Today HTC announced three more new phones, two of them part of the HTC One series – the HTC One X+, VX, and Windows Phone 8X – revealed earlier internationally, here coming to AT&T for the first time. The HTC One X+ is essentially a boosted version of the HTC One X, the One VX is essentially the equivalent of the One V, and the Windows Phone is a whole new device. Each of these devices look and feel nice, but they’re heartbreakers, each one of them – not in their quality, but in that they represent additional frays from the single device strategy.

“We had a fantastic year, with 65% growth year on year in the UK. But in Q4 we delivered a lot more products than in the past. Now we want to create more of a ‘hero’ approach. We make great phones, but it is hard to do that when the portfolio is spread too much. … So 2012 is about giving our customers something special. We need to make sure we do not go so far down the line that we segment our products by launching lots of different SKUs.” – Robertson

The closest we’ve gotten to a hero strategy as it was described earlier this year was the HTC One series as it stood in its first set of three, the HTC One X, V, and S. Then came the HTC EVO 4G LTE and the DROID Incredible 4G LTE and the whole show went down the drain. It should be clear why this happened – Sprint has the “EVO” brand that HTC relies on for sales on that carrier, the same being true of Verizon with both the “DROID” and “Incredible” brand names.

HTC has a hero strategy in place that’s different for each carrier. If they’d release one device – or even three devices like they did at the start of the One series, they’d have the power that not just Apple has with their iPhone, Samsung and their Galaxy S III and their Galaxy Note series as well. Make one phone and the money will flow.

The HTC One series will continue to work with Beats technology, but Beats will no longer be integrated in future models, and Beats earbuds will no longer be included with any future models of any kind. The HTC One series has appeared on AT&T and T-Mobile with the HTC One X and the HTC One S this year, and the HTC One V has just popped up on one of its several carriers in the United States just this week with Cricket Wireless. HTC has recently reported that they’ve had a slightly less than impressive set of quarters in the earnings universe, and their competition has certainly ramped up in the last few years as far as Android goes.

The HTC One V is now appearing on several budget-minded carriers across the United States, the HTC One X is only on one carrier, and the HTC One V is only on one carrier. There’s an EVO 4G LTE device out there living inside this One generation without the brand name, and Verizon has a new HTC device in the Droid Incredible space. It’s a disconnected space, that’s for certain.

Have a peek at our timeline of HTC’s recent earnings reports to track how they’ve done over the past year. With the HTC One series appearing to be a master-stroke of genius earlier this year, it’s hard to see the manufacturer struggle here in late summer. As it stands, HTC’s only choice might be to keep up the vertical integration game that they started with HTC One – it’s the trend, and it certainly seems to work – ask Samsung!

[via Unwired View]

This device comes with HTC’s own ImageSense software to make sure your 5 megapixel camera does some fabulous work. You’ve also got a 28mm wide angle lens and smart LED flash along with a BSI sensor and the HTC ImageChip – formerly known as the HTC ImageSense Chip – which is its own separate processor made specifically to handle your photo-taking adventures. Have a peek at our full review of the HTC One V and make sure you’re ready to rock when Cricket brings theirs quite soon.

You’ll be working with 4GB of memory, 512 MB of RAM, and a 1500 mAh battery – non-removable, by the way. This device weighs in at 4.06 ounces and will be coming out of the box with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The HTC One series also all comes with HTC Sense version 4, the newest version of HTC’s vision for Android. The display on this device is a 3.7-inch super LCD, and under the hood you’ve got a Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 1GHz single-core processor.

You’ll be able to pick this device up nationwide on the 2nd of September at your favorite Cricket Wireless-carrying store or outlet. Have a peek at the timeline below to see the rest of our HTC One V hands-on posts to get up to date on this fabulous HTC One device!

The device is said to have a 4-inch WVGA screen and feature specs very similar to the HTC One V, such as a five megapixel camera, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, and HSPA support up to 7.2Mbit/s. The biggest difference, however, will be the dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor clocked at 1Ghz as opposed to the single-core Snapdragon S2 found in the HTC One V.

That should provide a nice performance boost for the device. During our review, we found that while things were smooth on the HTC One V for the most part, the browser suffered the most from the lack of available horsepower with regular stutters and pauses. The slight bump in screen size will also give users some more viewing real estate, although it’s not clear the Proto will retain the same aluminium chassis as the HTC One V. The thickness of the device is said to be 9.62mm, however.

