Verge: HTC in 'disarray', staff departures, 'disastrous' First, & production problems

[Bateluer]

http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/21/4...ures-disastrous-first-and-production-problems

The Verge has learned that HTC's Chief Product Officer, Kouji Kodera, left the company last week. Kodera was responsible for HTC's overall product strategy, which makes the departure especially notable on the heels of the global launch of the make-or-break One.

It's not just Kodera. In the past three-odd months, HTC has lost a number of employees in rapid succession — most recently Jason Gordon, the company's vice president of global communications. Other fresh departures include global retail marketing manager Rebecca Rowland, director of digital marketing John Starkweather, and product strategy manager Eric Lin.

It's not a coordinated poaching effort that's draining HTC's Seattle-based North American operations. Starkweather has landed at AT&T, while Lin and Rowland have both joined Microsoft (Gordon has yet to announce his next move). So why is everyone heading for the door at once?

"Anyone who's heard of them in Seattle doesn't want to go work for them right now. They're like T-Mobile two years ago," one source told us, gesturing to a downtrodden T-Mobile that was hemorrhaging subscribers leading up to AT&T's attempted (and failed) acquisition. "They're in utter freefall."

Uh oh, that ain't good. :/ Sad too, because the One X and One are great phones.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I think the HTC First flop hurt them more than we first thought.

 

[Red Storm]

Hmm, wonder if they'll get bought up. Maybe Intel buys them for the name and starts selling x86 phones in the US.

 

[s44]

HTC has been burning its human capital for years.

I'd quote it but the Tapatalk HD quote bug seems finally to have reared its head.

 

[Crono]

It's management failure, apparently.

HTC is one of a few dedicated smartphone manufacturers. Their phones have been pretty good in my experience, though they've had their share of flaws.

Love my One. It would be bad for the Android world if HTC went away. Hopefully they can recover - I don't think there is anything fundamentally wrong with their phones themselves, but if they don't have good management and long-term strategy they won't be able to complete with the likes of giants like Samsung and Apple.

Just looking at the One vs S4, it seems the marketing disparity is the only big reason HTC is losing. On most fronts the One is as good or better than the S4 for the same price, and yet the S4 is massively outselling it.

 

[poofyhairguy]

It would be bad for the Android world if HTC went away.

Agree 100%. They keep bringing new things to the Android market.

 

[Ravynmagi]

It would be bad... but it seems like we've been talking about this forever. It's almost as if HTC wants to fail.

 

[Crono]

It would be bad... but it seems like we've been talking about this forever. It's almost as if HTC wants to fail.

It reminds me of what Apple went through in the late 90s before they turned things around with the iMac and new software and consumer products.

 

[zerocool84]

I really liked the One X hardware and like the One hardware but I don't like their skin.

 

[Zaap]

...staff departures...

Note to Samsung: snap up their designers! You need them. Desperately. Double whatever Microsoft is offering. Their talent will just be squandered there as well.

 

[lopri]

Well is it known whether these folks are real talents or opportunistic jerks? That tweet is disturbing. If you are mistreated, complain through proper chain of command or authority. If not, Blow whistle. Backstabbing through insinuation, on the other hand, only makes you look a fool and a loser.

 

[Eruditass]

How did they not learn from Salsa and ChaCha...

 

[OBLAMA2009]

the ruined their reputation with years of putting out thick buggy phones with poor battery life. now they have samsung showing them they way to do it and they release a phone with a non replaceable battery. dayum , i dont think id miss them

theyre lucky they dont have to compete with nokia too in the android space

 

[Bateluer]

How did they not learn from Salsa and ChaCha...

If Facebook drove a truck load of money to your office, you'd decline them?

 

[Phokus]

HTC Sold 5 million Ones so far:

http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/23/4358378/htc-one-5-million-smartphone-sales

 

[poofyhairguy]

Oh wow, that is almost half the S4 numbers. HTC has a hit on its hands.

 

[dguy6789]

On most fronts the One is as good or better than the S4 for the same price, and yet the S4 is massively outselling it.

I don't see how anyone could possibly say that. Without even getting into the stuff that can be based on opinion and debated, the S4 has: better CPU, better camera, better screen, better battery life, removable battery, and MicroSD support. This is all stuff nobody can even debate. The One has.... aluminum? Sense? The One's current camera is worse than the GS3's camera which is ridiculous for a phone that was hyped to have a state of the art camera.

 

[zerogear]

I think Facebook basically sabotaged their own phone by releasing the Android app at the exactly the same time as release.

 

[Phokus]

I don't see how anyone could possibly say that. Without even getting into the stuff that can be based on opinion and debated, the S4 has: better CPU, better camera, better screen, better battery life, removable battery, and MicroSD support. This is all stuff nobody can even debate. The One has.... aluminum? Sense? The One's current camera is worse than the GS3's camera which is ridiculous for a phone that was hyped to have a state of the art camera.

The One has a slightly worse camera in good lighting (which doesn't really matter if you're viewing on a computer screen) and a fairly better camera in low lighting.

I would say the screen on the One is also better. Speakers on the One are WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better (quality of the speakers + them being on the front).

Also, i think the camera software is much better, i created some highlight videos from the pictures and zoe's that i took that amaze everyone i show.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I think Facebook basically sabotaged their own phone by releasing the Android app at the exactly the same time as release.

I also think it hurts that it started at $99. Should have been free with contract from the start.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I think this QA with Jennifer Lopez is funny on multiple levels...

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-12261_...-lopez-dishes-on-new-viva-movil-shopping-q-a/

I got a lot of comments disappointed this wasn't the HTC One announcement.
Lopez: What does that mean? HTC One? I'm so sorry.

It's a phone. So, are you going to be selling the HTC One?
Walden: I'll tell you if we know (laughs).

 

[poofyhairguy]

Wow that is terribad. "A Verizon Blackberry."

 

[wirednuts]

i love my sensation.. ive had a few htc phones in the past. liked most of them. pretty disturbing to hear they are holding back overtime pay though... that is the sort of crappy business ethics that would make me buy a different brand next time...

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

sad. they dont deserve to die. theres worse manufacturers out there like motorola....

As for Sense, while it can be intrusive, at least its modern looking. Touchwiz looks like how it did in Gingerbread on the SGS2 still. It's fat and ugly icons are a bit disturbing too.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Touchwiz looks like how it did in Gingerbread on the SGS2 still.

It does. And the few little parts of Halo that are still there (like the color stripe on the notification shade) look way out of place.

Meanwhile the One's Sense seems "cool." The accordion trick it does on lists is very eye catching.