It was a sense of déjà vu when I opened the box and took the HTC One V out. For a couple of seconds, I actually thought that I had received the HTC Legend by mistake, instead of the review unit of the HTC One V that we had actually asked for!
However, this really was the HTC One V, and as the product images below will show you, it does look very similar to its older cousin, albeit bigger in form factor and display size.
The unibody aluminium design is carried forward from the Legend, and feels decidedly premium and more expensive than what the phone is priced at. The upward curve at the bottom does help a lot in gripping the phone, not that it should be a problem with a 3.7-inch display anyway. Opening the tiny panel on the bottom of the rear panel can access the SIM card and microSD card slot. This has helped keep the sides clean.
Speaking of which, the display has the Gorilla Glass treatment. It is quite bright, and surprisingly crisp. This is one of the most comfortable displays this side of 4-inches when it comes to reading text. The resolution of this display is 480×800 pixels. Colours are not very vivid, but sufficient. However, blacks are quite deep, which helps with the overall result.
We aren’t always very comfortable using the touchscreen on phones of this display size. Call it being spoilt by big screen phones, like the One V’s bigger sibling, the One X (read our review). However, this was a surprise. The on-screen keypad is quite comfortable, and while the keys are very close to each other, their generous size ensures you will make minimal typographical errors.
Expect a detailed review of the HTC One V very soon this website. In the meantime, you can check out our photo gallery of this phone. The current market price of the HTC One V is around Rs. 18,000.