3 ms·

HTC, You Loser

23 points by coloneltcb 10y ago

Fej 10y ago
I find it highly unlikely that HTC is simply a manufacturing partner. The Pixels look too much like HTC phones, even the ones they're selling right now.
- mchahn 10y ago
  And I don't see how making phones for someone else is a bad thing. It shows you know what you are doing.
  - eob 10y ago
    The great profit margins tend to be in branding though, not OEM work. This is a huge hurdle Taiwan's industries in general have to overcome (HTC and Foxconn are Taiwanese), and probably part of the reason Foxconn bought Sharp.
    - touristtam 10y ago
      Not that it cannot be done. Acer is a prime example of an OEM turning into a full blown brand name. HTC seems to be focusing on too many thing and for the last ten years have been feeling like they were missing something to match the line up of other phone manufacturers.
  - pzone 10y ago
    https://www.google.com/search?q=HTC+Market+value&oq=HTC+Market+value&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#q=HTC+Market+capitalisation https://www.google.com/search?q=HTC+Market+value&oq=HTC+Mark... HTC has lost 50% of its market value over the past year. It is 1/3 of what it was worth in mid-2013. If you feel like counting the stock market bubble, HTC is work a bit under 7% of what it was worth in 2007. The money they are making now falls short of previous expectations. It falls short by a hell of a lot. Whatever it is they're doing now, it ain't what they hoped to be be doing. Meanwhile their rivals are profitable and valuable. What else do you call that but losing?
ensiferum 10y ago
I used to live next to a HTC office building in New Taipei City. I saw the engineers coming out at 8pm to grab some food and head back to the office. Im sure everyone at HTC is wondering how to work the staff more than already normal 14h a day to curb the downfall (;
triplesec 10y ago
It's a sad reality of modern business that marketing and brand are al. In principle it's laudable that HTC seems to be brilliantly engineering (AND UX) - led company, and doesn't value marketing and brand, but such is the world as it stands. I hope we don't lose the expertise-set of this company if it doesn't recover or is taken over by, say Samsung.
mcv 10y ago
I still haven't been able to find a high-end Android smartphone that is actually any good. I returned an HTC One after multiple repairs failed to fix the broken microphone. Maybe marketing is the real problem with HTC, but I'm also disappointed with the quality of the engineering of most manufacturers.
wodenokoto 10y ago
Saying that HTC phones were ugly until the 1 series is judging past design by todays environment. Back in the early smartphone days the HTC "chin" was the talk of the town. A bold design move that had people on the street talk about your phone. You could recognize it from a mile away, and the owner would always be happy to tell you that they love their chins. The back of the HTC diamond is something we today will consider ugly and corny, but back then it was a really cool design. Today's HTCs are pretty, but boring and don't stand out.

23 points by coloneltcb 10y ago

Fej 10y ago

I find it highly unlikely that HTC is simply a manufacturing partner. The Pixels look too much like HTC phones, even the ones they're selling right now.

mchahn 10y ago
And I don't see how making phones for someone else is a bad thing. It shows you know what you are doing.
- eob 10y ago
  The great profit margins tend to be in branding though, not OEM work. This is a huge hurdle Taiwan's industries in general have to overcome (HTC and Foxconn are Taiwanese), and probably part of the reason Foxconn bought Sharp.
  - touristtam 10y ago
    Not that it cannot be done. Acer is a prime example of an OEM turning into a full blown brand name. HTC seems to be focusing on too many thing and for the last ten years have been feeling like they were missing something to match the line up of other phone manufacturers.
- pzone 10y ago
  https://www.google.com/search?q=HTC+Market+value&oq=HTC+Market+value&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#q=HTC+Market+capitalisation https://www.google.com/search?q=HTC+Market+value&oq=HTC+Mark... HTC has lost 50% of its market value over the past year. It is 1/3 of what it was worth in mid-2013. If you feel like counting the stock market bubble, HTC is work a bit under 7% of what it was worth in 2007. The money they are making now falls short of previous expectations. It falls short by a hell of a lot. Whatever it is they're doing now, it ain't what they hoped to be be doing. Meanwhile their rivals are profitable and valuable. What else do you call that but losing?

ensiferum 10y ago

I used to live next to a HTC office building in New Taipei City. I saw the engineers coming out at 8pm to grab some food and head back to the office. Im sure everyone at HTC is wondering how to work the staff more than already normal 14h a day to curb the downfall (;

triplesec 10y ago

It's a sad reality of modern business that marketing and brand are al. In principle it's laudable that HTC seems to be brilliantly engineering (AND UX) - led company, and doesn't value marketing and brand, but such is the world as it stands. I hope we don't lose the expertise-set of this company if it doesn't recover or is taken over by, say Samsung.

mcv 10y ago

I still haven't been able to find a high-end Android smartphone that is actually any good. I returned an HTC One after multiple repairs failed to fix the broken microphone. Maybe marketing is the real problem with HTC, but I'm also disappointed with the quality of the engineering of most manufacturers.

wodenokoto 10y ago

Saying that HTC phones were ugly until the 1 series is judging past design by todays environment. Back in the early smartphone days the HTC "chin" was the talk of the town. A bold design move that had people on the street talk about your phone. You could recognize it from a mile away, and the owner would always be happy to tell you that they love their chins. The back of the HTC diamond is something we today will consider ugly and corny, but back then it was a really cool design. Today's HTCs are pretty, but boring and don't stand out.