If you've been waiting for the unlocked version of the HTC One to see a price drop before you picked it up, then you're in for a nasty surprise. HTC has increased the price of the unlocked variant of the smartphone by $25 and the HTC Store is now selling the device for $599.99.

Usually, when a smartphone has been available in the market for sometime it gets a price reduction and not increase. HTC's move to increase the price of the unlocked HTC One from $579.99 to $599.99 is quite baffling.

According to Droid-Life "There is no official word on why the device got a $25 bump in the tag, but we are looking towards this being related to matching the upcoming "Nexus Experience" edition, which is to launch on June 26 for $599.99 on Google Play."

If the increase in pricing is related to the launch of the Nexus Experience (NE), while it makes business sense, the $25 price bump would not be welcomed by HTC fans.

Alternately, the price difference issue between the HTC One NE and the regular version could have been avoided by retailing the former for $574.99 as well. Why Google and HTC chose otherwise is anybody's guess.

A possibility exists that the move to increase the pricing was prompted by the desire to keep the Samsung Galaxy S4 NE and HTC One NE smartphones in a similar price range (the Galaxy S4 NE edition is priced at $649). This of course is based on the assumption that Google requested HTC to pitch the HTC One NE for $599.99.

On the other hand, as Android Authority opines "HTC might have decided that it wouldn't get involved with putting stock Android on the One unless they could make a few extra bucks out of the deal, and then simply decided to raise its earlier pricing to reflect the new Google Play price."

While the $25 price increase for the unlocked HTC One isn't a massive amount, the move is strange nevertheless. Do you think the increase in price for the HTC One is a big deal and would stop you from purchasing the smartphone or it doesn't matter?