0
As HTC readied a new version of its flagship smartphone, it planned for many challenges. It didn't know that one of them would be Roshan Jamkatel, a teenager from Schaumburg, Ill.

On March 2, Roshan - a self-described prankster - turned up on YouTube offering a hands-on, guided tour of the sequel to HTC's highest-profile product, the One. The world's first glimpse of the device was scheduled for this Tuesday, at the sort of orchestrated reveal that has become the industry standard, with product demonstrations, plenty of video-screen close-ups and a crowd to give the proceedings a sense of moment. Locations in New York City and London were booked for the occasion.

But Roshan upstaged this show with a rambling, mumbly critique that was posted for all the world to see. (The video was up, then taken down, then resurrected on a batch of Android fan sites and now is much harder to find.) Forget stagecraft. The phone was placed on what appears to be Roshan's outer-space-themed bedspread, and his monologue was sprinkled with bland endorsements like, "The build design of this phone is really nice," and "This camera, I give it a 9 - no, an 8.7."

You imagine that after watching this sneak peek, HTC emitted a sound similar to the whup-whup-whup that Curly of the Three Stooges made whenever Moe poked him in the eyes. But publicly, the only sign of outrage was a message from HTC's senior global online communications manager, Jeff Gordon, to Roshan's Twitter account.

"It's not going to be a good week for you, my friend," Gordon wrote. 

"It's a fake phone," Roshan tweeted back. 

"We have the IMEI and all the other info," replied Gordon, referring to the unique identifiers given to each device. "We'll be in touch."

Gordon would not comment about this exchange, and Roshan did not respond to a message left on his cellphone. But it was only the most notable leak of many that have bedeviled the run-up to the official introduction of the phone, which might be called the All New One. The leaks have included photographs, performance specs, downloadable versions of wallpapers and ringtones, a look at a new smart cover, an ad explaining the new dual-lens camera and what is apparently a sales guide for retailers. ("Load up the camera and show the customer how they can take a selfie in the new Selfie mode.")

As a final indignity, one of the phones was sold on eBay for about $500. 

So much for the element of surprise. 

These are just the latest setbacks for HTC, a company based in Taiwan that as recently as 2011 sold more smartphones in the United States than any other maker, according to the research firm Canalys.

Since then, shares of HTC have plunged almost 90 percent, shrinking its market capitalization to $4 billion from $33 billion. HTC's biggest problem is its mightiest foe, Samsung, which last year spent $14 billion on advertising - about the same as the GDP of Iceland. HTC posted its first-ever operating loss in the third quarter of 2013, after which ABI Research, a consulting firm, said that once such handset companies become unprofitable, only 10 percent can be expected to survive the next two years.

The prognosis underscores how perilous the smartphone business has become. In just five years, companies like BlackBerry, Nokia and Motorola have gone from leaders to takeover bait or balance-sheet basket cases. Startups in China, India and Brazil are grabbing mid- and low-end sales, and the high-end market is increasingly dominated by Samsung and Apple.

"If you're not a Tier 1 smartphone maker, it's difficult to be heard," said Ken Hyers, a senior analyst at Strategy Analytics. "You don't have the megaphone, which is the marketing spend."

Typically, manufacturers like HTC crater because their products stink. But HTC's downward spiral has distressed plenty of phone geeks who think it makes the best devices on the market. The One, released in 2013, earned the "Smartphone of the Year" title at the Mobile World Congress, held in Barcelona in February, and was only the third phone to win a five-star review from TechRadar. A critic at the site said the phone "is closing in on flawless."

A reviewer at AnandTech said, "The One is without a doubt the best Android smartphone I've ever used." And David Pogue, the former tech critic at The New York Times, wrote, "You could quibble with the software overlays, but it would be hard to imagine a more impressive piece of phone hardware."

It isn't enough, though, to design a great smartphone. You also need to sell it, and when your main rival is blanketing the planet with ads, your marketing strategy had better delight and astound.

HTC's did neither. 

"The most important thing is communication, and we didn't communicate with our end users well last year," said Cher Wang, HTC's co-founder and chairwoman, in a telephone interview Wednesday. "We're going to do it better this year."

Among the company's 2013 misfires was an extravagant and daring two-minute ad starring Robert Downey Jr., which was first shown in August.

