The day you've been waiting for is here, "phablet" fans... assuming you're a prospective or current Sprint customer and you haven't already bought a Galaxy Note 3. The Now Network has launched its carrier-branded version of the HTC One Max (or "One max" if you're a brand manager) and it's currently available on the official online store for $149.99.

That's $149.99, if and only if you meet a few qualifications. As Sprint announced earlier this week, the retail, on-contract price for the One Max is $249.99, and you can take an extra $100 off if you switch from another carrier and port in your phone number. If you don't want any kind of contract, the phone will run you $599.99 - not great, but pretty typical for a flagship device. That $100 off deal is valid for all of Sprint's phones, but the One Max doesn't require any additional mail-in rebates.

The One Max is very similar to the HTC One, once you get past that 5.9-inch 1080p screen. The only other significant hardware changes are a fingerprint sensor on the back just beneath the camera and a MicroSD card slot hiding underneath a removable back panel - HTC has apparently been listening to detractors who were unsatisfied with the One's non-expandable memory. The impressive 3300mAh battery is, alas, fixed in place. The One Max comes with Android 4.3 and HTC's Sense 5.5, and you can expect it to get a KitKat update... sometime.

Hey, at least this one doesn't have an annoying carrier logo right on the front. You can also pick one up at Best Buy, sans porting discount.

Source: Sprint Web Store