Category Archives: HTC
How HTC’s 5 handsets fared before the One release
Rating: perhaps it will knock the One X off HTC’s top slot
It seems that HTC‘s new much delayed flagship device, the HTC One, has finally become commercially available in the USA as of last Friday [April 19th 2013]. That’s despite fears that it was still being delayed. The Taiwanese handset manufacturer says it is available from two MNOs (Sprint AT &T) with T-Mobile being able to offer the handset any day now. The only worrying thing is that amongst the other outlets is the company’s own web site and that proudly proclaims the fact the device is “coming soon.” Continue reading
Guest Post: Why Micromax’s strategy is working in India
by Asif Iqbal Shaik, a consumer electronics expert with MySmartPrice
Micromax, probably the most famous local smartphone brand in India, is turning quite a few heads these days. According to the latest figurers, it has surpassed all other smartphone brands except Samsung and is hovering in second place according to IDC. We’re talking about smartphones here, not mobile phones. Micromax currently sells only Android based smartphones in India and nearby countries in the Indian sub continent. A brand, which no one knew about three to four years ago, growing to such a strong market share is hard to believe. Let’s have a look at three good reasons why Micromax is successful in India. Continue reading
Guest Post: Top 10 handsets of 2012
by Saffy Kaurdashian, a blogger with 91mobiles
GoMo News asked me to pick my favourite handsets from last year. 2012 witnessed all kinds of smartphone technology. Some were so quirky it was hard to see them as phones. Many manufacturers have tried to use an ‘exaggeration element’ to try and win publicity, curiosity and ultimately sales. The smartphones that faired the best are however the ones that managed to include performance, style, and something decidedly attractive in each device. That makes them desirable at a time where money spending has been curbed due to the slumping economy. With most of the popular phones being all touchscreen, there is an argument which says that the QWERTY hardware era has ended. Let’s take a look at the phones that settled at the Top Ten slots below. Continue reading
HTC shares at record low as delays hit phone launch
First quarter profits for Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC have slumped to a record low, denting hopes it could reverse its declining fortunes.
The company cited problems in making camera components for its new HTC One device, with the delay pushing back its full launch to the end of this month.
That cost the manufacturer heavily as sales for the period fell to NT$42.8 billion ($1.4 billion), compared to forecasts of NT$50-NT$60 billion. Profits were also down to NT$85 million ($2.85 million). Continue reading
Facebook opts for social media centric Android UI with Home
Rating: First showcase handset will be HTC First
Actually we think the latest move by social networking giant, Facebook, is rather clever. Rather than trying to entice cellular subscribers with a dedicated smartphone/tablet offering, with ‘Facebook Home’ the web giant has opted to offer a social media centric UI running on top of Google’s Android OS. Is there an element of irony here? Continue reading
Six in ten smartphones sold in UK now Android, says Kantar
But the clouds still over BlackBerry
Latest figures from market researcher Kantar confirm Android’s overwhelming dominance of the UK smartphone market, accounting for six in every ten handsets sold. But, as with the rest of the world, Kantar’s quarterly survey up to February [2013] also reveals BlackBerry as continuing to lose ground, with the once dominant manufacturer taking just 5.1 per cent of sales in the period, down from 16.8 per cent a year ago.
Guest Post: A swift look back at MWC 2013
by Jim Somers, CMO with Antenna Software
Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2013 ended with record-breaking attendance from more than 72,000 visitors, and over 1,500 participating companies – according to the local Press. The event itself took place in a newly founded 94,000 square metres of exhibition space – which I must say was a welcomed change by myself, particularly for the outdoor networking spaces. While there were some great announcements at the show, a few companies held off announcing anything at all and opted to create noise either before or after the congress. Continue reading
Guest Post: How the Premium brand dual-SIM smartphone became a reality
by Asif Iqbal, a blogger & consumer electronics expert with MySmartPrice
We’ve seen strong sales in niche categories getting a lot of attention from manufacturers. One such niche is the dual-SIM category. The relative ease with which a SIM card can be obtained combined with the low tariffs mean that a lot of users (especially in India) choose to use two numbers simultaneously. As such, the dual-SIM segment has also grown to cater to a wider audience in terms of choice.
