By the end of 2011 HTC told us not to wait for many handsets; according to them, the One line will be the only product series in 2012. Later it became known that some of HTC’s smartphones will be launched in several versions. However, this was not the only deviation from the plan, as a bit later several HTC-branded handsets leaked and were launched. So HTC said they were going to cut down the number of smartphones launched in one year, but at the moment we can count a dozen of handsets already released.

Plus, the company mentioned some “hero” devices designed for the low-end niche and some other ones for the Chinese market. And now they’re saying there will be no low-end devices in 2012.

This was announced by HTC CEO Peter Chou in an interview with Wall Street Journal. In particular, Chou said they don’t want to deface the HTC brand By making low-end smartphones; instead, they use better materials to make better products that offer premium experience.

HTC has never dominated in low-end niche, and though Android is an absolute leader in this market, most of those devices carry Chinese brandings. That’s why Android is accounted for a full 76% of the Chinese smartphone market with an average price dropped to 1,670 yuan ($265) in Q1 2012 (from 2,300 yuan ($364) in Q1 2011). On this occasion Chou said they are not interested in selling smartphones for less than 1,000 yuan, because two top manufacturers, Samsung and Motorola have already tried and failed.

Probably, HTC’s made this decision because their current low-end smartphones, the HTC Desire C and One V don’t sell well. But anyway, there are already some low-end HTC smartphones on the market, so I don’t think anybody will complain.