HTC’s ‘comeback’ year not going to plan

The HTC One was popular on release, but a raft of senior departures and a former executive advising people to leave has cast yet another dark cloud over the firm, as Paul Withers explains

If any manufacturer needs a bit of luck, it’s HTC. It has had a torrid time of late. And just when things seem to be looking up, something immediately knocks it down again.

Take the HTC One. The build up to the launch was vast – ads all over the TV, press releases galore and a big launch event in central London – only to then be delayed, causing yet more miserable headlines. On release it received universal praise, being dubbed by some as the ‘best phone in the world’.

But then the black cloud and negative headlines returned, with the company’s poor Q1 financials seeing profits plunging by 91 per cent.

The firm’s CEO Peter Chou said at the time: “The worst for HTC has probably passed. 2013 will not be that bad.” He clearly had no idea what was coming.

It started well, HTC securing a partnership with Facebook for the HTC First ‘Facebook phone’ – something of a real coup you would suspect, right? Wrong.

The launch has been plagued by criticism and by association HTC has unfairly been caught in the middle. You need only google the words ‘HTC’ and ‘Facebook’ to understand.

And then a former HTC employee took to Twitter to encourage others to leave the firm. The tweet from former product strategy manager Eric Lin, who left the manufacturer in February to join Skype, read: “To all my friends still @HTC – just quit. Leave now. It’s tough to do, but you’ll be so much happier. I swear.” Ouch.

Now you can view this in one of two ways: either Lin was taking nothing more than a petulant swipe at his former employer or he was highlighting to the world just how poor a company HTC is to work for now.

We’re none the wiser. But given the number of departures from the firm of late – chief product officer Kouji Kodera, global retail marketing manager Rebecca Rowland, UK and Ireland regional director Phil Roberson, worldwide director of digital marketing John Starkweather and VP of global communications Jason Gordon – you can’t help but wonder if there is some internal unrest within the company.

Acer aims to double its handset sales this year

Manufacturer expects to sell two million phones in 2013, with the UK market being key

Acer says it expects sales of its handsets to double during 2013 to more than two million – with the UK a key market.

The manufacturer, better known in the notebook space, announced at Mobile World Congress it aims to sell 1.5 million to two million phones globally in 2013 – twice the number it sold last year.

Acer UK sales manager for EMEA Julien Bertheuil told Mobile News the “vast proportion” of this growth will come from Europe.

Acer launched just two handsets in the UK last year, and the same number the year before.

But Bertheuil claimed the firm would double its efforts by launching four devices this year across a range of price points.

Bertheuil added despite the UK mobile device market being crowded, there is room for Acer, which may also release 4G compatible products here.

“There has been a big announcement recently, 4G, and we are watching that space and we will see if its something we can have an influence on.

“It’s not rocket science to say it’s a crowded market, however there are still some parts to be tackled and customers that would like differentiation.

“France, Benelux – we are very strong there, and when you are a bit more careful about what you spend, you will realise Acer products provide better value for money than our competitors. This doesn’t necessarily mean the cheapest, we want to offer solutions at different price points.”

New handsets
The Liquid Z2 (pictured right), which will go on sale in the UK by mid March, is an Android smartphone priced below £100. It has a 3.5-inch touchscreen, 1GHz single-core processor and three-megapixel camera. Bertheuil said the Liquid Z2 is aimed at feature phone users aiming at smartphones.

The Liquid E1 (pictured left), also to launch in the UK in March, has a 4.5-inch screen, 1GHz dual-core processor, five megapixel camera and 4GB of internal memory. It will retail below £200.

Both devices, exhibited at MWC, were first unveiled on February 20.

Acer launched two tablets in the UK in February, the Iconia B1 and Iconia W510. The first is an entry-level device retailing for £99 in ASDA and Argos. It runs on Android and has a seven-inch screen and 8GB of memory.

The Iconia W510 is a Wi-Fi-only tablet with a detachable keyboard, retailing for £499 on

Amazon. The day after MWC concluded, Acer launched the 3G version, the Iconia W511, retailing at £599. Both have a battery in the screen and keyboard, meaning total battery life of 18 hours.

According to Bertheuil, the Iconia W511 will be sold mainly through telecom operators, as part of a bundle or through their channels with specific offers.