-Hi, this is Brian Bennett for CNET.com, and today we're taking a first look at the HTC One SV.
Judging from this phone's attractive colorful design and premium construction, you might think that HTC has rolled another flagship device.
Well, guess again.
The HTC One SV is available exclusively in the U.S. on cricket wireless for $349.99, but is definitely a midrange handset.
Powering the One SV is a zippy
1.2 gigahertz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus processor supported by 1 gigabyte of RAM.
Sorry, folks, no fancy quad-core processor here.
The phone doesn't run the latest Google Android OS either Jelly Bean, but rather Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
Still, the One SV has plenty of pep to drive its software and the phone feels pretty quick and responsive.
HTC also layers its Sense 4 UI on top of Android, which offers tight social media integration plus a few handy interface tweaks.
For instance, to name one slick trick, I can use 2 fingers to easily drop widgets and app shortcuts on the home screen of my choice.
Just long press an item with 1 hand, then swipe left to right with the other.
The real allure of the HTC One SV is its sweet styling.
The phone is crafted in gentle curves, supports vibrant red highlights, plus it's very thin.
Despite its trim and pocketable size, the phone features a removable 1800 mAh battery and micro SD card, slot 2.
Other great features include access to Cricket's 4G LTE data network that is, if you're lucky to live within its coverage area, and the free Muve music download service.
With Muve, you can download tunes directly from the cloud to the One SV without paying anything more than your Cricket subscription fee.
On the front of the device is a 4.3-inch 800 x 400 pixel LCD screen, a 1.6-megapixel camera above it and capacitive Android buttons bellow, also red.
The earpiece has more red accents in the form of dashes embedded within it.
On the back is the phone's 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and a battery cover painted in an even more wild shade of crimson.
The back uses a soft touch coating as well for a sure grip.
With striking looks, premium feel, plus compact and thin size, the HTC One SV is certainly a head-turner.
It's also great that it doesn't come with a confining service contract attached,
but is it enough smart phone to be a tempting deal?
Be sure to check back soon for a full review.
I'm Brian Bennett for CNET.com and this has been a first look at the HTC One SV.