HTC has so far stuck to its One lineup for 2012, although the company has released a number of variants for carriers, such as the EVO 4G LTE and DROID Incredible 4G LTE. Several other handsets have also made an appearance in Europe, such as the Desire C and Desire V, although the Proto could mark HTC’s second volley of phones for the remainder of the year. The company is also reportedly working on an improved HTC One X for T-Mobile that boasts a faster processor and the latest version of Android, Jelly Bean.

The HTC One V is the most pocket-friendly of the three HTC One devices on the market today, and is also the only one of the three to be released without some sort of 4G connectivity. Instead you’ll be working with the perfectly suitable 3G network of US Cellular, and the whole package will be yours for the lowest price for an HTC One device on the market. You’ll be paying $129.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate, this attached to a two-year contract with the carrier.

Be sure to check out our full review of the HTC One V and get back to us with comments on how you’ll be picking it up or leaving it behind today! Also head to our timeline for the HTC One V below and stick around for more hands-on action soon!

This device is tipped to be extremely similar to its international iteration with a 3.7-inch display, HTC One features galore, and a smaller processor than either of its bigger brothers. There HTC One X has been released with an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor internationally and a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor here in the USA on AT&T while the HTC One S has popped up both internationally and in the USA with that same S4. The HTC One V has been released internationally with a Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 processor at 1GHz and single-core. This device is set to attack the middle market with features that allow the device to be inexpensive but powerful in several pointed ways.

Have a peek at our review of the international version of the HTC One V and stay tuned for the full skivvy on what HTC will be bringing to the show here this week. We’ve got several opportunities to check out the HTC wares for the week, starting tomorrow morning, and tonight we’re off with a bang for AT&T events in double. Stick with us all week with the CTIA Live portal for all of our on-site content, coming at you all hours of the day and night all week!

This device has a 3.7-inch display at 800 x 480 pixel resolution, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and a single-core 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 processor inside. This device is not going to compete on the same level as the HTC One X or One S, instead aiming for the middle market where HTC is currently beating up the streets with several “Wildfire” models. As Ben Kersey notes in the review we’ve got of this device:

“So, is the HTC One V worthy of consideration given its features? It’s a good all-rounder, and we’d go as far to say that the build quality is best in class, not to mention better than some more expensive phones thanks to the high quality materials and construction.” – Kersey

We’re expecting to see one or more of the different carrier-branded models of this device this week at CTIA. To see what we DO end up seeing at HTC events and beyond, feel free to hit up our [CTIA 2012 portal] and stick with us all week! Also head to the timeline below to see our current set of hands-on posts with the HTC One series as well – it’s a doozy!

This is only the first of a series of official cases made by HTC for the USA releases of the HTC One S and HTC One X – and we must assume the HTC One V as well, though no mention has been made of it thus far. This case provides protection for the already-strong casing of this device as well as keeps the lovely color and texture of the casing already on the base model out for the pleasure of your eyes and fingertips. With several different colors out for the HTC One series thus far on the whole, we’re very much liking the way this series of cases is turning out.

For those of you interested in purchasing these cases – you’re out of luck for now. The prices and release dates have not yet been released. Soon though, we promise! Have a peek at the hands-on photos we have here and check out the reviews of the devices we’ve got here and coming up!

Winston Yung, if you remember, made some bold decisions at HTC. He introduced the company to the Beats Audio partnership, which saw HTC phones coming with Beats branded headphones as well as a custom audio profile in the music player. He’s also been critical of HTC’s strategy in the past, saying that they “dropped the ball” when it came to LTE handsets like the HTC Rezound.

Yung has been shifted in a new role involving “corporate development”. He’s been replaced by Chia-Lin Chang, a former partner at Goldman Sachs in Taiwan. Chang has also worked at Motorola in the past as an engineer. Tom Tang, vice president at Masterlink Investment Advisory, says that a CFO change “often indicates that the company’s operations or financials have reached a bottleneck.”

HTC are hoping to turn things around with the One series, which we’re big fans of here at SlashGear. Make sure to check out our reviews of the HTC One X, One S, and One V if you haven’t already.

Update: HTC has officially commented on Yung’s departure.

