You're in charge of HTC. What to do going forward?

[Raduque]

I want to be in charge of Samsung. That way, I can develop a bootloader unlock website (like HTC's s-off website) and charge my users to use it. :sneaky:

 

[bearxor]

That might not work well in today's world that requires volume orders to produce a deep discount from the parts suppliers because it wouldn't produce the massive scale when different carriers have massively different requirements.
Samsung did this with the original Galaxy S series. The phones on each US carriers were massively different. The same is not so today with the S4, S5, and Note series. It's cheaper to make 1 SKU for all carriers with only the bands being different with 8MP camera, 2GB of RAM, no keyboard than to have Verizon demanding 8MP camera with 3GB of RAM exclusively, and no keyboard; Sprint demanding 12MP camera exclusively with 2GB of RAM and a physical keyboard exclusive; AT&T demanding 8MP camera with 2GB of RAM with no keyboard and also demanding wireless charging exclusively for their own device model. This issue was a pain for Samsung with the first Galaxy S series and they learnt their lesson pretty quick.

Providing a "flagship" device on the Play Store as a GPe device for $400-450 might eat into their profit margins. The flagship One M8 GPe device today costs $700...Unless if you're saying they should make a midrange device exclusively for the Play Store. When I think of the word "flagship", I automatically think "high end". I don't consider the Galaxy S4 Mini to be a "flagship" device for example.

Massive promotion from the carrier didn't seem to help Moto...

This is exactly how they got into their current predicament. Too much carrier specific junk with not enough software support because they had to jump through the hoops of every carrier.

I think, perhaps, I've over-explained some things and under-explained others.

In short, HTC needs to "disappear". They need to go back to being a ODM. Making a reference model, then making adjustments to it as each carrier wants. The impetus is on the carrier to purchase XXX units and pay for their costs. The carrier is completely in charge of pricing and promotion. HTC wouldn't be involved in that in any way.

Use the HTC brand name in developing countries where you price your phones at < $200USD. The "flagship device" with GPe can be sold under their name but would need to be very price-competitive with Nexus devices.

I'm under no allusions that this is the best way to "turn them around" tech-opinion wise, where people want a smart device that covers ever want they've ever had, but I think it is the best way to "turn them around" profit-wise. Of course, they'll need to make massive cuts in staffing and production as well.

IMO, they can either go out by trying to give everyone everything they want and never really succeeding or survive by completely changing their operations.

 

[desura]

It continually blows my mind that Samsung is so successful. Their hardware design is plasticky and cheap feeling. TouchWiz is the worst UI I've ever used on any device. And yet they are the highest selling phone manufacturer in the world. Maybe HTC should try less hard? Make a worse phone? That seems to be the key.

Whenever I go into Best Buy, there is a nice big table with Samsung devices, very similar to the Apple Store.

HTC devices aren't even working in Best Buy. They have that stupid sticker on them.

 

[desura]

So in regards to marketing...they're spending $1 billion on Robert Downey Jr making a bunch of puns on the initials? I hope the 1 billion is simply the cost of ad buys in a worldwide ad market, and not the production costs for like 10 30-second/2 minute ad slots.

 

[blairharrington]

I'll pretend to take over in 2015 because their 2014 is set in stone.

1. Release a flagship that is smaller and lighter than the M7, not M8. Getting larger and heavier is a step back IMO. Release a flagship that is actually easy to hold in one hand, like the Moto X. Apple is going to bring a 4.7" iPhone to the market this fall and I'm confident it won't be much larger or heavier than the 5S. Call this new flagship the HTC X. In 2016 call it the X2. Etc.

2. If you can't make a smaller phone without keeping BoomSound then ditch BoomSound. Great stereo speakers isn't doing shit for you in sales. Look how many iPhone's and S-Line phones are sold with a mono speaker. It's not a feature consumers are desperate for. Most consumers use bluetooth speakers and bluetooth or wired headphones. If you can keep BoomSound and make a smaller phone, go for it, but don't let that hold you back.

3. Release an HTC X Mini that has proper specs. Stop following the trend of mini models with meh specs.

4. Release a phablet that isn't incredibly heavy and large like the HTC One Max.

5. Continue your focus on the mid-tier market. Make 2 or 3 great phones in this area. Not everyone can or will pay top dollar for a phone. Plus we are getting to the point tech wise where a mid tier phone is perfectly fine for most consumers.

