We've heard more than a few laments from HTC fans about the lack of an expandable storage option for the flagship HTC One. If you still want a One with a MicroSD card slot (and you happen to live in the United Kingdom), HTC is about to make your dreams come true. The HTC One model 802w, with a removable back panel revealing dual SIM slots and a MicroSD card slot, is now being offered as a pre-order.

This is very likely a localized version of a similar Chinese variant of the One, offered for a market where dual SIM card slots are in much higher demand. The UK version of the 802w offers all the same technical specifications (including 32GB of permanent storage and a non-removable 2300mAh battery). The two radios are tuned for GSM/HSPA/WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz on the first SIM and GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz on the second.

HTC is selling the One 802w as a pre-order for £494.99 (a bit over $800 USD), which is a high premium if you've already got a One and all you want is a MicroSD card slot. There is no shipping date at the moment. It doesn't look like HTC has the same model on sale in the US, but that could change - no one was expecting it to come to the UK so long after the launch of the wider model. If you're still miffed about the exclusion of expandable storage on the original One, consider that HTC might be changing their approach: the newer One Max comes with expandable storage.

Source: HTC UK Store via Engadget