The 24K Gold HTC One: A Smartphone Fit for a King

By Daniel P. Howley, LAPTOP Senior Writer | Dec 10, 2013 05:04 PM EST

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HTC’s One was arguably one of the most beautiful smartphones to make its debut in 2013. But the all-aluminum handset has nothing on its gold sibling. Valued at $2,500, the 24 carat gold-plated HTC One looks like the kind of smartphone King Midas would strut around with. But you can’t just pick up this smartphone at your local carrier’s store. This bad boy is only available as part of the smartphone maker’s HTC in NYC contest. 

To enter, users have to just snap a picture of anything they think is beautiful and tweet it with the hashtag “HTCinNYC” and “US.” If the photo is accepted by HTC, you’ll be entered into a drawing for one of two gold HTC Ones. Beyond its luxurious exterior, the gold HTC One is just like any other One. You get a 4.7-inch 1080p display, quad-core processor and 32GB of RAM, not to mention HTC’s wonderful front-mounted BoomSound speakers. There’s no difference in software either. It’s the exact same Android operating system with HTC’s Sense overlay.

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Apple MacBook Air (11-inch) vs. Microsoft Surface Pro 2: Face-Off

Microsoft’s Surface tablets have been trying to replace your laptop since they launched last year, and the new Surface Pro 2 makes a more compelling argument than ever. Starting at $899 ($999 as reviewed), the Windows 8.1 tablet’s speedy Intel Core processor and sharp touch screen make it a worthy adversary to Apple’s $999 11-inch MacBook Air notebook for those who want a highly portable productivity machine. But which of these two products gets the job done best for under a grand?

The MacBook Air and Surface Pro 2 are built very differently, so you’ll have to decide which of these two portable computers suits you best. The 2013 MacBook Air retains the razor-thin aluminum unibody of its previous incarnations, with a set of black island keys that have become standard for Apple notebooks.

While the Surface Pro 2 can be used as a laptop, the device is a tablet at its core. Like the original Surface Pro, the sequel sports an all-black magnesium-alloy body, with a kickstand that unfolds from the back panel for tabletop use. The Pro has a touch screen that the Air lacks, but Apple’s offering is the only one of the two to provide a keyboard out of the box.

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