Last month, we learned about an HTC Android that sounded a whole lot like the One S, but with a different processor option. Referred to as the Ville C (the original One S went by codename Ville), the phone looked like a carbon copy of the One S, save for swapping out the 1.5GHz S4 for a 1.7GHz S3. Except, the source who provided the leak claimed that the 1.7GHz figure was a typo, and it should have read 1.2GHz instead; will all this confusion over the find, we weren’t quite sure what to think. Thankfully, HTC has just confirmed a new version of the One S for some markets that appears to finally bring some clarity to that whole Ville C situation.
As it turns out, the 1.7GHz figure was right on the money. Facing shortages of the S4 chips used in the original One S, HTC has been looking for alternatives to let it keep up with demand. In Asia and some European markets, the One S will arrive as this new 1.7GHz S3 version.
We have some serious doubts that the 200MHz clock bump will make up for using a previous-generation chip on an old 45nm process, but HTC claims that whenever it does a switcheroo like this it works to “ensure the same high bar of quality” is met with the replacement component. The company says that these alternate One S models will be labeled as such, so consumers will at least know what they’re getting, but we wonder just how prominent such a notice might be.
