The HTC One was, without a shadow of doubt, the most beautiful Android device to be released this year. Unfortunately, battery life was a bit below average, and the four megapixel “UltraPixel” camera turned out to be nothing more than hype. Today, at an event in Taiwan, HTC announced a device called the Desire 700 that looks exactly like the One, but it’s not.

Let’s start with the first obvious difference, the body. The metal has been replaced by plastic. Second, the screen. Goodbye 4.7 inch 1080p panel, hello 5.0 inch 960 x 540 pixel display. Third, RAM has been cut in half to 1 GB from 2 GB. Fourth, so long Snapdragon 600, you’ve been replaced by a Snapdragon 200. Fifth, the camera actually got an upgrade to an 8 megapixel shooter. And finally sixth, Android 4.1 is loaded on the Desire 700, whereas the One is shipping with Android 4.3.

Stefan, you might be wondering, all these sacrifices are tolerable if the device is priced accordingly. And I’d agree with you 100%. Sadly, however, the Desire 700 will retail for 13,900 Taiwanese dollars. That’s $470. For that kind of money, you can buy two Moto G phones and have enough left over to take your partner out for dinner and a movie.

Why is HTC doing this to themselves? I haven’t got the slightest clue, and that actually angers me, because the company has some highly talented people, just not at the top apparently.