Phone Delayed Until The End Of April

HTC sent out an announcement to the tech press today saying its new flagship One smartphone won't launch until the end of April.

The phone was originally supposed to launch this month.

The statement also claims HTC is seeing "unprecedented demand" for the One.

Here's the statement:

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 UK, 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.

Earlier this week, the company confirmed to WSJ that it was having problem locking down supplies for the HTC One and that the phone would be delayed. HTC said suppliers no longer see it as a "tier-one" customer.

Meanwhile, HTC has gone on the defensive against the most-hyped phone right now, the Samsung Galaxy S4. The company hired a street marketing team to hand out snacks to people waiting in line for the Galaxy S4 launch event last week. HTC's president of North America Mike Woodward told us HTC doesn't see any innovation on the Galaxy S4's design or hardware.

The stakes are pretty high. The Galaxy S4 is expected to launch in April or May, and HTC's CEO Peter Chou reportedly told executives that he'd step down if the One isn't a success.