HTC has released its unaudited October 2012 financial results, showing a year-on-year fall in revenues of 60 percent. Last month the Taiwanese phone maker brought in NT$17.2 billion ($588 million), down from NT$44.114 billion ($1.5 billion) during the same period in 2011.
For the year to date, HTC reported total unconsolidated revenues of NT$246.2 billion ($8.4 billion).
Today's news follows similarly disappointing third-quarter numbers that saw HTC narrowly hit its revenue target, marking a 48 percent year-on-year fall for that quarter.
HTC will be hoping that new devices like the One X+, Windows Phone 8X and 8S as well as the (unannounced) Droid DNA will help to change its fortunes in the dying days of 2012. But with stronger competition than ever from the likes of Samsung and Apple, it won't be an easy task.
Source: HTC
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HTC October 2012 financials make for troubling reading
I gotta agree as well. I've had 5 Thunderbolts. #'s 2,3, and 4 were all bunk refurbs, but #5 was a new replacement and has been working great for me for the last year. I actually like my Thunderbolt, but I don't use more than 2 gigs a month of data, so I'm looking to upgrade because it will lower my bill by more than $30.
reason HTC financials suck = THEIR FLAGSHIP PHONES ARE ONLY ON 1 FN CARRIER!!!!! STOP THE EXCLUSIVES AND STOP THE BLEEDING!!
Brand recognition. I just asked the least technologically inclined person in my workplace who made the Galaxy phones and she said "Samsung", then asked who made the One X, she'd never heard of it, or of HTC.
I'm never going to buy another HTC phone again after I had the Thunderbolt. I have 3 months to go for my new upgrade, I'm happy to say that I'm moving on to the new Galaxy Note 2.
Ditto for me. I bought the Amaze last year based on specs and reviews, and have never been anything but disappointed, due to software and hardware issues. Currently, it won't connect to our WiFi at work at all, I've determined the issue is their wpa_supplicant (driver issue) and they have failed to resolve it in 6 months. $FAIL. It turns itself off randomly every few days, sometimes for an hour before I've discovered that I've missed reminders or calls. $FAIL.
I'll never buy anything from HTC again. Further, I tell anyone who'll listen (and even some that won't) that it's a throwaway "burner," they don't support it more than 5 minutes after you've bought it.
Have fun circling the drain, HTC. Try not to leave a soap ring on the tub.
I have owned many phones in my lifetime, currently, my son owns the gs2 what a p.o.s. terrible antenna, always shutting down. We have 2 EVO 4g, still running, and my favorite EVO 4g LTE is a wonderful phone with no problems , I am on Sprint, service which is improving there signal. I am a apple hater from way back, so that phone will always be out,. I stick with phones that work. It gets great battery life, sd card, and the screen is the right size. All you young whippersnappers should feel lucky that technology has changed I owned one of the biggest phones ever, it was the size of a six pack. Don't turn into 'I need the New flavor of the day". Manufactures will upgrade there products if they are not selling. Be patient.
But we are the ones telling our friends what phones to buy.
If they would only stop with the carrier exclusive crap, and release the same phones with the same specs and the same names on all carriers at the same time...
Their phones are buggy pieces of garbage. The hardware is second to none, but this is the second HTC I've owned and man do I feel stupid for buying a second one. The Evo 4G was a nightmare for me, I think I went through 5 of them and then just finally learned to live with a handicapped phone. I do not know how I convinced myself that the new Evo 4G LTE was going to be different...I think I just really wanted a new phone after 2 years of the piece of garbage original Evo. At this point, between Sprint's abysmal service and HTC's crap-tastic software, I feel like a complete moron.
To top it off, over at S4gru they are saying that even when Sprint finally lights up LTE, my phone is half-baked and will have major problems connecting.
At this point, I think I'm going to cut my losses and get a Nexus 4.
The Droid DNA will bring things back for HTC.
It's a combination of things. Marketing is one thing, but there is plenty of discussion about what latest device rules the roost. Currently it is the S3. Why? Not just because Samsung has marketed it but because it covers all the bases really well. HTC misses a few points with their phones that just make the s3 a better choice for most people. The lack of sd card is one. The weak battery is something HTC has done for years and never learns. Lack of carrier support is another. People can't buy the phone if it's not available.
HTC can release the new DNA all they want. It may have that same beautiful screen and great camera but if the battery is still weak then no one will buy it. The s3 is the safer bet.
I absolutely hate that htc is doing so poorly. They really do make cool ass phones. I hope they catch a break because I don't want this company to go under.
