(CNN) -- HTC's new flagship smartphone, the One, is an impressive bit of hardware and a big step forward for the company in three significant ways. The One is a top-notch, beautifully designed handset packed with the best specs and a ton of compelling features. It also runs a unique, fresh take on Google's Android operating system. And it's available in exactly the same configuration across the three major U.S. carriers. This is the phone that could close the gap between HTC's flagship and those from Apple and Samsung. We spent a couple of hours with the One before its big unveiling in New York today, and were thoroughly impressed by the luxurious materials used on the handset, the expert build quality holding it all together, and a slew of thoughtfully crafted software features. Although the phone carries the branding established last year with the One X, One S, and other HTC phones, the One amounts to a reboot of the company's vision for Android. The One X, HTC's previous flagship, won critical praise, but as an AT&T exclusive it failed to generate the sales the company had hoped for.
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HTC's One phone could be the one that closes the gap with Apple and Samsung
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The One, unveiled Tuesday, has a massive 4.7-inch touchscreen display
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It's camera ignores sometimes-meaningless megapixel count for "UltraPixels"
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The One will be available on AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint
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