[via Reuters]

Hardware

HTC One V video review:

In a refreshing change of pace, HTC has decided to grace us with a smaller handset as opposed to the behemoths we’re so used to seeing. The company hasn’t neglected build quality either, with the One V bearing a unibody aluminium chassis, along with a rubberized texture surrounding the camera lens and on the bottom cover. The feel is, in a word, excellent. Not only that, but the size plays an important role, and the 3.7-inch handset fits snugly in the palm of your hand. It’s not too big, and it’s not too small: it’s just right.

It’s not a chubby device either, coming in at 9.2mm thick. That’s 0.1mm thinner than the iPhone 4 and 4S, and we’d argue that the One V is by far the nicer device to hold, not to mention more durable. We left it in the same pocket as some coins and a set of keys, and the aluminum seemed fairly resistant to scratches and markings. Despite the large use of metal on the device, it’s relatively light at 115 grams, and the weight distribution feels about right to us, unlike other devices often slathered in plastic.

The display on the One V has a resolution of 800×480, and HTC has used the same Super LCD 2 technology found on the HTC One X. Colors are bold and vibrant, brightness is extremely high, and viewing angles are very good. Naturally, pixel density isn’t as high as on high-end devices like the One X and iPhone 4S, but it’s good enough for everyday use, with very few instances of pixelation. The resolution does prevent you from reading web pages zoomed out, but in terms of overall quality, the One V’s display puts other phones in this category to shame.

Unlike its distant cousin, the HTC Legend, the One V doesn’t have the optical trackpad, instead sticking with the three capacitive Android buttons that you’ll also find on the One X and One S. We didn’t run into any issues with them when using the phone in everyday scenarios: they were easy to press and responsive when called upon. On top of the device is the power button, which we found difficult to press at first, since it lays at an angle unlike other phones. After repeated use over the course of an hour or two, we eventually got used to the feeling. Next to the power button is the 3.5mm headphone jack, along with the notification LED.

On the left side of the device you’ll find the microUSB port, and on the right side the volume rocker. The five megapixel camera with f/2.0 lens and LED flash sits on the back of the device, along with the Beats Audio branding and speaker grill towards the bottom. Down there, a cover pops out which gives you access to the full-size SIM card slot, along with microSD expansion. The battery, rated at 1,500mAh, is non-removable.

The beating heart of the One V is a 1GHz single-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S2 processor and 512MB of RAM. One thing you should take note of is the storage of the device: you’ve only got 1GB to play with, and there’s only 95MB available for phone storage. You definitely need a microSD card installed in the phone if you’re going to be doing… well, anything. Radios include WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, with tri-band HSPA (850/900/2100) and quad-band GSM.

Software and Performance

HTC has reigned in the custom interface after criticism that Sense was out of control and becoming bloated. The One V jumps aboard the Sense 4.0 bandwagon just like the One X and One V, but on the entry-level device, it’s really about what you won’t find included. HTC has disabled some of the fancy 3D animations and overall graphical slickness because of the modest single-core processor found in the phone.

For instance, you only get five home screens to play with as opposed to seven on the One X and One S. If you try to pinch to get a zoomed out view of all your home screens, you’ll be greeted with absolutely nothing, with HTC opting to disable the feature. Even the transition while swiping between the home screens is a basic affair, with the 3D effects having been disabled.

The keyboard has also been tweaked: compare what’s found on the One V with the One X, and you’ll see that the directional keys have been removed to preserve precious screen real estate. Speaking of the keyboard, we weren’t fans at all. It feels cramped, and trying to type out even basic messages or search queries resulted in frequent misspellings and errors. At first we put it down to the resolution of the display, with only 480 lines of width to play with in portrait mode, but upon installing the stock Ice Cream Sandwich keyboard, we quickly found ourselves back up to typing speed.

Even though Sense 4.0 isn’t as bad as the versions of old, we still found it intrusive and annoying rather than helpful. Admittedly, there are nice touches, such as being able to drag apps into the ring on the lock screen for quick access, but otherwise it can be a frustrating endeavor. It’s made all the worse by the fact that stock Ice Cream Sandwich elements can occasionally be found lurking underneath the customizations, making us long for the experience that Google intended.