One word: Marketing. Samsung learned from Apple. It's time for HTC to learn. Companies tell consumers what they want and that's how it's always been. Turn on your radio. Yeah, that's popular. Not because it's good but because the record companies said so.
I agree 100%. Samsung markets their products flagship products.
Samsung Mobile markets at every Nascar race (the winners circle has a photo of a Samsung phone right behind the driver as he's being interviewed). Viewers of last nights MNF game saw Lebron James using a Galaxy Note 2. Samsung was the title sponsor for the summer Olympics, and the GSIII was everywhere.
You can't sell your product if no one knows it exist. HTC cannot demand their products be on every carrier. They surely cannot stop the carriers from forcing them to make different variations of the same product to fit the carriers whim because HTC sales do not have the leverage needed to do so.
Samsung learned from Apple, and marketed the mess out of their flagships, and as a result they sell a bunch of phones. Now they have leverage with the carriers, and can offer the same device and specs they offer overseas, and get their flagship products on every US carrier.
Like the iPhone, the carriers need Samsung. When an average person walks into a carrier store they typically will ask for one of two devices; iPhone or Galaxy.
Makes you wonder how much money is spent on Sense R&D.
I wish they would just try to release a stock Android phone. Not a Nexus (although I'd like that too) just a stock Android device, the carriers get to put their crap on it but the device has almost no further development costs in putting sense on top of each new release of Android. The updates would come out so much faster, I just wish they would try it.
This would be awesome. Have all the features of the flagship phones (better camera, FM radio, SD card etc..) but have the OS be stock Android.
Now that I am running cm10 on my evo lte I feel like I have an HTC Nexus again. Unfortunately they just can't seem to get it together. They make hands down the best feeling phones out there. It is too bad my next phone will most likely be made entirely of plastic...
IMO - HTC needs to step it up in marketing here in the US and for those that say HTC should not play ball with the carriers, I think I can sum that up in one word:
Nokia
How did that work for them?
Their sales are tanking because they aren't building what people want. Yes, microsd and removable batteries are a big deal. It isn't a marketing problem, it's a failure to prioritize function over form and build innovative devices that people want to use.
No, they're not a big deal for most consumers. People like the users of this website fail to understand that 90% of the public is never going to carry around a spare battery, or fill up their phones internal storage.
If the lack of expandable storage and replaceable batteries kept regular consumers away from smartphones, please explain the iPhone.
People who want that already own iphones. HTC has positioned themselves as an iphone competitor instead of as an Android innovator, and their sales are in a nosedive because of it.
People don't view these as simple phones any more. They know greater capabilities are available, and they know what they want and what they don't want. You can only stick someone with a crappy limited product once (and only if they haven't been warned by friends that it's crappy and limited). The next time they're going to choose to buy something that won't suffer the same limitations. HTC is at least 2 years behind the curve, and today's Android consumers aren't buying products with unnecessary limitations.
Odd the phones they are counting on (sans W8 phones) are all carrier exclusive. But I think the key to their turnaround is in the Chinese market. Whoever says that removable battery and SD cards are the reason for the lackluster sales, then why did the 3VO not sell that much, being out had both features...aside from the 3D "gimmick". On topic can anyone say for sure how the mobile market worlds with carriers? Does the manufacturer shop the devices around and the carriers decide of they want to sell them, or does the single out carriers?
Impending death knell for HTC? :( At this point, I don't even think any new Android or WP8 devices will save them. Samsung and Apple are just too strong of competitors to contend with on a global scale. They are going to slide into obscurity unless they take an all or nothing approach to unifying their brand like Samsung has done with Galaxy. Their fragmented product lines, at least here in the U.S., doesn't help that cause.
Of course that's a simplified view of what is a complex problem. I think what we are seeing now are the weakest members of the Android pack beginning to stumble and fall behind in a very competitive landscape. Nobody really thinks that all the Android OEMs will live in perfect harmony and come out all winners in the end, do you?
the company that makes POS phones, and neglects updating them is in financial trouble ???????????
I have owned multiple htc phones, and I have had to have each replaced because they just stopped working, and even the replacements had issues. I have sworn them off, and I am sure I am not alone.
Of course there will be htc fanboys, but you are the only ones that like their products.
Like many have said here and many feel. HTC makes great phones the problem is no one but their true fan base knows about them. Just a little bit more marketing would help them a great deal. I know they don't have the budget of Samsung but at least do some quality marketing over quantity. Samsung has the money to market and go against Apple in their ads. Samsung is showing features that the HTC devices were already doing but no one knew about it except true HTC fans. The general population doesn't research like most of us here that use these type of forums and sites. Most of the general population only knows Apple, Samsung, and Droid (Motorola) thanks to the backing of Google. They have the right people making great phones now find some great people to market these great phones.
