It’s hard to believe how far HTC has fallen over the past year and half. We’ve said it before, prior to the iPhone 4S, HTC was enjoying record success, which each quarterly earning besting the one before it. That all ended when Apple released their iPhone 4S and it didn’t help that Samsung had already had their Galaxy S II on the market. Earlier this year, HTC released their One line of devices, like the S, V and the flagship One X, sadly, as great as those devices were, superior in some areas, they were overshadowed by Samsung’s Galaxy S III, which was released about a month later.
It’s a shame HTC hasn’t been “clicking” with smartphone shoppers, they are producing some really nice hardware, with excellent performance and yet they continue to fall flat. During their second quarter earnings report, the Taiwanese company posted only $3.04 billions in profit, down 20% from the previous year, for the third, and most recent quarter, they only brought in $2.39 billion, down 90% from the second quarter, well below the estimated $2.90 billion analysts believed HTC was capable of earning.
Up next, HTC is preparing to launch their new line of signature Windows Phone devices, sadly, those too are being overshadowed by the more popular Nokia Lumia 920, which offers a better display, better camera, wireless charging and a design many people mock HTC for mimicking, even though it may be a complete coincidence. Either way, it looks like HTC is between a rock and hard place. They are continuing to drown, but it’s not for a lack of trying. Personally, I think they are putting out some of the best looking Android devices on the market, but I think they’re failing to meet or exceed Samsung in the marketing department. After all, if consumers don’t know about your product, how will they know they want it?
While HTC has remained tip-lipped about other aspects of the company, it’s quite clear that they are purging money and they’re failing to make any head way for all their hard effort. With the new iPhone 5 on the market, selling 5.5 million devices in three days and the Galaxy S III continuing to sell well, it looks like history is about to repeat itself.