Exciting HTC M7 Project phone could be Europe’s Droid DNA, and not the Deluxe after all

HTC is rumored to be working on a new smartphone codename the M7 Project, and it appears to be an upgraded Droid DNA, making it a prime candidate for release in Europe next year.

The Droid DNA is one of HTC’s most sought after phones, but anyone wanting to see its 1080p screen in Europe has so far been denied the opportunity, as the DNA remains a Verizon exclusive and HTC itself has denied the rumored HTC Deluxe will be released there.

Rumors are now swirling around something called the M7 Project, a new HTC smartphone that sounds much like the Droid DNA, but with a few technical tweaks for good measure. Sources in Taiwan claim the unibody device has a 5-inch touchscreen with a 1080p resolution, and will be powered by the same quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro as the DNA, however the camera will be upgraded to 13-megapixels.

Perhaps this is reason we haven’t seen an international version of the Droid DNA/HTC J Butterfly yet. There’s even a chance the Deluxe — which was leaked as a “global version” a while back — was originally intended for release, then cancelled while HTC prepared something a little better.

HTC likes giving its range-topping phones a refresh after a short time on sale too, having done so in the past with the Sensation series, and more recently with the release of the HTC One X+. If the M7 is a Droid DNA+, then along with the new camera, perhaps we’ll see more internal storage options and a larger capacity battery too, just like the One X+.

A Mobile World Congress 2013 appearance is possible

Supposedly about to begin production, the M7 phone could be being prepared for release during the first three months of 2013, making it a prime candidate for launch at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, as that event runs from February 25 to February 28. During MWC 2012 HTC announced the One X, One S and One V, so it’s not afraid to bring out the big guns in Spain.

Strategically, HTC will want a super phone which goes on sale around April next year to do battle with the impending Samsung Galaxy S3 sequel, likely to appear in May. Samsung made MWC 2012 a damp squib by deciding to hold its own S3 event at another time, and HTC will want to make the most of the limelight this year.

All this could coincide with the revamp of HTC’s marketing campaign too, which is new CMO Benjamin Ho’s first order of business when he joins the company in January, plus it could be part of a series of new and exciting smartphones from the company, now it has put its ongoing legal battle with Apple behind it.

If the M7 is the reason for the delay in seeing a global GSM version of the Droid DNA, and it does have a sprinkling of new or updated features, then the wait will have been worth it.