They tried is all i can say. I stuck by htc for the last 3 or 4 upgrades. My last time now is the evo3d. It was great while it lasted but now I'm on my 8th evo3d and the lte isn't much of an upgrade and htc keeps doing these exclusive deals so even if I thought of getting their new phone I couldn't. I'm switching to sammy. The note 2 is calling my name!
8th 3D? Come on now...
I believe it, whether it being from crappy refurbs or phones that just don't work. I had 7 Thunderbolts before they finally swapped it for a different phone completely. 2 of them that I received I couldn't even turn on because the power buttons didn't work properly. Horrible QC.
I think this has been said many times already, but HTC needs to regroup and unify. Make one device with great specs and internals, change certain internals to work with each carrier's network, then release it across all carriers. One flagship device, not 5 for each carrier or something like that. (Oh, and get battery life under wraps!)
The S3 is simply a much more attractive phone to a standard consumer. Only those anal about having the absolute best screen would choose the X+ over the S3. HTC needs to wake up to reality. Put a MicroSD and removable battery in the X/X+ and they would not have had this issue although Samsung does overall have much better name recognition. Point is that the only reason to buy a X over a S3 is the screen but 98% of buyers would look at both and see no difference cause not everyone reads in depth screen reviews and uses I microscope to evaluate their smartphone screen. I really laugh at all the those that go with the X over the S3 because of the screen. You give up so much for such little difference in screen quality.
You sir are terribly wrong. You don't need a microscope to see the huge difference between the X's screen and the S3's, it is visible to the human eye, no question about it. Anyone stating anything different is a hypocrite. (no hard feelings)
My best friend has a EVO 4G LTE and if I put them side by side I can see a difference but nothing that would make me give up any single other feature of the S3 (wireless charging, Allshare Cast/Miracast, removable battery, or MicroSD support although the EVO has the latter. Now put the phones and different rooms and ask someone who does not know the difference to walk from room to room and tell me which screen is better I'll bet no one can tell the difference. You are just to anal the screen, the S3 has a great screen, just not as great as a X.
The screen to some is a big issue but Ive had only htc phones and the screen on them isn't bad. The samsung phones have more brightness to the colors which is something that I always noticed. But ever since the s3 and now the note 2 samsung beats htc in screen quality. The reason people choose the s3 is not because of screen but because of the amount of features it has compared to the x. In features alone the s3 blows the x out of the water.
All that is subjective, the real reason why people buy the s3 is simply because Samsung learned to market the hell out of it like apple does with the iphone. HTC needs to stop with these fragmented releases and just mass market one damn phone and continuous support as the months go buy. I mean seriously, the one x, the one x+ and this? All with in 6 months? They need to do what samsung/apple is doing.
You are wrong... It's like this... You walk into a car dealer and there are two cars that are very similar in price and performance but one has power windows, power locks, A/C, sunroof and the other has a higher end paint job. Both paint jobs are good but one is better. Which car do you think 90% of the people will buy?????
Marketing is features and consumers feel they get a better deal with more features regardless if they use them or not. I for one use the extra features and wouldn't even consider and X.
Dupe post
They have many issues that they failed to address, including their own new "philosophy" of releasing less products but better quality. They had issues with the One series phones at release and also decided to give AT&T an exclusive and release the lesser One S on T-Mobile while Verizon and Sprint got nothing comparable to the One X. They should've pushed it to all carriers. Then they push out One X+ (which is just a slightly upgraded version of the One X) and it's also exclusive to AT&T! Meanwhile Samsung, Apple, and even the Nexus line have new phones coming out.
Samsung galaxy S3 and Note 2 got released on all carriers. The iPhone is available on all except T-Mobile. All are huge sellers. Blanket the market, advertise the phones. That's what Samsung and Apple do and there is no question that they sell a ton of high-end phones. 5" J butterfly rumored for Verizon but it's almost the end of 2012. If you wait and wait to release a few phones you'll be following blackberry, and that's not where you want to go. Windows 8 phones? 2% of phones run Windows so that is not going to put them back in the game. I love HTC and have had many HTC phones (and a Compaq iPaq 3835 from 2001 that was made by HTC) but they cannot continue the way they are going. I hope they can learn from their mistakes before they are gone.