As for performance of the handset, it can be a mixed bag. You’ll often find yourself smoothly flicking between home screens and apps opening fast enough, but on the flip side, we managed to make the phone grind to a halt in certain scenarios. The browser is the main culprit, and even with Flash and other plug-ins disabled, heavy sites can bring the single-core processor to its knees. On SlashGear, we found pinch-to-zoom sluggish, and scrolling wasn’t as smooth as it could have been. There was even one instance upon loading the site where the phone locked up and refused to respond for around thirty seconds. That’s an isolated incident, but it’s an indication of the limited horsepower at your disposal. On other occasions, we found the keyboard took just a second too long to open when tapping on text fields, and downloading multiple apps while others were still installing would cause some slowdown. Even realtime search results while typing in the browser bar led to momentary pauses.

In terms of benchmarks, we managed a score of 2060 in Quadrant, and the browser achieved 3314ms with SunSpider 0.9.1. We downloaded Angry Birds Space to give it a quick spin, with the game serving up smooth framerates, although it would occasionally drop a frame or two during more frantic moments.

Camera

The HTC One X and S both came with eight megapixel cameras with f/2.0 lenses and 1080p video recording. One the One V, you’ll have to make do with a five megapixel camera and 720p recording instead. The software and features that you’ll find in the camera app are pretty much identical to the more powerful devices though.

You don’t have to switch between photo and video modes, with both buttons offered upon starting the camera app, so you’re just one tap away from whichever function you want. You get the same Instragram-esque filters, so you can play with distortion, depth-of-field, and more artistic variations to your heart’s content. Burst mode is also present and accounted for, taking 20 photos in a row and allowing you to choose the best one to keep. Not only that, but you can take photos while video is recording.

The photos taken by the One V don’t measure up to the One X or One S, with colors sometimes appearing off-base. The camera can shine in good lighting conditions, with solid detail and little noise to speak of with close to medium subjects, but distance shots have us scratching our heads. The problem mainly comes down to poor compression, where detail is replaced with images full of unnecessary blocking and ringing. Shots were regularly coming in between 650-800KB, which seems rather stingy on HTC’s part. The One V has a good camera overall, and we’d say it’s better than the vast majority of other phones in this price bracket, but it’s ultimately let down by overzealous compression.

As for video recording, it’s generally solid: panning is smooth, transitions between different lighting situations are quick, and the microphone is surprisingly good at picking up the surrounding audio environment. Our complaint about recordings again comes back to compression, with videos filled with blocking artifacts and any clarity and sharpness being sapped from the resulting footage.

Phone and Battery

The earpiece on the One V produced better than average results compared to other phones, although we wished it were just a smidgen louder. During phone calls, we were perplexed by what we imagine is HTC’s noise cancellation implementation. When callers were speaking to us, there was the all too familiar hiss in the background that you get with GSM calls; but when they stopped speaking, the audio went completely silent, making us wonder if the call had dropped. It’s a little disconcerting at first, especially if you’re coming from an iPhone as a daily driver, which has a consistent (yet small) amount of noise regardless of whether or not the caller is speaking.

Otherwise, the One V held a call without any issues, and 3G speeds were good as well. We were connected to Three’s network in Central London, and saw speeds between 1.1Mbit/s and 6Mbit/s down, with uploads sitting between 300Kbit/s and 3.1Mbit/s.

As for battery performance, we used the phone as a daily driver for a couple of days, and performed a video rundown test. While everyone’s usage (and thus battery life) is different, our light usage consisting of occasional browsing, messaging, and camera usage easily got us through the day, and well into the next too. When we played a 720p video on loop with screen brightness at 100% and WiFi/3G left on, we squeezed five hours and five minutes out of the phone before it automatically turned off.

Wrap-Up

So, is the HTC One V worthy of consideration given its features? It’s a good all-rounder, and we’d go as far to say that the build quality is best in class, not to mention better than some more expensive phones thanks to the high quality materials and construction. You’re also getting the latest software in Ice Cream Sandwich, and while Sense 4.0 might still be a love/hate situation, we imagine those jumping into the smartphone world for the first time will get along with it swimmingly.

The problem, then, comes down to overall performance. The single-core processor found within the One V is now 18 months old, and it definitely rears its ugly head in certain situations, most notably in the browser. It’s a frustrating issue that’s simply unavoidable. The HTC One V really needed a slight boost in the processor department that would have cemented its position as one of the best entry-level Android smartphones. As it stands, it’s merely a decent one, and we wouldn’t feel comfortable recommending it at the prices that have been announced by the Carphone Warehouse (£20.50 a month), or the unlocked price for that matter (£225). If you’re lucky enough to find one a little bit cheaper than those prices, definitely consider picking one up.