Downey plays a swaggering marketing genius who emerges from a helicopter, a briefcase chained to one hand, and is ushered into a room full of executives to explain how HTC should position itself.

"Humongous tinfoil catamaran," he says, cryptically. 

After a pause, an aide to his right holds up a business card bearing the company's logo. 

"HTC," he says to the befuddled executives. "It's anything you want it to be." 

What follows is a random series of h.t.c.-initialed tableaus: a hipster troll carwash, a hot-tea catapult, a Hungarian tuba concert.

The One made brief cameos in the ad, but they were easy to miss. Describing HTC as "anything you want it to be" didn't do much to build an idea of the brand.

"Sadly, the introduction of the phone itself, which has a great many selling points, gets lost in all that high-concept stuff," said Barbara Lippert, a columnist for Mediapost.com and a former ad critic for Adweek. "A lot of money, great production and acting went into it, signifying not much to sell the phone."

The ad was reportedly the start of a two-year, $1 billion campaign. Within HTC, it was widely considered a letdown. 

"We were told that this ad was going to save the company," said a former employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not want to antagonize onetime colleagues. "Then we saw the ad."

Wang said the ad's mixed reception was fine with her. 

"Some people really loved it; some people didn't understand it," she said. "No matter what, people were talking about HTC, and that was the purpose."

Wang is the daughter of a billionaire and went on to make her own billions as a co-founder of HTC and a chip set maker, VIA Technologies. Educated at the University of California, Berkeley, she is known for toughness as a negotiator and for optimism - a trait much on display in the interview. Time and again, she would glancingly acknowledge errors, then pivot to her excitement about what's next.

"I want to look forward," she said. "I always look at the past as an opportunity to learn." 

If so, she has a full curriculum. Since last year, HTC has seemed like a rickety ship that crew members were eager to abandon. In the span of just a few months, HTC lost Rebecca Rowland, global retail marketing manager; John Starkweather, director of digital marketing; Kouji Kodera, chief product officer; Jason Gordon, vice president for global communications; and Eric Lin, product strategy manager.

Lin posted a departure tweet in May that said, "To all my friends still @HTC - just quit. leave now. it's tough to do, but you'll be so much happier, I swear."

Wang dismisses the notion that HTC has a brain-drain problem, saying, "we retained all the people we wanted to retain." 

There were also a handful of employees who made newsworthy exits. In December, Thomas Chien, who had been a vice president for design, was indicted by Taiwanese prosecutors on charges that he leaked trade secrets. He and a handful of other employees were also indicted on charges of taking kickbacks from suppliers and falsifying expense reports. Local media reported that investigators said they found more than $250,000 worth of Taiwanese currency, in fresh bills, in Chien's Audi, parked outside of HTC's headquarters.

Chien, who has denied the charges, reportedly said he didn't know where the money came from. 

HTC was founded in 1997, initially producing notebook computers. For years, it was a contract manufacturer of handheld devices for other companies, pioneering phones with touch-screen interfaces. In 2006, it started making products under its own name, and a year later Google introduced Android, which became the operating system of choice for HTC products. By 2011, the company's market cap exceeded that of Nokia, once the Goliath of the field.

"However you count it," wrote Chris Jones, an analyst at Canalys, in October 2011, "HTC has become a deserved leader in the U.S. smartphone market."

A lot went wrong between then and now. Wang says the company had trouble keeping up with demand for the One last year, because of the phone's complexity.

"This is a metal, unibody phone," she said, adding that its antenna and camera were engineering feats in themselves. "We didn't train our vendors well enough for mass production."

Analysts also say that some of HTC's other smartphones were mediocre, and a few weren't updated with the latest version of Android until long after Google released it. But perhaps the biggest disaster for HTC was the onslaught of Samsung, which jumped into the Android smartphone pool in 2009 and has been doing cannonballs ever since.

"The company's target may have been Apple, but some of these smaller players were the victims," says Horace Dediu, founder of consulting firm Asymco. "This is a classic case of disruption. HTC couldn't play on the same scale as Samsung."

Wang says HTC can still compete, even against Samsung's marketing muscle. Just look at Tesla, the electric car marker, she said. It isn't as big as any traditional automaker, but it has drummed up a remarkable amount of attention.

