Fast paced. Two words that sum up the mobile industry. HTC were, until fairly recently, riding high, but now share-price is heading to its lowest level for 7 years. Bloomberg are reporting that HTC dropped 7% to NT$219.50 after missing forecasts.
Now analysts are starting to pitch in. Laura Chen, from BNP Paribas, stated that..
We think it will be a challenge for HTC to turn around. HTC’s weak economies of scale and difficulty in product differentiation make the company’s recovery outlook look more remote.
Other analysts are advising that investors sell shares in the company, as the company continues to fight tough competition from Samsung (with Android) and Nokia (with Windows Phone).
Link – Bloomberg
How fickle the smartphone world is. I do think HTC shot themselves in the foot last year with so many different phones. WP8 could help them out, I am fairly impressed with WP8 from what I have seen so far. Although, I do think it will take a while for it to gain traction, people need convincing to move from ios or android. I’ve got a lot of apps on my android phone and tablet, can’t really see me moving from android to another platform.
HTC did drop the ball quite considerably by deviating from what they do best- innovating. I believe they made Android what it is today, remember the Hero/G2? They bought into Beats and got complacent by bringing out so many similar types of product. Even these new Windows phones have Nokias identity all over them, a desperate attempt for a desperate situation. HTC need to get serious and design an iconic kick ass quality phone with no variations in memory, processor and build quality. Not plastic but premium materials like glass and metal. I’d hate to see them go but they’re not the same, even their customer service is rubbish these days.