On the left is a recessed 3.5mm headphone jack, and just next to it there’s a sliver cut away from the unibody frame. On the right of the top edge sits the power / wake button, which isn’t quite flush with the body of the handset meaning that it’s easily identified by touch alone. These are responsive to the touch, with a backlight that's activated in low ambient light making them easily found in the dark. Beneath the earpiece is a silver HTC logo, and at the bottom sit the three capacitive buttons that allow you to navigate around Android. The top of the glass is cut away to reveal a row of drilled holes for the earpiece, and the hard edge of the glass can feel uncomfortable when held up to your ear. The remainder of the front is dominated by the 3.7-inch Gorilla glass screen that protrudes from the body by around half a millimeter, which is another design choice, but one that has greater bearing on how you use the phone. It’s become something of an HTC trademark, and I’m quite fond of it - it’s a quirky design, and I think it improves the overall balance of the handset.
The instantly striking feature is the pronounced chin: the bottom of the phone curves towards you by about ten degrees. HTC has given the handset I reviewed a matte black finish rather than the wire-brushed bare metal that graced the HTC Legend, though there’s still a grain to the material that gives it some character. The aluminum body feels decidedly premium, with no give when squeezed and a curve on the back edges that makes it comfortable to hold. Based on the design and build, calling the One V a budget option is something of a misnomer.