HTC has scheduled a US press event for 19 August, leading to frenzied guesswork as to what the troubled device maker may unveil.

The most likely option appears to be One (W8), another variant of its flagship One (M8) smartphone, but powered by Microsoft’s Windows Phone.

While HTC has previously been a key player in the Windows device ecosystem – indeed much of the success of the early Windows Mobile platform can be laid at its door – the company has moved away from the Microsoft OS in favour of Android.

But with Microsoft recently making changes to Windows Phone in order to make it easier to run on Android hardware, the Taiwanese device maker may have decided it is the right time to get back into the ring.

The device is apparently a CDMA/LTE device for Verizon Wireless, and would mark the only premium smartphone powered by the latest version of the platform (Windows Phone 8.1) to come from a vendor that isn’t the now Microsoft-owned devices business of Nokia.

And if it uses the metal body of One (M8), it will also contrast with the bright coloured, polycarbonate devices from Microsoft’s own hardware arm.

Another option is an anticipated wearable device from the company, likely to be an Android Wear-powered smartwatch.

Called One Wear, reports suggest that it will feature a metal body which takes its design cues from One (M8), and have a square face similar to recent products from Samsung and LG.

Finally, the event may see the debut of an anticipated tablet from the company which will join Google’s Nexus line as Nexus 8. In this case, it would be more likely that it would debut at a Google-hosted event rather than one by HTC.