6. Create a marketing campaign both online and print/TV that is memorable, smart, and doesn't cost a fortune. No, you can't compete with Apple/Samsung in this area but nothing is stopping you from something that is better than Hipster Troll Carwash and Blah Blah Blah.

7. For the love of God, put an 8 MP camera on your 2015 flagship. Not only does the S5 completely smoke your phone in daylight photos, it's also a huge advantage on paper. A consumer walks into their carrier store and looks at your M8 with 'duo camera' and the S5 with a 16 MP shooter. Guess which one will make more of an impression on the average consumer?

8. If you can't make lightweight metal phones, then ditch it. Nexus 5 plastic feels great. Droid Maxx kevlar is a dream. Making phones that look and feel premium isn't translating to overall sales. The S3/S4 had slimy plastic and it didn't stop Samsung from selling a fuck ton of them.

9. Put the God damn wake button on the right edge. And allow Motion Launch to put the phone to sleep.

10. Release an 8" tablet.

11. If possible, make the Nexus 7.

 

[blairharrington]

HTC paid the Iron Man dude a cool $1 billion for 2 years worth of marketing. That's no small chump change.

No they didn't. 1 billion was allegedly spent on the campaign he was headlining. His fee wasn't 1 billion dollars. It was 12 million for 2 years.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/21/robert-downey-jr-teaming-up-with-htc-in-12-million-deal

 

[desura]

No they didn't. 1 billion was allegedly spent on the campaign he was headlining. His fee wasn't 1 billion dollars. It was 12 million for 2 years.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/21/robert-downey-jr-teaming-up-with-htc-in-12-million-deal

That's...still a shitton of money. They might get what, 25 ads out of him? 500k for a 30 second ad? Per-minute much higher pay than movie work.

Heck, for that much it probably makes more sense to hire Lebron James.

 

[Radeon962]

It continually blows my mind that Samsung is so successful. Their hardware design is plasticky and cheap feeling. TouchWiz is the worst UI I've ever used on any device. And yet they are the highest selling phone manufacturer in the world. Maybe HTC should try less hard? Make a worse phone? That seems to be the key.

It's called marketing. Ask any non-tech person about an Android phone and you will most likely hear "is it a Galaxy".

Apple and Samsung have such an edge in marketing it's almost not fair.

Build quality is much ado about nothing for most people as they throw their iPhone or S4/S5 in an Otterbox so the screen and camera are really the items that are front and center. Feel, build quality, etc. mean nothing once you turn it into an Otterbrick.

 

[desura]

Holy shit HTC, these Robert Downey Jr ads really suck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgytZ6bTmSQ

 

[jpiniero]

Cheap phones or liquidation.

 

[WelshBloke]

It's called marketing. Ask any non-tech person about an Android phone and you will most likely hear "is it a Galaxy"..

I have never heard someone call an HTC, LG or Moto phone a galaxy.

In fact if they do have a galaxy branded one they are more likely to refer to it as "a Samsung" than "a galaxy".

 

[gotsmack]

Better camera with Optical image stabilization, no bezel, removable battery or a ridiculously large battery.

Release decent low end phones.

 

[TuxDave]

I have never heard someone call an HTC, LG or Moto phone a galaxy.

In fact if they do have a galaxy branded one they are more likely to refer to it as "a Samsung" than "a galaxy".

Heh, I have the opposite experience and thought Samsung's marketing team did a great job on getting the "Galaxy" name to be more mainstream. Can't get more mainstream then hearing some grocery cashiers talk about "I want to upgrade to a Galaxy phone!" (whether or not they really know what they're talking about is another debate)

 

[desura]

Kinda funny how HTC is like Taiwan right now. Kinda flailing in the market, though a source of quality.

How did Korea beat out Taiwan in electronics so badly? Taiwan missed out on the big TV boom, and it looks like it is losing in the smartphones as well.

 

[Commodus]

Kinda funny how HTC is like Taiwan right now. Kinda flailing in the market, though a source of quality.

How did Korea beat out Taiwan in electronics so badly? Taiwan missed out on the big TV boom, and it looks like it is losing in the smartphones as well.

Korea has a much larger population, for one thing...

