Htc : My First Smartphone

The sensation of the iPhone is obvious in person; everywhere you go, someone has one of these devices in their possession. With millions of units selling every year, it is no wonder that the device is becoming highly ubiquitous and iconic. Like other Apple products, the iPhone is something that is easily recognized all around the world. The same phone has been selling for over four years now with cosmetic and hardware updates for each year’s new iteration, along with an operating system that is becoming more refined. Since its release in 2007, the iPhone has been a massively successful product for Apple, who has sold more than 100 million units in the iPhone's first four year, including 18.6 million in the first quarter of 2011 (Artman). Other competitors make smartphones that are better than the iPhone in many ways, yet Apple is selling more than ever. Other companies release new phones faster than the yearly refresh of Apple’s iPhones, but the latest isn’t always the greatest. It isn’t the technology that makes the iPhone successful, but rather the cool factor that the device expresses (Mintz).

It has been evidenced that Mac Users would never prefer to shift to any other brand and so is true for I Phone users. The intangible aspects like after sales support and warranties are also best in class for the products and thus the user experience has been always very high.

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.

* HTC’s average product life cycle is approximately 3 quarters, which is about half of the industry average. This will give HTC more flexibility to react on market responses.

There are many competing brands of smart phones and Samsung has reported a decline of profits in 2014. Information from GSM arena shows than Samsung released 54 new phone models in 2014 , compared with 24 by HTC , 11 Motorola and 2 by Apple, leading to increased production costs and lack focus on a specific customer segments thereby losing some of its competitive advantage (GSM Arena , 2015).The lack of popularity of its own OS (Tizen ) and dependence on Google’s Android platform makes it vulnerable on google to develop an “ecosystem”. There are component integration issues as well as loss revenue from potential App sales (Strategic Mangement insight , 2015). Negative publicity from litigation due to patents are likely to continue as technology patents are vague and Samsung with is large portfolio is likely to infringe on some of the patents (Tibken, 2014).

My personal experience, it is the quality that triggered me to buy the mobile phone. Ever since the iPhone 1st generation until now I am using iPhone 6 Plus, the operating system (OS) is really user friendly to most of

Over the mid-year, Apple was offering a little more than half of the worldwide premium cell phones, and Samsung was offering just shy of 25%. By December 2016, those figures had developed to 70% and 17%, separately” (Richardson, 2017).

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.

Since IMEI is one of the major reason for the loss of sales of this phone, so they should develop phones that have IMEI codes so that they can be tracked easily. This will help a lot to them in exports to india as well.

Once again Apple has been the first to the market when it comes to new features such as the touch screen, which has helped to keep its competition at arms length. Like all other Apple products, the smartphone is seen by many consumers in the industry as fashionable and a must have. Also Apple’s online music store support has also been a huge lift to its smartphones, as consumers can download music and thousands of applications.

A large debate that has been discussed on the internet, is the war between the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the iPhone 6S. Many people ask which one is better? How do they compare? Is the more expensive iPhone worth it? How can someone decide which one to buy? However, this is not a new dispute. Samsung and Apple have been going head to head to have the best flagship smartphone on the market. They have even had a series of lawsuits over patent rights infringement. Both the Galaxy S6 and the iPhone 6S have characteristics that make them unique. The Galaxy S6 however, has just enough features that make it a better phone. The Samsung Galaxy S6 is a more sophisticated and advanced smartphone than the iPhone 6S because it is able to be personalized; it has a larger, more pixelated screen, but weighs less; and the CPU speed drastically surpasses the iPhone.

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

smartphones, first dual-mode GSM/ WiMAX phone, first 3G Android phone, and first 4G LTE Android phone. Also, HTC Sense, launched in 2009, was a momentous breakthrough that revolutionized the mobile phone experience. Consistent innovative product launches also enhance the visibility of the company 's brand. The company 's significant R&D capabilities gives it’s a competitive edge to reach the market first with many industry leading innovations and features. Strong relationships with industry leaders The company has strong relationships with many technology companies and telecom service providers. It maintains strong long-term partnerships with technology industry leaders, including Microsoft, Google and Qualcomm, which serve as active labs of research and development and product evolution. For instance, HTC 's launch of the world 's first Windows Mobile smartphone and first Android smartphone is an example. These partnerships ensure that the hardware, software, and content management and delivery systems are united in seamless and intuitive ways. HTC 's products are currently sold through major carriers and local retail channels in major markets in Europe, the Americas and Asia.

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

EV: Generally, the threat of substitutes is low in the smartphone industry as there are not definite products that can readily substitute the smartphone. Consumers rely heavily on Smartphone and would not be able to find a close substitute that has all the function of a mobile phone. Furthermore, Nokia is a long and established company with many loyal customers. These people may continue to stay faithful to Nokia and are hence less resistant to change. Also, the perceived level of product