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Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Farewell HTC One , we hardly knew ye. In its final months as HTC’s flagship, the excellent One couldn’t reverse a Q4 net loss of T$1.88 billion ($62.06 million) for the Taiwanese company.
Between January and March 2014 HTC’s total revenue fell by more than a fifth since the previous quarter.
It’s another quarterly loss after recording a net income of NT$310 million ($10 million) in the last quarter of 2013 — but that was largely down to the sale of Beats rather than a turnaround in sales.
HTC has had a tough time of it lately, with critical acclaim and various awards for the HTC One failing to translate to actual sales for the flagship phone. The biggest problem is marketing: HTC recruited erstwhile Iron Man Robert Downey Jr to shill the One and its ilk, but the ads didn’t shift many phones.
Last year, HTC’s biggest rival Samsung spent $363 million on marketing in the US. Apple spent $350.9 million. HTC spent just $75.8 million.
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The rise and fall of HTC
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There’s a lot riding on the new HTC One M8 , sequel to the One. It’s in shops now around the world, and HTC has fingers crossed it will balance the books once again. The company has also resolved to focus more on the middle of the market, where Samsung’s army of Galaxy phones in all different shapes and sizes and prices have captured market share.