Believe it or not, smartphone sales have been weak in the first quarter of this year. Samsung is ready to make a premium range push for their Full OLED TV line in August. Sennheiser is bringing out the big guns with the IE 800 earphones and HDVD8 800 headphone amp – no small business! We’ve also got a hands-on with the earphones if you’d like to peek!

The Samsung Galaxy III appears very much to have been leaked in a single image showing its face. We’ve got hands-on with the P2i Aridion phone complete with nano-waterproofing.

Mario may be getting a brand new face with Super Mario 4 coming out who knows when on who knows what! The Xbox 720 is probably not going to have Mario on it, but what the new talk has it really having is a 16-core CPU – what could it possibly need that many cores for?! Apple also appears to be going above and beyond the fray with Philippe Starck in a “revolutionary” project with next-level results – soon!

And Beer makes you smarter – says a study.

You’ll be able to pre-order the HTC One V starting from today, with the handset being free on £20.50 a month tariffs. Carphone Warehouse will be offering the phone on O2, Orange, and Vodafone contracts, with tariffs naturally becoming more expensive if you want more minutes or data.

The One V is available for pre-order now, and Carphone Warehouse say that delivery of phones should begin in the week beginning Monday April 23rd. As for the unlocked price of the handset, Carphone Warehouse don’t have any information yet, although other retailers are offering it for around £250 (~$398).

We’ll be bringing you a full review of the HTC One V in the next couple of days. Meanwhile, check out our initial impressions of the device, or if you’re after a more premium handset, read our HTC One S and HTC One X reviews.

We took the device for a quick spin after receiving our review unit. The unibody aluminium body feels fantastic, especially at this size. The phone sits very comfortably in the hand, and so far we prefer it over the larger handsets that have been cropping up as of late. The high quality construction definitely helps in that area too.

The phone is running Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box, with HTC’s Sense 4.0 on top. We won’t delve too deeply into Sense 4.0 here (check the HTC One X and One S reviews), but a couple of graphical features are missing on the One V. Normally you’d be able to pinch to reveal all your homescreens, but HTC has disabled that on this phone. Graphical transitions on opening folders aren’t the nice, fluid motion we’ve seen on the One X or One S either.

Just from the brief time we’ve played with it, the performance has generally been good. There have been a few instances where we’ve managed to make the phone crawl to a stop, most notably in the browser on Flash enabled pages, but other than that it’s relatively snappy and in line with what you’d expect of a budget device. Take a look at our hands-on video, as well as some pictures of the device. We’ll bring you a full review in the next couple of days.

The design of the phone is reminiscent of the HTC Legend, sporting the same “chin” as well as having a unibody aluminium chassis. The optical trackpad has been removed, and you’ll only find the three capacitive touch buttons on the One V. The phone is slim too: 9.2mm thick.

As for games, Temple Run and Shadowrun both performed admirably, with no noticeable slowdowns, although with a screen resolution of 800×480, the phone is pushing less pixels than mid-range or hero devices. In terms of benchmarks, the One V managed a Quadrant score of 1,980, 3325ms on SunSpider, 2,544 on AnTuTu, and achieved 53.5fps on NenaMark.

Those results are good for the specs on offer, and the One V may prove to be good value for money depending on what prices we’ll see in the UK and US when it does eventually go on sale. The specs, in case this is looking like your next phone: a 3.7-inch 800×480 LCD screen, 1Ghz single-core Snapdragon processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage that can be expanded via microSD, and a five megapixel camera with f/2.0 lens. Everything is running on Ice Cream Sandwich, as well as Sense 4.0.

This release shows HTC’s dedication not only to the HTC One line, but to keeping their 2012 line of devices well equipped as their strategy for this year is to keep it simple and strong with one ultra-powerful set of smartphones rather than the vast variety of yesteryear. For the HTC One V, Clove has listed a Car Cradle and Charger, a black Hard Shell protective case, a set of 2 Screen Protectors, and a simple Gel Skin.

