HTC launches smartphone with revamped software to
LONDON (Reuters) -
Taiwan's HTC Corp
has unveiled the new
smartphone that it
hopes will set it apart
from the crowd of
Google Android
devices on the market
and help it to make up
ground lost to
Samsung .
The HTC One is
powered by Google's
software, but the
company has
distinguished it from
rivals by using new
software to replace
icons on the home
screen with a
personalised stream
of news articles,
social networking
updates, photos and
video.
Here's a quick video
tour of the phone's
highlights:
HTC One: Highlights
STORY CONTINUED
AFTER THE PHOTOS
SLIDESHOW
The HTC One's open
market price is yet to
be announced. 'HTC
One V' phones are
available for around
Rs. 12,000, 'One S' for
Rs. 25,000, and 'One X'
for 28000. The new
model is presumed to
be priced between Rs.
32000 and Rs. 36000.
Chief executive Peter
Chou told reporters in
London that the
BlinkFeed feature
would reinvigorate the
smartphone
experience.
"BlinkFeed transforms
your home screen into
a live feed of
information that
matters to you," he
said.
HTC was an early, and
successful, maker of
smartphones based
on Android, but it has
been eclipsed by the
increasing dominance
of Samsung in the
Android market.
3 replies
Android is widening its
lead in smartphone
operating systems,
with devices running
the software
capturing nearly 70
percent of the market
in the fourth quarter,
Gartner said last
week.
Apple is in second
place with 21 percent,
while Blackberry and
Windows Phone ,
which Nokia is pinning
its hopes on, trailed
with 3.5 percent and 3
percent respectively.
HTC, however, has
failed to capitalise on
Android's dominance.
Its share of mobile
phone sales fell to 1.8
percent of the market
last year, down from
2.4 percent in 2011,
according to Gartner,
and reported a 91
percent plunge in
fourth-quarter net
profit last month.
The company, which
started as a contract
manufacturer, has
been outgunned in the
marketing stakes by
both Samsung, which
Gartner said made
more than 42 percent
of Android
smartphones in the
fourth quarter, and
Apple .
HTC launched its new
device, which
features a 4.7 inch
screen and quad-core
processor, days
before the mobile
phone industry's
biggest gathering in
Barcelona.
Analyst Julian Jest, of
Informa Telecoms
and Media, said that
the new smartphone
would help HTC to
differentiate its brand
from the typical
Android offering.
"The introduction of
HTC One has come at
an ideal time - iPhone
sales are slowing
down and advanced
users are now
desperately looking
for more innovative
devices to satisfy
their appetite to
explore the new
technology horizons,"
he said.
No doubt HTC is a good maker but HTC fones don't have resale value.
