HTC
One V

The HTC One V was unveiled at Mobile World Congress in February 2012 as the entry-level sibling to the high-end One X and the mid-range One S. While it lacked the raw power of its counterparts, it was arguably the most nostalgic of the trio, as its design was a direct "spiritual successor" to the iconic HTC Legend and HTC Hero. The most defining characteristic of the One V was its distinctive "chin"—a curved bottom edge that angled the microphone toward the user's mouth and provided a unique ergonomic grip. Continuing HTC's reputation for premium build quality, the device featured a sleek aluminium unibody construction, which was a rarity for a mid-range smartphone at the time, making it feel significantly more expensive than its price tag suggested. Equipped with a 3.7-inch Super LCD2 display, the One V was compact and pocket-friendly. Under the hood, it ran on a 1 GHz single-core Snapdragon processor with 512MB of RAM. While these specs were modest for 2012, the phone launched with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and HTC’s refined "Sense 4.0" user interface, which was optimised to run smoothly on less powerful hardware. Multimedia was a core focus for the One series, and the One V was no exception. It featured a five-megapixel camera with an f/2.0 aperture and HTC’s "ImageSense" technology, allowing for fast shutter speeds and impressive low-light performance. It also featured integrated Beats Audio, a partnership that was a major marketing pillar for HTC during this era, promising an "authentic" and bass-heavy sound profile for music lovers. Unlike the One X and One S, the One V retained a microSD card slot for expandable storage, making it a practical choice for users who wanted a stylish, well-built device without the flagship footprint. Today, it is remembered as one of the last great "chin" phones, marking the end of a design language that defined HTC’s early dominance in the Android market. The Mobile Phone Museum has several of these phones in its collection, but the device shown is a rare prototype unit.