Can HTC beat the Mobile Competition?

HTC, the Taiwanese Smartphone giants seem to carry a jinx. With all those innovative technologies and top notch products, they always fail to live up to their billing. Every time they  pop up with something spectacular but sadly never accompanied by a rave public response. HTC should consider some marketing overhaul and also take measures to make their products more appealing to the masses and ultimately break the hoodoo. As we are in the new financial year, let us see what to expect from HTC.

Be faster with Android updates

We all know android phones other than Google’s very own nexus take a bit of time for new Android updates because of compatibility issues. Apart from nexus Samsung has been quicker to get off the block and provide the updates. HTC literally takes ages for the same. As the rumours about android 5.0 are gathering pace, HTC is still to catch up as they don’t even have a 4.2.2 jelly bean update! We can expect timely updates from the Taiwanese if they are taking things seriously.

Windows phones

The association with windows is nothing new for HTC. They burst onto the scene with windows phones. Now they are back in the hut. As Nokia owns a lion’s share in the market there is plenty of room for aggression as far as HTC is concerned. The lack of a third serious competitor means that HTC can concentrate to down throw Nokia in this department. So we can anticipate better windows phones.

Processors GPU and screens

In terms of processor, we can fancy snapdragon 800 in the future HTC high ends which is an upgrade to the snapdragon 600, seen in HTC one. The new processor delivers blazing fast apps and mind blowing graphics, claims the manufacturer. Enhanced graphics are also a possibility with the all new Nvidia Tegra 4 GPU. Quad-core processors and 5 inch full HD screens are our minimum expectations in the upcoming high ends.

More tablets

Even if there are some tablets from HTC in the form of the HTC flyer, the EVO view 4g etc they never came close to the iPads and the galaxy tabs. So we can count upon more tablets presumably in the windows RT platform.

Up comings leaks and rumours

HTC’s latest adventure is with Facebook and the Facebook phone named HTC first is about to be launched. The Facebook must be a home screen launcher and it will run on HTC Sense 4.5, which runs on top of Android 4.12.

Other leaks and rumours on which we can put our money are the HTC G2 and M4.These models are believed to be in the mid range.

More innovations, less patent disputes and lawsuits

HTC and Apple have sorted out many of their disputes (not all) and now they can concentrate more on technological advancements rather than courtroom battles. Google has also taken some initiatives to settle the disputes. This is a move in the right direction.

HTC sense 5

One thing every HTC user will never complain about is the HTC sense GUI. It has been a revelation to them. We currently have HTC sense 5.0 in their flagship phone HTC one. More updates in the form of 5.1, 5.2 etc. are imminent. There is also a strong probability to see the 6.0 version by the end of this year.

More emphasis on parts availability

The delay in the general release of the HTC one was a major setback for the manufacturer of first Android powered phone. HTC came up with a mean explanation that it was due to “unprecedented demand” but the fact speaks otherwise. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to think that the delay was as a result of component shortages and decrease of priority in acquiring parts from suppliers. Improvements are inevitable in this field if they are to challenge the likes of Samsung and apple.

A better marketing strategy

HTC relies heavily on service providers for their marketing. This was the case till last year. Lack of direct marketing strategy was a major reason why their products became commercially unsuccessful. From this year onwards they have doubled their marketing budgets. Promotional activities might get better this year. However, the good thing is that the HTC mobile price in India, being fairly on the lower side, is already a major marketing factor that plays in their favour.

Conclusion

We know that HTC always gets rave reviews for their models. They always had that potential but somehow were outrun by others. We can sense a lack of evolution. There is a strong reason to believe that if they are willing to work on the above matters, success is all theirs and it may be time for HTC to  throw off the shackles and alter their tagline “quietly brilliant” to something like “loudly brilliant”.