This is true, but Tesla is more of a niche seller than a mass-market player. Which might be what HTC becomes if sales of its all-new phone don't set some all-new records.


htc vive
htc 11
htc desire
htc one
htc 10
htc desire 530
htc desire 626
htc bolt
htc phones
htc one m8
htc
htc a9
htc android
htc account
htc a9 review
htc a9 case
htc announcement
htc at&t
htc accessories
htc a10
htc amaze
a htc one m8
a htc one
a htc one x
a htc desire
a htc phone
a htc sensation
a htc wildfire s
a htc desire hd
a htc desire x
a htc desire 500
htc bolt review
htc bolt specs
htc bolt case
htc bolt sprint
htc bolt vs htc 10
htc backup
htc boost mobile
htc beats audio
htc bolt boost mobile
b htcbycrbq hfqjy
htc b phone
htc b windows phone
htc b price
htc b hard reset
htc b audio
htc b 1
htc b 816
htc b price in india
htc desire b
htc cable
htc cell phones
htc cases
htc charger
htc customer service
htc conway sc
htc cricket
htc careers
htc camera
htc corporation
htc c desire
htc c a320e
htc c price in india
htc c 600
htc c desire review
htc c 500
htc c desire manual
htc c 816
htc 516c
htc c desire mobile
htc desire 510
htc desire 526
htc desire 530 case
htc desire 530 review
htc desire 626 case
htc desire 816
htc desire eye
htc 816d
htc d 500
htc d 820
htc d 310
htc d 700
htc d 616
htc d 516
htc d 620
htc d 610
htc d 210
htc evo
htc evo 4g
htc evo 3d
htc evo 4g lte
htc emojis
htc email
htc evo 10
htc earbuds
htc eye
htc e8
e htc desire 310
e htc desire
e htc desire 816
e htc desire 600
htc e 8
htc e 9
htc e series
htc e 1
htc e8 price
htc e8 price in india
htc first
htc field hockey
htc factory reset
htc fetch
htc flyer
htc flagship 2017
htc file manager
htc freestyle
htc facebook phone
htc first smartphone
f-htch
f htcr
f-hatch plane
htc f3188
htc f5151
htc f mobile
htc f 2.8 autofocus
htc f butterfly
htc f 1
htc f5151 price
htc global services
htc g1
htc g2
htc google
htc gallery
htc grip
htc grinders
htc google pixel
htc games
htc guide
htc816 g
htc620 g
htc g plus
htc g series
htc g11
htc g10
htc g sensor
htc g14
htc816g price
htc hero
htc hd2
htc headphones
htc hard reset
htc hd7
htc help
htc holsters
htc headquarters
htc hours
h htc one
h+ htc inspire
h-htc-desire-500-tab
h-htc-one-m8-tab
h htc desire
htc.h header file
htc.h header file download
htc h symbol
htc.h download
htc h symbol with arrows
htc internet
htc incredible
htc ice view
htc india
htc imax
htc inc
htc incredible 2
htc icons
htc insurance
htc innovation
i htc one
i htc one m8
i htc one x
i htc wildfire s
i htc desire hd
i htc one v
i htc desire 610
i htc desire 310
i htc desire x
i htc desire 816
htc jobs
htc jetstream
htc jawbone
htc japan
htc january 12
htc jobs conway sc
htc jailbreak
htc jive
htc j butterfly 3
htc jetstream update
htc j butterfly price
htc j price
htc j price in pakistan
htc j review
htc j butterfly htl23
htc j one htl22
htc j isw13ht
htc j butterfly htl21
htc j one mini
htc j butterfly htv31
htc keyboard
htc klik
htc keyboard phone
htc k10
htc kid mode
htc keeps restarting
htc knoxville tn
htc keyboard color
htc knight
htc klik review
k-htc desire
k-htc u krvi
htc k series
htc k 816
htc k jam
htc k 310
htc k zoom
htc k touch
htc k mobile
htc k 620
htc latest phone
htc logo
htc live
htc login
htc live chat
htc laptop
