HTC Corp. unveiled its new strategy in Barcelona at the start of the Mobile World Congress with the launch of its HTC One series of phones that focus on advanced cameras and audio technology.

HTC's new lineup is the HTC One X, HTC One S and HTC One V. The HTC One X and One S have large-screen displays while the HTC One V is a smaller phone with less stellar specs. All three phones run on the Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system and include HTC's own Sense 4.0 interface. The updated Sense interface has the classic HTC retro clock widget, the home page overview screen and hubs. The music hub for the HTC One lineup has been reworked. Users can now transfer music to their phones from their PC seamlessly. Anytime a file is added on the PC, the content will be wirelessly synced with the phone. HTC's Beats Audio enhancement software is also included.

The new phones will come with ImageSense, an HTC developed technology that makes the smartphone cameras just as good as the standalone cameras. ImageSense is a suite of camera features including the innovative fast autofocus that allows users to take pictures in 0.7 seconds. It also has photo storage and sharing software. ImageSense also allows users to take photos at the same time they are taking a video. An icon appears on the screen that tells users to take a photo while the video continues to record. The phones also have the neat feature that allows users to hold down the shutter button to take continuous photos and improve shots even in low-light conditions.

Users can connect the HTC One phones via HDMI micro to any TV with an HDMI port to view photos and videos on the larger screen. Users can also avail of a new deal with Dropbox that offers HTC One buyers 25Gb of online storage for two years.

The HTC One X will have a Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor. The HTC One S will only a 1.5Ghz dual-core processor from Qualcomm. HTC didn't provide much details about the HTC One V only that it will have the same design as the HTC Legend.

The new series is HTC's way of differentiating itself from rivals Samsung and Apple. With increasing competition in the burgeoning smartphone market, manufacturers are scrambling to deliver phones that are unique and stand-out to attract consumers. While the company saw its shares triple in early 2011 it wasn't able to maintain this growth as its stock went down 42 percent to become the worst performer among global smartphone companies last year. HTC had reported that it estimates a drop in revenue by as much as 36 percent for the first quarter.

"HTC's strategy to streamline its branding and to offer fewer, better-differentiated products is a reaction to both market forces and engineering necessity," said Tony Cripps, principal analyst at Ovum. "Its decision to focus on perfecting core smartphone functionality around camera and music playback is an extremely pragmatic one."