Apart from that, it's a virtue of cultures and the industries they're involved in. Companies like Samsung and LG are chaebols: corporations so big in their native Korea that they have overt influence over politics and social life (i.e. not just the usual behind-the-scenes lobbying/corruption and marketing). They have businesses in just about every area, whereas Taiwan's are relatively focused. Imagine if HTC also sold washing machines, cargo ships and insurance -- that's a chaebol.

Tech is obviously very important in Taiwan, but it's doubtful that Acer/ASUS/HTC have ever had so much clout that they could campaign for their country's Olympics spot (like Samsung did) or try to derail the launch of a movie criticizing poor factory standards (also like Samsung). Korea bows to corporate power in a way that makes even the US seem modest. I don't think I'd want Taiwan to do the same.

 

[Dari]

Korea has a much larger population, for one thing...

Apart from that, it's a virtue of cultures and the industries they're involved in. Companies like Samsung and LG are chaebols: corporations so big in their native Korea that they have overt influence over politics and social life (i.e. not just the usual behind-the-scenes lobbying/corruption and marketing). They have businesses in just about every area, whereas Taiwan's are relatively focused. Imagine if HTC also sold washing machines, cargo ships and insurance -- that's a chaebol.

Tech is obviously very important in Taiwan, but it's doubtful that Acer/ASUS/HTC have ever had so much clout that they could campaign for their country's Olympics spot (like Samsung did) or try to derail the launch of a movie criticizing poor factory standards (also like Samsung). Korea bows to corporate power in a way that makes even the US seem modest. I don't think I'd want Taiwan to do the same.

Right. It's government policy. In S. Korea the government supports national champions at the expense of small and medium-sized businesses. This is the polar opposite of how things are done in Germany, Japan, America and Taiwan, where small and medium-sized businesses flourish. Those SMBs also create many many jobs that the economy is dependent on and they are highly creative. In South Korea, the big boys are too damn big to fail. They smother competition and, should something bad happen, it can bring down the whole economy. Also telling is the fact that Taiwan's government has a sink-or-swim attitude towards businesses. Either they survive on their own or they die. That is why Taiwan refused to help its small firms during the Asian financial crisis. The attitude in Korea was different with people and government coming together to save their masters.

 

[tvdang7]

would of had a 5 or 6 mp camera on the 2014 m8. Make the device 100 dollars cheaper than s5. Make it water resistant as well. Can't compete with the same ok camera same price and less gimmicks and expect to win against the competition.

 

[TiredEngineer]

What. Samsung is right up there with LG in screen-to-size ratio WITHOUT using onscreen buttons.

Regardless of screen-to-bezel ratios (I don't know the exact numbers). The Samsung phones bezels look huge and outdated compared to the now relatively old Nexus 5 and LG G2.

 

[Zaap]

^ Wait, you're comparing an S5 and S4 but leave out the Note 3?

:/

 

[desura]

I never understood why these handset makers feel the need to advertise so much. One billion dollars on Robert Downey Jr is probably the difference between profit and loss for HTC. For me at least advertising doesn't matter, I'll pay attention to product reviews.

A fraction of a billion dollars could at least get a working model of the phone on the Best Buy showroom floor, where last I checked didn't have a working HTC model for someone to play with.

 

[dguy6789]

Successful advertising/marketing is more important for success than a good product by a gigantic margin.

 

[blairharrington]

I never understood why these handset makers feel the need to advertise so much. One billion dollars on Robert Downey Jr is probably the difference between profit and loss for HTC. For me at least advertising doesn't matter, I'll pay attention to product reviews.

A fraction of a billion dollars could at least get a working model of the phone on the Best Buy showroom floor, where last I checked didn't have a working HTC model for someone to play with.

RDJ got 12 million for 2 years.

Advertising is the main reason Samsung is number one right now.

 

[desura]

RDJ got 12 million for 2 years.

Advertising is the main reason Samsung is number one right now.

I know that already, but still, the entire campaign will cost 1 billion.

It is impossible for HTC to out-advertise Samsung. They have to go on a different path.

 

[desura]

Successful advertising/marketing is more important for success than a good product by a gigantic margin.

Yes, but it doesn't have to be so damn expensive.

 

[s44]

Advertising is the main reason Samsung is number one right now.

And that's why we're typing these out on our Surfaces, right?

Having the best product for well over a year after the S2 release is the main reason Samsung is #1. Yeah, they used advertising to leverage that...