Won't happen. Samsung had multiple SKUs of the Galaxy S2, didn't even have one on Verizon in the US, and still destroyed HTC back then. Samsung had a different phone for almost every carrier with the Galaxy S I and it was probably the buggiest, most ill-performing, laggiest phone ever released as a flagship and Samsung still destroyed them. If HTC couldn't do it when Samsung was basically doing exactly what HTC was doing, and releasing IMO much worse devices (outside of the screen and battery sizes), then they aren't going to achieve that now.
The One X was supposed to be that. It flopped. The Note 2 and GS3 are still outselling the DNA on Verizon. The GS4 will still outsell the HTC One, because Samsung has brand recognition beyond anything HTC could dream to have (HTC was only really super popular among enthusiasts, anyways, until they started locking their boot loaders).
This is the phenomenon that HTC (and Nokia, and Motorola, and Sony, and LG, etc.) has to overcome: When people buy an iPhone or Galaxy S device they are much more likely to buy the next iPhone or Galaxy S device when the upgrade is released. I haven't seen this happening with HTC, Sony, LG, or Motorola to the extent that it happens with Apple or Samsung. HTC still is releasing too many phones too fast, causing their users to feel gipped. They released the One X, then the X+, then the DNA, now this?
Apart from the S3 and Note 2 Samsung hasn't obsoleted any of their flagships the way HTC has, and that's just the way it's going to be until the Galaxy S4 releases, and likely afterwards. Their release cycles give users a sense of security and confidence in their purchase decisions, and also keeps the resale values of their phones higher than HTC devices because the phone isn't "old news" a few months after it's on the market. I can't consider an HTC One because for all I know the HTC One+ is probably going into production for release 3 months later, anyways... Once that happens, you can pretty much take an instant $50+ off the resale price cause anyone you try to sell to, unless they're desperate, will simply say "well they just released an upgrade, I'll just get it on contract and ETF it later for less than you want to sell it for, good luck."
Lastly, HTC is pretty bad at marketing and they have never - not to my recollection - aired a commercial or ad that actually caught my attention and stuck on my mind. In fact I cannot remember the last time I seen an HTC commercial (i.e. not a AT&T or Verizon commercial, but one from HTC themselves) here.
Samsung putting the same phone on every carrier has little to do with the success of their devices. They've been doing well since the first GS device (which was pretty bad). It's cause they built up a decent reputation with their users and know how to sell their products - similar to Apple. Even if each carrier had a different GS3/Note 2 SKU they would likely have still sold just as many as they have. It's not a big deal to the average consumer. What is a big deal is that whey someone says "Galaxy S" or "Samsung" those people think more highly of those brands than "HTC" or "One," which many people probably have no clue exist at this point, cause they've never really heard of them.
The lack of SD card is an issue for heavy media users, though, and it's sad that HTC is incapable of putting a slot on the side of their devices like Motorola does, or under a decent port like Sony. Really at this point they should be giving users every reason to consider their devices. Obsoleting someone's high capacity SD card doesn't do that. Embedded batteries I can deal with as long as the battery life is decent, and especially if they ship a rapid charger with the device (like Sony did with the Xperia ion), but lack of SD Card slot is too much of a hassle. It's a deal breaker. It's like buying a PC with no external ports or drives and only a 64GB Hard Drive. There is not much I'd be able to do with something like that after a couple of months use.