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Smartphone Maker HTC Explores Strategic Options (bloomberg.com)
An anonymous reader shares a Bloomberg report: HTC, the beleaguered manufacturer that once ranked among the world's top smartphone makers, is exploring options that could range from separating off its virtual-reality business to a full sale of the company, according to people familiar with the matter. The Taiwanese firm is working with an adviser as it considers bringing in a strategic investor, selling or spinning off its Vive virtual reality headset business, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private. A full sale of HTC, which has businesses ranging from VR to headset manufacturing, is less likely because it doesn't fit obviously with one acquirer, one of the people said.
The HTC phone I had was fragile and the updating was near-nonexistent. Show me how many PC clone makers from the 1980s are still alive today - Dell, is Gateway still in business? and that's it. The market was going to consolidate and they weren't paying attention to the future.
In addition, no one has demonstrated much of a market in VR equipment yet.
HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
Steam/Valve, now is the time to buy the VR part of HTC: before it's too late.
#DeleteFacebook
I have had four HTC phones and they have all performed flawlessly. Sense is easily the best skin.
It's a shame that people so easily lean toward the Samsung's
Oh, and the big screens. I'm sure that is a selling point.
I will point out that the Samsung phones we see here in the US are the tip of the iceberg in terms of the (dumb and smart) phones available in Asia. HTC didn't seem to have much of a leg in the Korean or Japanese markets, as far as I could tell.
HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
Is that you APK? I thought you only fucked moose?
I have had five HTC phones as well (HTC Wizard, HTC One X Plus, HTC Desire HD, HTC A9, and a HTC M8.) All performed perfectly, the only reason I upgraded was just for speed. All the Android models were easily unlocked and a new ROM put on. I've done a lot of modding on those, and they are surprisingly brick resistant. Worst case, hold down volume-down and power, boot into HBOOT, and flash a RUU.
I'd definitely recommend them, as an alternative to Samsung.
Though Asus/Acer didn't get going in earnest until the 90s. To be fair nobody survives these days because if you're even a little weak you get bought out to stifle competition. We stopped enforcing Anti-Trust laws around 1995 or so.
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The moment they stopped making PDAs for power users, they lost. Everything is as simple as that.
Samsung and HTC were evenly paced when both pursued that market, a single misstep by HTC and plonk..., Sansung went ahead
Not to say that they had huge leverage over Google when they did so
I've had an HTC One M7 for years. I still use it today and it still runs every app I download just fine. Sure, I'm in need of an upgrade, but the phone itself still acts and behaves much like it did years ago.
My problem with HTC as I've kept track of them the last 4 years or so is they started charging more for their phones (I got two M7's for $50 each with a signup plan years ago), and they started doing boneheaded things like removing headphone jacks and other useful things at the same time.
If HTC slimmed down a bit and focused on what it used to do very well: Provide a stellar smartphone that does all the basics well without excessive flash or bling....If HTC did that, they'd probably be doing a lot better.
We already have Apple and Samsung. We don't need more bling phones. We need good phones that are reliable, run everything, and just work for years and years....Kinda' like the M7.
Did they puy JJ Abrams in charge of rebooting the company or something? I got an ADP, it still runs well enough to be usable (with android 2 on it). I got a HTC Vive the other month, it didn't work, and it took a month to get a refund - after they accused me of wrecking it - and I've been getting emails from HTC about "how was your customer expereince" ever since. WTF!?
I've had a G1, Sensation 4G, M7. M8, and now a U11. All superb for their times, the G1 surviving through Android DI think, and since it was released without working Bluetooth or an on-screen keyboard it grew up well. Cyanogenmod did the trick. The Sensation was surprisingly ho-hum, but the M7 on were superb. Apple should have used the M7 design. Sense is indeed the best manufacturer skin. My U11 is really, really nice. Ultimately nothing about the Galaxy S8 was worth $100 more, and the G7 is too late for me.
Battery longevity is big problem, but I see no phones I want with removable batteries. Sad.
HTC could live on if it had more capital, perhaps, but they are trapped in an interesting niche, with Samsung able to hit market with their own new chips early sand capture mindshare.
deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
I have a newer HTC for my business phone that's two years pld and the older one outlasts its batteries. I love my HTC phones and I'll be sad if I can't buy another when I need a new one.
I have had my share of HTC phones at the start of android (can't remember all the models), but I remember clearly that at some point the removed the sdcard, then the battery, then they made them more and more difficult to root and install roms, and afterwards it was just a matter of time. They shot themselves in the foot, they kept taking out the things people liked in their phones, what the hell did they expect was gonna happen? Most of the people I knew moved to nexus, and certainly all stopped buying htc.
Samsung spent a lot on marketing, and had a wide selection of models to choose from, I think that also accelerated their growth.
Translation: they don't have a fucking clue what they're doing.