HTC may be planning price cuts for upcoming Android and Windows 8 devices in order to remain competitive
HTC makes some great smartphones, including the HTC EVO 4G LTE and the HTC One X. In the time I spent with the One X, I found it to be a great Android smartphone, and one of the two best on the market today. However, it seems that despite this, the One X and the rest of the One series of smartphones failed to impress investors and consumers, as various reports have recently surfaced showing that HTC is likely in quite a bit of financial trouble.
Possibly in a reaction to this problem, supply chain sources say that HTC has decided to rethink the pricing of their entire lineup of phones, including the One series. According to the reports, HTC plans to make current Android devices cheaper, in order to compete better with the Galaxy S III. They may also be planning to continue that trend through at least the rest of this year, even reducing the prices of new Windows Phone 8 and Android devices.
While I don’t think HTC is actually in as much trouble as some people seem to, this could still be a good move for the Taiwanese company. It’s no secret that the One series didn’t quite sell as well as it was hoping, and it is having at least some financial problems. With the iPhone 5 likely to launch this fall, the One X will likely fall by the wayside at least a little, and Windows 8 may or may not manage to get the attention of consumers. Of course, something that always seems to get their attention is price. (Remember the TouchPad firesale?)
Some have suggested that to compete with the Galaxy S III, HTC should offer stock Android and an unlocked bootloader. Although both those things will be nice, I think that if HTC can manage to price their products lower than the competition and still make money, they could easily make a comeback.
[Unwired View]
