HTC has had a bit of a rough time over the past year or so, and the manufacturer has suffered plummeting sales figures and profits. A number of releases in 2012 including the flagship HTC One X failed to achieve the same success as the likes of Apple’s iPhone 5 and Samsung’s Galaxy S III, and HTC knew it was in deep water.
But, 2013 brought a fresh start and a new flagship smartphone, the HTC One. The Taiwanese manufacturer had focused all its efforts on producing a superior device to pull it out of the hole it was in. The reception to the HTC One was really good, and all signs were pointing to HTC’s luck being on the up – until the stock was delayed due to a shortage of components. In the meantime, Samsung announced its Galaxy S4 device and attracted the wandering eyes of people looking for a new Android smartphone.
So now the competition is even tougher for HTC with Samsung firing on all cylinders, is the HTC One impressive enough to resurrect the ailing firm?
Financial times
HTC recently reported a 98% drop in profits, meaning the company’s position in the mobile manufacturer rankings is in serious danger. But only a couple of years ago it was a completely different story. HTC was the world’s biggest maker of Android smartphones. Now, Samsung and Apple have overtaken HTC, leaving the manufacturer pigeon-holed with the likes of Nokia and BlackBerry in the ‘has-been’ pile.
However, financial analyst J.P.Morgan has predicted that HTC’s will see better sales soon. Alvin Kwock, an analyst with J.P.Morgan said in a recent note to clients: “We have previously said that the new ‘One’ is HTC’s last chance for a turnaround — we now think HTC has done enough to at least see a mini-turnaround.” This is said to be due to the HTC One enjoying a better reception than expected, causing the company’s shares to rise 1.95%.
Number One?
So, what does the HTC One have to offer?The handset features a sleek modern design with a curved metal back casing and tapered edges. A 4.7-inch full HD display dominates the front of the device and offers visuals with amazing clarity, colour saturation and sharpness. The HTC One deals with mobile photography incredibly well too, and it’s likely that features such as the UltraPixel camera and HTC Zoe function are the reason why the device is so popular.
The HTC One’s camera features an UltraPixel sensor which uses pixels that are three times larger than standard megapixels, allowing it to capture 300% more light than regular smartphone lenses. This means the UltraPixel snapper can produce really high quality photos that have accurate detail and true to life colour reproduction.
Incorporated into the camera is the HTC Zoe feature, which shoots a 3-second mini-video – known as a ‘Zoe’ – instead of capturing one still picture when the shutter button is pressed. Users can then flick through the 20 frames within the 3-second video and select stills to save.
Whether the HTC One is a good enough device to turn the company’s fortunes around remains to be seen but the handset is definitely one of the best Android smartphones available at present. It’s highly unlikely that HTC will see the same success as the mighty Samsung’s Galaxy S4, but the HTC One is impressive enough that it could definitely steal some sales from the Korean manufacturer and resurrect HTC in the process.
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This guest blog was written by Abbi Cox of Phones 4u, who offer a range of cheap mobile phones to suit everyone.