HTC Ville C leaked as cheaper One S clone

HTC said it was going to cut down the number of handsets it produced in 2012 as it looked to save money, but after a recent 'leak', we're not so sure.

The HTC Ville C is the latest phone rumoured to be appearing from the maker of the One range of handsets, and this is after we saw the Desire C officially break cover earlier this week.

The details of the handset were uncovered by a Brief Mobile source, who claimed that the Ville C will be a cheaper version of the HTC One S.

Why bother?

However a brief look through the reported specs and we're struggling to see why HTC would even bother with the Ville C.

It's set to pack a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 4.3-inch qHD display, 1GB RAM, 16GB of internal memory, Android Ice Cream Sandwich with Sense 4.5, 8MP camera with LED flash and 1080p video recording and a 1650mAh battery.

All sounding awfully familiar? Well it should, as the only spec which differs from the One S is the processor, which has been downgraded from the 1.5GHz dual-core chip. Oh, and we guess the name counts as a change too.

To be fair there's no mention of Beats Audio technology, but seeing as this is including in the lower-end One V and Desire C, we can only assume it will make its way on the Ville C as well.

In short, we really hope this leak fails to follow through to an actual product, otherwise HTC has just filled a hole between the One V and One S which wasn't even there. Our HTC One S review found it to be a perfectly credible phone - so why mess with it?

From Brief Mobile via TalkAndroid