HTC recently upped the ante with new advertising campaigns featuring Robert Downey Jr. However, they don’t seem to be helping as the Taiwanese manufacturer’s revenue went down by 16% in the month of August, a drop of 45% as compared to the same period last year and a fall of 56% from the month of May, when the HTC One first started shipping. This fall in revenue has taken place at a time coinciding with the revival of rival Samsung’s profits, which suggests that flagship smartphones from each of the manufacturers have resulted in a reversal of popularity. Although the HTC One was initially looked at as the biggest threat to Samsung’s Galaxy S4, it seems that Samsung has managed to hold its own against its competitors even as HTC struggles to maintain its market.
The HTC One 4G is available for a reduced sale price now starting at $49$0.01 – $599.00.
What makes this worse for HTC is that in order to fulfill projected revenue, sales for the company will have to increase by over 60% sequentially. This doesn’t look very likely, as HTC’s best performance this year came in May, when the company registered a 48% increase in its sales compared to the month before. All this, coupled with the fact that the HTC One will face increased competition with the arrival of the LG G2 and Apple’s iPhone 5C and 5S, doesn’t bode well for HTC’s future.
In other news, according to a report published in Japan, Panasonic might be withdrawing from the consumer smart phone industry. The Japanese manufacturer has repeatedly failed to come up with popular phones unlike its fellow compatriot Sony. The company’s best shot was the water and dust resistant Panasonic Eluga, which was launched in 2011, but did not manage to make a mark in the worldwide market and wasn’t even picked up by any carrier in the US.
Panasonic used to be the biggest mobile phone manufacturer in Japan back until 2001, with a 19% share of the market that year. However, that figure has now shrunk down to just 7%, trailing the 24% share of Apple’s iPhone. As it stops competing in the consumer market, Panasonic plans to allow other manufacturers to use its name brand in emerging markets. Panasonic does plan to continue the production of its Toughbook line of smart phones, which are customized for rugged usage.
The HTC One 4G can be purchased at a discounted price tag now starting at $49$0.01 – $599.00.