First, the low cost Chinese brands were the first to go aggressive with the release of dual-SIM phones which had other features such as really loud speakers and touchscreens. Continue reading
Mixed reaction to the HTC One launch
Rating: Camera, Blink Feed, aluminium casing all mentioned
There has been a bit of a mixed reaction to the introduction yesterday [February 19th 2013] of HTC‘s Samsung S3 and Apple iPHone5 killer smartphone – the One. Vodafone seems to view it as just another smartphone in its 4G ready range. Ernest Doku, an expert with uSwitch.com, likes its camera the best. Research analyst with Informa Telecoms & Media, Julian Jest, has gone heavy on the One’s UI which he reckons makes it WP8-like. Meanwhile, UK High Street retailer, Phones 4u, was most impressed by the “beautifully crafted, full aluminium metal body with zero gap construction that took 12 years to perfect.” It did like Blink Feed function too as well as the camera. It looks like things could go either way for the Taiwanese handset manufacturer, though. Continue reading
iPhone no longer the UI leader says On Device
Rating: Actually Motorola RAZR users are happier
Another clear sign that Apple is losing its way and that Android based handsets are winning out has been provided by On Device Research. It has mined data gathered from 320,000 mobile and tablet users across six countries to produce a user satisfaction table taken from 92, 825 mobile users in the USA. The report shows the iPhone coming in fifth place behind four Android based handset. Coming as no surprise to GoMobile News, the Motorola Droid RAZR M took second place behind the Motorola Atrix HD. Continue reading
Guest Post: Are early HTC handsets just too good?
by James Rosewll, CEO with 51degrees.mobi
During December 2012 in the United States, the HTC Evo 4G contributed 20 per cent of all HTC devices web traffic. What is remarkable about this figure is that the HTC Evo 4G was first released in June 2010 and is 35 months old. The HTC One series of devices were released during 2012 and contributed less than 10 per cent of HTC’s web traffic in the same month. This begs the question, “Are HTC devices released pre 2012 too good to upgrade?” Continue reading
HTC eyes China as profits set to be wiped out
Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC has revealed how its Q1 revenues for 2013 could be down 17 per cent and that profits could be wiped out, thanks to overwhelming competition from rivals Samsung and Apple.
The company’s gloomy outlook comes amid plans by HTC to introduce a five-inch flagship in the West, though otherwise it says it intends to focus on emerging markets such as China in the future to reverse the decline. Continue reading
Facebook shares soar amid rumours of own smartphone launch
Shares in social networking site Facebook hit a six month high yesterday following rumours that Mark Zuckerberg’s company is set to unveil its own smartphone.
Speculation was sparked when Facebook sent out invitations to a special event for next week, encouraging guests to “come and see what we’re building” and reigniting earlier suggestions that it’s about to launch its own branded smartphone, possibly in conjunction with Taiwan’s HTC. Continue reading
HTC’s profits in shock 90% slump
Fourth quarter plummets to lowest since 2004
Profits for Taiwanese mobile phone maker, HTC, have suffered a massive downturn, Q4 results have revealed, as the company continues to be hit by competition from rivals Apple and Samsung. According to Bloomberg, HTC’s net profit for the period of T$1 billion ($34 million; £21 million) was not only 90 per cent down on the same quarter for 2011, but represented the manufacturer’s smallest quarterly profit since 2004. But with no major products launches during the period to boost sales, losses were not as bad as analysts feared and it’s thought the worst may now be over. Continue reading
Nokia’s job posting fuels rumours it might be planning Android phone
Nokia’s posting of a job vacancy on a social networking site has sparked rumours it might be thinking of easing its dependency on Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS and hitching its bandwagon to Android after all.
Continue reading
