HTC U Ultra starts shipping on March 10 in the US

Back in January, when HTC announced the U Ultra, it also started accepting pre-orders for the handset. However, the company said that the new phone wouldn't be released in the US before mid-March. As it turns out, mid-March actually means the first half of the month.

If you're ordering a U Ultra from HTC's official online store today, the company says it can ship it starting March 10 - that's this Friday. The new handset is available to pre-order in three color variants: Sapphire Blue, Brilliant Black, and Ice White, all shipping on said date (for free if you're fine with standard shipping).

The HTC U Ultra is offered only unlocked, being compatible with GSM/LTE service providers like AT&T, T-Mobile, MetroPCS, Cricket, Alaska Communications, NET 10, Straight Talk, and WalMart Family Mobile. Verizon and Sprint customers won't be able to use this unlocked version of the device, and there is no word if they'll get a special CDMA/LTE model.

Priced at $749, the HTC U Ultra is definitely not a cheap smartphone. Then again, it's got plenty of high-end features to somehow justify the high price tag, including a 5.7-inch Quad HD display, a secondary ticker screen with 1040 x 160 pixels, 4 GB of RAM, and 64 GB of expandable storage space. The handset is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, and runs Android 7 Nougat spiced up with HTC's new Sense Companion digital assistant. You're also getting a pair of high-quality headphones, plus HTC UH OH Protection for a "one-time replacement for broken screens or water damage."