For the HTC One S, Clove has a slightly larger variety of items, starting with a set of 2 screen protectors, a black hard shell, clear “ultra thin hard shell”, a black slip case, a black hard shell with cover and stand, and a car cradle and charger. For the HTC One X we’ve got basically the same set of accessories including a set of 2 screen protectors, an ultra thin hard shell (this time in Purple), a hard shell in clear, and a car cradle and charger. In addition, Clove has listed for the HTC One X a desktop cradle with speakers (in both US and EU configurations for power), and a hard shell with cover and stand – all of this with lovely simple HTC branding intact.

Clove also has a general set of accessories coming up for the HTC One line of hero smartphones including a bluetooth visor speaker phone, a car stereo clip / audio bridge, and a US and EU set of media link HD devices. You can check all of these lovely devices out at Clove’s online store and note that they’re set to be shipped in mid to late April – exciting stuff!

Despite being considered the lower-end device, the HTC One V is certainly trying to raise the bar for low- to mid-tier smartphones. It features a quality build that fits a 3.7-inch Super-LCD WVGA display on a slim 9.24mm aluminum unibody chassis. It will run HTC Sense 4.0 on top of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which means it could be the first smartphone with the latest Android iteration to hit Metro PCS, Virgin Mobile, and US Cellular.

Although pricing hasn’t been announced for the device yet, what will keep its price on the low end is its single-core 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, and its 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, although it does utilize a new f/2.0 lens that can still great stills. It also has a microSD card slot, which the other two One handsets in the series do not. For more details on the HTC One V make sure to check out our hands-on.

[via Android Community]

All three phones feature the unibody all-in-one aluminum design introduced with the HTC Legend at Mobile World Congress 2010, and sorely missing from a large part of HTC’s lineup since then. That’s not the only thing they have in common: the three phones will be the first to come to market with HTC’s Sense UI 4.0 running over Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and all three will be using Beats audio, taking advantage of the partnership between the two companies. And all three have a focus (ba-dum tish) on the camera, with a F/2.0 lens, fast access and the ability to shoot full-resolution stills and HD video at the same time.

HTC One X

The flagship model, made with the intention of winning the hearts of gadget hounds everywhere. Like LG, HTC’s built their highest-end device around Nvidia’s Tegra 3 processor in its new 5-Plus-1 configuration, with the extra core designed to run when the phone is idling or at a low load. That’s hardly the only thing to be excited about, though: the 4.7-inch 720p screen is as big as anything this side of the Galaxy Note, and though it’s an LCD panel, HTC assures us that the Super LCD tech is just as good. That unibody design has a few drawbacks, though: a generous 1800mAh battery can’t be removed, and the phone requires a pin, iPhone-style, to access the sliding SIM card tray. 32GB of storage should be enough for almost everyone, but those who need more are out of luck, since there’s no MicroSD card slot. The rear camera is a full 8 megapixels,  and combines with an F/2.0 lens and BSI sensor, should take some great stills.

The HTC One X is coming to America – but not in the same form that we saw today. AT&T will add LTE capability but swap the Nvidia Tegra 3 for a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4, a 1.5ghz dual-core processor.

HTC One S

The One S is the workhorse of HTC’s new royal family, taking roughly the same market position as the Sensation last year. It’ll keep the same anodized aluminum theme, but shrink the screen down to 4.3 inches, which seems to have become the median for Android these days. On the plus side, you get a true AMOLED screen, though the resolution is “just” 960×540. The One S is the slinkiest of HTC’s new phones, with a body that tapers to just 7.9mm at its thinnest point – not a record breaker, but downright amazing for HTC’s usually chunky designers. Processor is a dual-core 1.5Ghz model, likely the same Qualcomm S4 that the US One X is getting, and it’s paired to 1GB of RAM. 32GB of storage and a lack of MicroSD card is present again, with a slightly smaller 1620mAh battery – also non-removable.

T-Mobile is getting the HTC One s first in the United States, and as far as we know, it’s the same HSPA+ model we saw in Barcelona today. There’s no word on when it will arrive or for how much.

HTC One V

The One V is the “budget” model of the One line, though frankly, it could hold its own against almost any of the high-end Android phones in the earlier part of 2011. A 3.7-inch screen running at 800×480 makes for a much tighter package, though it still uses the same unibody construction. HTC is also reviving the “chin” element seen on its early Android handsets. With a Super LCD and a 9.24mm profile, it’s definitely a step below the One X and One S, but that solid construction is hard not to like in any case. The processor is downgraded to 1Ghz with just 512MB of RAM and a paltry 4GB of storage, with a smaller 5MP camera sensor (though it keeps the F/2.0 lens). Unlike the other two One models, the V lacks NFC capability, but makes up for it with an empty MicroSD card slot.

