Htc Analysis Essay

- Difficult to enter: Smartphone production involves many patents and proprietary knowledge. Even established companies are embroiled in legal battles over patent issues.

HTC’s competitive position is not sustainable. In fact, the disappointing financial performance in Q1 2012 and the increasingly decreasing operating margin all points to a slower growth. Besides the statistics, HTC also face several imminent threats, such as the popularity of Samsung and Apple’s smartphone offering, the increase in competitors in the smartphone market, the shift in market, from operator push to brand pull, and the ongoing patent war with Apple. However there are also opportunities HTC can take advantage of to keep its competitive position. The opportunities are presented in the high growth rate of Smartphone Market, 61% in 2011, and the lack of well made Android Tablet.

In this following report I will discuss the phone industry and analysed it in great detail. I will analysis the market structure and try and understand why the mobile industry falls to heavily oligopoly structure. I will highlight all the structures, however I will discuss in detail how, for example Vodafone can be incorporated in the porter’s five forces method to show how the mobile industry has devolved over the years and to understand if consumers are driven by the actual technology of the phone but if it driven more by style.

1. What is their business strategy to grow profitably and compete over the long term?

In the opinion of Baumol and Blinder (2011, p. 235), "monopolistic competition is a market structure characterized by many small firms selling somewhat different products." The authors in this case further note that the output of each entity is small in comparison to the market's aggregate output of competing but closely related products. With that in mind, the mobile phone market exhibits some key characteristics of monopolistic competition. In this market, customers in need of mobile phones are presented with a wide range of options to choose from. For instance, a customer who enters a mobile phone handset shop has the option of purchasing a Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Blackberry or even an LG handset. All these products despite being closely related are also largely differentiated. As Tucker (2010, p. 268) notes, "the key feature of

1. Evaluate HTC’s performance to date. What are its competitive advantages and vulnerabilities? Be sure to elaborate on HTC and its competitors’ positioning on performance and cost.

2000-2006: HTC made first time profits when it engineered and developed PDA for Compaq computer. HTC made an alliance with top hardware companies and became best hardware maker which led to release of the XDA, the first Windows based smartphone by collaborating with Microsoft. HTC operated in ODM business and Mobile operator business. HTC designed customized phones for Mobile operators based on their specifications which led them to gain attractive contracts from different Mobile operators. HTC contracts with mobile operators was reason for HTC’s early success. HTC relationship with Handspring to develop Treo smartphone facilitated the opportunity to learn about software and User-Interface design. By 2006, HTC was shipping more than 70% of the world Windows Mobile smartphones.

HTC is an engineering and manufacturing company, initially operating as an original device manufacturer for the PDA and smartphone markets. HTC made the decision to evolve into a branded company and experienced considerable growth. Scaling up to meet rising global demands has presented significant challenges for HTC. The leadership team is faced with aligning the firm’s global functions along with evaluating & executing a plan of attack in an intensely competitive technology-driven business climate.

HTC will reach customers and create a sustainable sales channel by developing a dynamic sales model that factors in the unique nature of different national and regional markets.

3. What does a competitive strength assessment reveal about Apple’s computer business, as compared to the leaders in the personal computer industry? Use the methodology in Table 4.2 to support your answer. Does it appear that the company’s competitive positions in personal media players and smartphones are stronger or weaker than its position in computers?

This paper explores the strategic actions that HTC can adopt in order to become a leading smartphone company

Answer: Both iPhone and iPod have experienced a large amount of price cut in their product lifecycle. In this document, we can find that iPod was launched in October 2001. Tough relatively high priced for an MP3 player, it was hugely demanded and remains popular till date though there was a price slash in 2005. Similar to the price cut of the iPod, two months after the launch of the iPhone, Apple lowered the price by 200 USD.

HTC is one of the world’s most successful and innovative manufacturing company. Their original business plan was to manufacture laptops which had issues because it had “high production costs, technical glitches, and lack of brand recognition”. HTC tackled the PDA market in 2011 and reported their first profit that year. In the early 2000s, their main manufacturing segments was the original design manufacturer (ODM) for branded handset companies and producing phone for wireless network operators. They focused their resources on customized approaches with mobile operators to differentiate HTC from other contract manufacturers which helped them gained a sense of control over their product portfolio. In 2006, they were facing other competitors who were catching up in the ODM market, which gave Palm and HP, two of HTC’s biggest customers, to look for different partners that were cheaper alternatives. Peter Chou, the new CEO that took over 2006, recognized that their company lacked branding. They needed to set themselves apart from its competitors and this will lead to greater control over the company’s future. Thus, is the reason why Chou wanted to release its own smartphone. Serval directors on board disagreed and was worried that “their operator customers could view HTC as a competitor, creating conflict of interest between HTC’s own brand sales and customized phones for the operators” (Alcacer, Kim, Yoffie, 2012). HTC’s marketing strategy was

HTC Corporation (HTC) is a Taiwanese operation founded in May 1997 in Taiwan, which is one of the most influential, creative and leading players in global telecommunications with an n increasing influence in the industry’s future (HTC quietly billion, 2012). HTC’s portfolio includes smartphones and tablets powered by the Android and HTC Sense™ operating systems (HTC Annual Report, 2010). Focusing on smartphone market; devoting to innovation and design in the mobile phone industry; and committing to develop exceptional technology and products to cater for the diverse and exceed needs of users are HTC’s current brand strategies. In addition, HTC response to market changes fast and provides

In the appraisal I will discuss my findings on HTC’s entry into the Indian mobile phone market. HTC was founded in 1997, it has been making a strong name for itself internationally. In 2007, the company entered the Indian market and quickly made a name for itself providing the first touch and Android phone