It seems HTC has all but officially decided to drop its practice of unveiling its new handset lineup at MWC this year, scheduling press events mere days before the beginning of the mobile trade show. The company has sent out invitations to events in both New York City and London on February 19th, though it has provided no indication as to exactly what will be unveiled.

However, it seems a given at this point that we'll be seeing HTC's new flagship Android handset, codenamed M7. If HTC's One series announcement last year was any evidence, it's possible some smaller down-market sister devices are going to be in tow, as well. Typically, HTC has chosen to announce its latest and greatest at MWC. But with Samsung, Motorola, and even LG holding their own private press events for major device announcements in the last year, there's clear pressure on HTC to follow suit.

What's really odd, though, is the fact that HTC is holding a simultaneous press event in London. Like, at the same time. I'm not sure how HTC's going to pull this off, but if it involves a hologram Peter Chou, I am 100% on-board. They could bring Tupac, too.

We'll be covering the event live from NYC next month.