htc level
htc low profile system
htc loris sc
htc lock screen
l htc one
l htc one x
l htc m8
l htc sync
l htc evo 4g
l htc desire 816
l htc one m7
l'htc desire 500
htc l price
htc l specification
htc m9
htc m8
htc m10
htc m11
htc m7
htc m9 review
htc mini+
htc meaning
htc m8 review
htc mobile
m.htc mobile
m.htc sense.store
m.htc india
htc one x
htc m series
htc m816
htc m8 mini
htc news
htc new phone
htc nexus 9
htc newest phone
htc nexus
htc number
htc not charging
htc note
htc new phones 2017
htc near me
n htc one
n htc inspire 4g
n htc one x
n htc one v
n htc 8s
htc n 7
htc n 9
htc n 1
htc n 700
htc n price
htc one m9
htc one m7
htc one m10
htc one max
htc ocean
htc one a9 review
htc one m9 review
o htc m8
o htc one funciona no brasil
o htc one x
o htc one m7
htc o n e
htc o n e m9
htc o n e x
htc o n e max
htc o samsung
htc o iphone
htc phones 2016
htc phone number
htc promo code
htc pixel
htc pn072
htc phone charger
htc piercing
htc phones verizon
htc phone price
p htcand
htc p3300
htc p3450
htc p3400
htc p3470
htc p series
htc p4350
htc p n
htc p n 99hky001 00
htc p6500
htc quick root
htc quick charge
htc quietly brilliant
htc quinco
htc quick charge 2.0
htc qwerty phones
htc quality
htc qr code
htc quote
q htc evo
htc820 q
htc q 820
htc q series
htc820 q price
htc q price
htc q mobile
htc q 816
htc q specs
htc q 500
htc re
htc rezound
htc repair
htc ruu
htc revive
htc reviews
htc recovery mode
htc reset
htc root
htc radar
r htc vive
r htc 10
r/htc one
r htc phones good
r htc sync manager software
r htcondor
r htc sync manager
r htc desire 816
r htc one v
htc stock
htc sense
htc support
htc smartphones
htc smartwatch
htc sense home
htc sensation
htc sprint
htc store
htc sim card
s htc desire 500
s htc wildfire
s htc desire
htc s-off
htc s 8
htc s s710e
htc s one price in pakistan
htc s butterfly
htc s one price in india
htc s one review
htc thunderbolt
htc tablet
htc transfer tool
htc t mobile
htc touch
htc taiwan
htc themes
htc twitter
htc touch pro
htc tempe
t htc one x
t htc desire
t htc one m8
t htc hd2
htc sense att
htc t mobile g1
htc t mobile g2
htc t mobile mytouch 4g
htc t mobile g1 hard reset
htc u ultra
htc u ultra review
htc uh oh
htc usa
htc update
htc u ultra release date
htc u ultra specs
htc unlocked phones
htc u ultra price
htc unlock bootloader
htc u desire
htc u price in india
htc u review
htc u mobile price
htc u flipkart
htc u duos price
htc u wot m8
htc u focus
htc u 600
htc vive price
htc vive 2
htc vive setup
htc vive review
htc vive requirements
htc vive wireless
htc vive amazon
htc vive controller
htc vive accessories
v htc desire
htc v one price in pakistan
htc v one price in india
htc v samsung
htc v iphone
htc v one review
htc v desire price in india
htc v one virgin mobile
htc v one flipkart
htc windows phone
htc watch
htc wildfire
htc warranty
htc white
htc wallpapers
htc website
htc windows phone 8x
htc wont turn on
htc waterloo
w htc desire
w htc nie działa aparat
htc w 8
htc 802w
htc 606w
big w htc
htc w plusie
htc w play
htc w orange
htc w t mobile
htc x10
htc x9
htc x710a
htc x8
htc xda
htc x9500
htc xl
htc xv6800
htc x325c
htc x515c
x htc desire
htc x plus
htc 8x
htc x one price in pakistan
htc x price in india
htc x one review
htc x one mini