There’s no pricing or availability info for the HTC One V, though it’s likely to ship unlocked in Europe very soon.

And there you have it: HTC’s hero phone strategy for the first half of 2012, and very likely extending into the fall as well. While variants of the three One models will probably be made for various markets (beginning with the One X in the US) these are likely to be the bread and butter for the Taiwanese company for the near future. What say you, readers? Are you convinced that HTC’s designs have turned over a new leaf, or is it a case of too little, too late?

Ironically, actually listening to what they want seems to have done the trick. According to HTC’s research, the camera is the biggest single thing consumers look at when picking a phone, hence the company’s current photography focus. A new, Backside-Illuminated (BSI) sensor, light-loving f2.0 lens and custom HTC “Image Chip” promise to deliver on the hardware side, while reworked software that puts the best functionality at the top level of the UI should bypass usability issues. Most notable, perhaps, these new abilities aren’t being reserved solely for the top-spec models: all three of the new One Series get them all.

We’ve been vocal critics of HTC’s approach to ecosystems and services in the past year. The company struggled to compete on hardware alone against rivals like Samsung and Apple, but failed to successfully leverage – or even remind most customers of the existence of – services and apps like HTC Watch, OnLive and HTCSense.com. Meanwhile the Sense UI became bloated and over-animated, concentrating too much on looking different rather than delivering actual improved usability.

HTC is moving away from that, though the company is clearly is still at the beginning of that journey. Sense 4.0 is the first step, HTC director of commercialisation product management Graham Wheeler, a conscious effort to reduce needless visual gloss and corral together services both first- and third-party: the Music Hub, for instance, brings local music, radio and streaming services like Spotify under a single roof, rather than demanding the user hop between apps.

Nonetheless, HTC isn’t entirely wedded to Android, despite all of its Mobile World Congress – and indeed any recent – devices all running Google’s OS. The introduction of a Tegra 3 based device after a few years of Qualcomm loyalty is, Wheeler says, an example of how HTC isn’t wedded to any single platform or hardware provider. We can expect Windows Phone One Series handsets, for instance, as well as HTC picking and choosing from a broader range of hardware so as to keep its phones competitive.

In some ways, HTC’s “Quietly Brilliant” approach has backfired over the past 18 months. The company hasn’t shouted about its software contributions to Windows Phone, for instance, or indeed other services enjoyed by users of multiple platforms. HTC helped OnLive reduce response lag in touchscreen controls, Wheeler pointed out, with the two companies collaborative work on the Flyer. You’d never know about it, though, as unlike the company’s rivals, HTC hasn’t been talking about much beyond their hardware launches in 2011. Perhaps that’s down to wariness over leaks, something HTC obviously still needs to address by the evidence of the past month or too.

Most importantly, HTC isn’t hanging around when it comes to getting products out the door, and nor has it carried out its usual sin of neglecting the North American market with its headline-grabbing European flagships. The HTC One X, One S and One V are all expected to hit European shelves within sixty days of today’s unveil, and AT&T and T-Mobile USA have already confirmed they’ll be offering their own versions of the One X and One S.

It’s early days for HTC; we need to spend more time with the three new phones to know whether they’re truly competitive against handsets from Samsung and others. Nonetheless, HTC execs are certainly making the right noises about the direction the company needs to take to reclaim at least part of its earlier momentum.

This device has a 5 megapixel camera and no front-facing camera, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich along with Sense UI 4.0 on top. This is part of the most advanced line of devices to have been revealed by HTC, and is what HTC is banking on to make them taken back the flagship in the Android world. This device has hardware that makes it look sharp, 120.3 x 59.7 x 9.24 mm making this device an ultra-thin device with 512 MB of ram backing it up.

The HTC One line comes with 25GB of Dropbox storage for a full two years, the same amount of time you’ve got on your contract from your mobile carrier. We’ll be taking a much closer look at this device and its entire set of components very, very soon. Stay tuned to SlashGear for all the MWC 2012 and HTC news you can handle all week long. Barcelona is full of surprises, not least of all in the world of HTC!