Since HTC properly burst on to the scene with its Android handsets a few years ago, the company has seen nothing but success, with its profits soaring year-on-year. It looks like those times are a’changing though.
HTC released its unaudited revenue for Q4 2011, and it shows a two-and-a-half per cent fall on the same quarter in 2010. Likewise, their operating income was just under $US430 million — a 22 per cent decline on the year before.
Pretty grim reading for the Taiwanese manufacturer. So what gives?
Competition. HTC was one of the first out of the blocks with decent Android handsets, sure, but they’ve failed to capitalise on their early successes. Other manufacturers are now churning out great handsets, many of which don’t have irritating bloatware like Sense installed on them. Leading that pack, without a doubt, is Samsung.
It’s not that HTC hasn’t been releasing decent products: we like the WP7 Titan and the Android-toting Rezound isn’t too bad either. But when the competition is stiff, you need great products, not just good ones. HTC needs to pull something pretty exciting out of the bag, and soon, if it isn’t going to get left behind. [HTC via Engadget]