I can't argue on Verizon's Droid Incredible 4G LTE; it's a nice mid-range phone and not much more. However, Sprint's EVO 4G LTE is at last as good a phone as, if not better than, the AT&T One X. Same chip (Qualcomm S4), same freaking amazing screen, same HTC Sense (opinions differ on whether this is an improvement, but it's still the same stuff), same 16 GB of internal storage, same great camera, same (easily disable-able) Beats Audio equalizer, and both have LTE radios
In addition, the EVO adds a slightly bigger battery, a kickstand (you can ignore it I'd you don't like it), a physical camera button, and a microSD card slot (I'd prefer 32 GB internal for having everything in one place, but I'll take what I can get).
If you couldn't tell already, I'm using one right now.
I seriously hope HTC reads the above comments. I'd hate to see them die.
y not release the one x and j butter fly to all carriers and fucking update sigh
While I love HTC hardware the one x is in my opinion a better looking device and it feels much better in hand than the s3. But what HTC has failed at in my opinion is marketing, fragmentation, specs, and software their is no way you can tell me to buy a one x over a s3 when the s3 is full of great additions a bigger battery and double the ram. When the S4 powered HTC devices were released they were plagued with memory issues which should have been dealt with prior to launch . I want to see HTC succeed but they have to put in the work get the j butterfly on every carrier like the one x should have been. I know the carriers are the are a big hold up but if Samsung can get it done so can HTC. And honestly other than looking good what does sense 4 bring to the table? nothing you have media link which isn't that big of a thing and a pretty lock screen.
The memory / multi-tasking issue is the reason I picked the S3 over the X. When updated to Gingerbread, my Evo 4G would have to reset itself after opening a web browser as there wasn't enough memory for Sense. I didn't feel like going through that problem again.
I used to love HTC, but due to how they treat their customers, I don't want to deal with them again.
My Dad has the Sensation XL. For ages his phone has had a bug where the phone often takes a screenshot when he presses the home button, as if the power button was held down at the same time. The screenshot also has the same loud sound effect like taking a photo. HTC refused to acknowledge that there was a fault with the phone.
With me, I had the HTC Desire HD. HTC promised an ICS update for the phone, then cancelled it the same month it was due for release. Not only that, but they actually lied to us when they explained that it was due to performance issues, even though lesser-spec phones still got the update.
On the inspire HD actually I can assure you that the newer file system that came with ics was going to require a full system wipe. Meaning you get an ota and it wipes your phone completely!! Idk y they just didn't post it to their website and you do it at your own risk of lost data. I have the at&t version (inspire) I am rooted I got an aokp rom. But even the developer had issues at first with the file system without wiping it all.as their statement said to their advanced users it mite not seem so much an issue, but to the general public unacceptable. Not a direct quote but you get the idea rite??
In the early days, Sense was a must have for many (including myself). it brought enhancements that no other manufacturer provided. It was a bit laggy but I gladly made the compromise. They had nice hardware specs and design so that was icing on the cake.
Problem is that they did nothing while Samsung went past them like a full bus in the UI and design department (my opinion on the latter) while they actually took a step backward (non-removable battery and no SD card, both things Samsung provides in all their flagship products) a non-sensical notion which they seem to INSIST to maintain.
All I have to say is HTC, you have yourself only to blame for this mess. It was nice knowing ya.
+1
Big killer for them is the way they let the U.S. carriers split up their phones. They can't have a flagship because they can't get the same phone across all carriers. No one but AT&T users got to see a real One X. No one but Verizon will see the J Butterfly. Even if they do get something cross carrier it will have a different name and look and won't be able to build buzz. If that J Butterfly was a universal release I'm pretty sure it would blow everyone else out of the water for a while.
I sincerely hope that HTC recover from these recent troubles as they've made some excellent phones and are tied very closely with Android what with the first Google OS handset being the Dream/G1 then the Hero and Desire/Nexus models bringing it to the masses.
I really don't understand why the One X/S hasn't brought more sales for them, they're every bit the equal of the S3 and in my opinion that bit better.
I know people will drone on about expandable storage and removable batteries but that really makes absolutely no real world difference to the majority of the public (you only need to take a look at Apple's success for that) as most don't need to store huge amounts of films on their phone and 16/32GB is more than enough for most peoples apps/music.
As for the removable battery, the only real reason to need that is so you can carry around a spare which is something that very few people do (yes I know that there maybe other reasons such as what if the battery dies and so on but thats no different to if any other part of your phone gives up the ghost and quite frankly it's never happened to me once throughout my phone history from the mid 90's).