htc x desire price in india
htc x one vs galaxy s3
htc x one plus price
htc you
htc youtube
htc ymca
htc yahoo finance
htc yellow pages
htc you play
htc you campaign
htc your phone is encrypted
htc yahoo
htc y cable
htc y fire
htc y series
htc y price in pakistan
htc y300
htc y cable schematic
htc y desire
htc y galaxy
galaxy y htc rom
y cable htc 8x
htc zte
htc zoe
htc zmax pro
htc z981
htc zmax
htc zara
htc zero
htc zoe camera
htc z828
htc zmax 2
htc z710
htc z ultra
htc z 500
htc z10
htc z715e
htc z desire review
z vs htc one
htc z windows
htc z klawiaturą
htc z klawiaturą qwerty
htc 0pcv1
htc 0pm92
htc 0p6b120
htc 0pm9110
htc 0pja2
htc 0p6b180
htc 0p9o110
htc 0pgq100
htc 0paj5
htc 0pm9200
htc 0 down
htc 0 emi
htc 0 battery
htc583-0
cicilan 0 htc one
cicilan 0 htc one m8
storage/emulated/0 htc one
*#0*# code for htc
htcnjhfy 0/75
0 finanzierung htc one m8
htc 10 case
htc 10 evo
htc 10 price
htc 10 nougat
htc 10 unlocked
htc 10 release date
htc 11 release date
htc 10 sprint
1 htc 10
1 htc desire
1- htc desire v
1 htc droid incredible
1 htc sensation
htc 1 m8
htc 1 mini
htc 1 review
htc 1 price
htc 1 max
htc 2pst2
htc 2017
htc 2016
htc 2ps64
htc 2pq93
htc 2pyb2
htc 2pq9300
htc 2pq9120
htc 2011
htc 20
2 htc vives in one room
2. htc one (m8)
2. htc one
2 htc one dual sim
2 htc one x
2. htc sensation
2 htc desire eye
2 htc desire v
htc 2 release date
htc 2 sim card
htc 3d
htc 350
htc 3000
htc 3t
htc 360 camera
htc 331
htc 32gb
htc 320
htc 310
htc331zlvw
3 htc 10
3 htc one m8
3 htc one mini
3 htc one m9
3 htc desire 610
3 htc one x
3 htc desire
3 htc desire 500
3 htc one mini 2
3 htc desire eye
htc 4g
htc 4g lte
htc 4g lte cases
htc 4g lte phone cases
htc 4g phones
htc 4g mobile
htc 420
htc 4g evo
htc 4g verizon
htc 4g lte battery removal
4 htc ultrapixel camera
4. htc one v
4 htc one m8
4 htc desire x
htc 4 inch
htc 4 ultrapixel
htc 4 evo
htc 4 inch android phone
htc 4 g phones
htc 530
htc 526
htc 510
htc 530 case
htc 520
htc 530 review
htc 526 case
htc 5 vr
htc 530 phone cases
htc 526 verizon
5 htp
5 htp cvs
5 htp high
5 htp amazon
5 htp walmart
5 htp dose
5 htp for anxiety
5 htp reddit
5 htp review
5 htp effects
htc 626
htc 626 case
htc 610
htc 625
htc 626 review
htc 630
htc 626 hard reset
htc 628
htc 620
htc 626 phone cases
6 htc phone
htc 6 inch phone
htc 6 inch mobile
htc 6 inch smartphone
htc 6 inch phone price
htc 6 inch screen
htc 6 inch screen smartphone
htc 6 inch screen phone
htc 6 inch phone price in india
htc 6 inch phablet
htc 710c
htc 728
htc 710c specs
htc 7.0
htc t7380
htc 7 pro
htc 728 ultra
htc 710c case
htc 710c root
htc 710c virgin mobile
7 htc 10
7 htc flyer
7 htc tablet
htc 7 trophy
htc 7 surround
htc 7 mozart price in pakistan
htc 7 trophy price
htc 7 trophy hard reset
htc 7 trophy android
htc 7 mozart review
htc 816
htc 831c
htc 820
htc 826
htc 8xt
htc 828
htc 801c
htc 830
htc 825
htc 8x windows 10
htc one m8 mini
htc 8 s price in india
htc 8 s review
htc 8 windows phone
htc 8 megapixel
htc 8 megapixel camera phone
htc 8 s price
htc 9 price
htc 9a
htc 9 phone
htc 9 case
htc 9 phone cases
htc 9 plus
htc 918
htc 9110
htc 926
9 htc nexus
htc m9 plus
htc 9 tablet
htc 9 inch tablet
htc 9+ price in india
htc 9 price in pakistan
htc m9 vs samsung s6

Post a Comment

 
Top