And seriously I know there are some HTC Sense haters on here for one reason or another but personally I find it to be incredibly useful with the benefits it adds to vanilla and doesn't slow down a handset like the One X in the slightest, most people who dislike it just trot out the same old "bloated" and "slow" arguments which may have been true on some devices but I've never found to be so on my old Desire or my current One X.
More power and sales to HTC as far as I'm concerned they make far better looking and built handsets than Samsung and many others but seem to be getting sidelined for no real reason at the moment.
Epandable storage and a removable battery absolutely make a real world difference. My S3 currently has 17 gig on the internal memory and 19 gig on the sd card. I am also rocking an Anker extended battery that provides two days heavy use on a single charge. I never have to scale back my use for fear of running out of juice.
HTC can take the subjective "better looking device" category. Meanwhile my S3 is my complete media player (thanks SD slot) that goes forever (thanks extended battery).
I did state that it was true for the majority of people not for everyone, they're are probably many people who use this site that do need removable batteries and expandable storage but that does not mean they are typical of the majority of the public by any means.
If the One X has removable battery and expandable storage, I would choose it over the S3. Fine, I'm the exception because I'm a special user (forum member). But the people that I know, none technical and none forum member, all except 1, also chose to own the S3 over One X because of the One X lack 1. removable battery or 2. expandable storage.
I'm not saying those 2 are the reasons people in general public don't buy One X, but based on my observation of the people I know, it is pointing to that direction.
Carriers like Verizon no longer offer unlimited data plan. It is increasing more important to people to have a removable storage option, am I wrong?
I agree to an extent because I have the S3 and wouldn't get the One X because I don't have ATT and wont ever join that cult. Secondly the masses may not care but what do a lot of buyers do before they make a phone purchase? They ask friends. Almost all my friends ask me what I recommend they get and I give them the cons and pros of some of the same features you are talking about. They might not of known about the limitations about the battery/storage until I told them but after they hear that, they no longer want any part of it. Plus it doesn't hurt that I feel HTC has turned me off after owning two HTC phones that were both complete trash.
Asking a friend who carries a certain device for advice on if they should buy that one or a different one, almost always leads to them getting the same device. Most "regular" folks won't give neutral advice the way a good salesperson would. Even if you try to stay in the middle, there is always the bias of why you chose what you did, as well as the extra influence of being their friend.
People ask me which phone they should buy and a deep look at all the phones makes me go for the one x every time. Now with the one x + its really a no brainer. The best thing about the one x is it came with the media link . It's a small thing you attach to your tv and you can stream every thing from your phone to your 52 inch tv, or any size of tv for that matter. The results are amazing, watching your movies and everything on the big screen amazed me every time that such a small phone can do such big things
There's no single solution for HTCs troubles. It's going to take a lot of hard work and even harder decisions.
My personal belief is that they need to cut their R&D spending in half and move it to marketing. Why R&D a dozens different devices. They said they were going to cut back on devices, and they have to a degree. They need to scale back even more.
I'm not sure if carriers do this, but HTC need to shift cost of development of exclusive devices to the carriers that request them. Stop wasting your money building different body's for different carriers.
Instead of saying that you want to make your own brand, do it!
The One brand can only move forward if you force carriers hands. If you tell them your not going to keep making them 'special' devices, they will relent.
Case in point: Verizon.
Now Verizon has convinced millions in the US that their network offers the best service and its the most reliable. And I concur. They also give you the sense that they offer the best devices. This is not always true, but they offer a decent variety. With that image, you'll notice that most of their devices are from well known OEMs.
HTC needs to use this knowledge to their advantage. Tell them that your not going to keep building Droid phones and say that you'll be spending your money building your One brand with AT&T. This threat won't seem strong at first, but only time will get results.
Apple and now Samsung, have learn the most critical things about carriers: they need them, not the other way around. What use is a phone company with no devices? I guarentee you that almost no one will buy a phone built by Verizon; or that Verizon would even be stupid enough to try it.
HTC has to take their company back from the carriers.
I think the problem is, HTC doesn't have the leverage to take that stand with carriers like Apple and Samsung do. The HTC phones aren't selling well, so they can't exactly make a ton of demands.
If they decide to just do one model across all carriers, the carriers can easily say "You don't want to give us our special line? OK, we don't need your low volume phone anyway."
One X was released with half-baked Sense though the hardware(especially the display) is pretty good. They just need to market their phones better, Samsung phones are everywhere these days.
I love you HTC but you guys are done.