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HTC One Only Phone for 2013 - One (M7) General

According to Phandroid, HTC will only have one phone for the year of 2013. Article can be found here: http://phandroid.com/2013/02/26/htc-one-flagship/
This is a smart move on HTCs part instead of having multiple versions. Hopefully software updates will come a little quicker because of this move.
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I've been think about this lately. HTC isn't as big as as its competition. If they're going to launch the same unit globally they will need to focus their resources on it to be able to fill orders. Especially if it takes off.
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I really do hope that's the case. I've always thought HTC is mad for releasing so many variants and what not in a short amount of time. Its about time HTC came to its senses (lol). I've been wishing this would happen and cursing HTC for the One line (X,S,V,X+) etc the one S was the better one out of all in my opinion overall but lack of a 32gb model I had to hold on to my sensation for longer. Hopefully the One will change that. Seems good by reviews so far. Let's see
Sent from my HTC Sensation using xda premium

My question would be:
Is it truly a good thing they only release one device a year? Assuming the M7 is top spec for when it is released (which it is) -what is so wrong with releasing a M7+ at the end of the year with S800?
Why would people get offended or pissed off by this?
Personally I have absolutly no issue. If people want to purchase a M7 body with S800 (or whatever) in 6 months, I don't see a problem so long as its financially feasible for HTC.

Maedhros said:
My question would be:
Is it truly a good thing they only release one device a year? Assuming the M7 is top spec for when it is released (which it is) -what is so wrong with releasing a M7+ at the end of the year with S800?
Why would people get offended or pissed off by this?
Personally I have absolutly no issue. If people want to purchase a M7 body with S800 (or whatever) in 6 months, I don't see a problem so long as its financially feasible for HTC.
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People deserve to have the latest smarphone from a particular OEM, for at least an year, and everyone can't buy new device for ~700$ every six months.

As to why this is good news for some people, it is sort of the way your top end automobile companies work (most for that matter).
Whether BMW, Mercedes, Audi, or whatever company: you have an expected timeframe of how long they will keep a car relatively the same without a major facelift (5-7 years). When you purchase an automobile from one of these companies, you know for an x number of years the car won't be different in any major ways (of course there are the yearly upgrades and all, but you guys know what I mean).
Well when you compare that to mobile devices-where it seems (and has really been set by Apple) that many companies give their flagship device a one year span, HTC doesn't. They have been doing refreshes half a year within the release of their flagship devices which makes some people feel like they paid all this money for a device that was outdated by the same company too quickly. Whereas Samsung and Apple have been on a one flagship a year schedule.
For most people who do upgrades and purchase a phone every two years, it is really irrelevant whether there is a refresh later in the year or not. But for others who purchase the devices unlocked and are smartphone addicts, it could lead to you purchasing from another company.
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NiCk.JaY said:
People deserve to have the latest smarphone from a particular OEM, for at least an year, and everyone can't buy new device for ~700$ every six months.
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But again... why exactly do people need a new device every 6 months...? I still fail to understand this.
Lets say HTC makes a great device for H1. People purchase this device.
They later refresh 6 months later with a superior process (best H2 can offer).
What do the people who purchased the H1 device loose? Perhaps resale value, but other then that, they don't loose anything.
Again, I fail to understand what is wrong with HTCs model. If anything it is BETTER for consumers because it means better tech is being pushed out earlier, and new devices are cheaper, allowing more people access.
The car model isn't a valid comparison imo... The price difference, combined with the fact that between model years- little changes in terms of performance (whereas cell phones will not refresh without a power upgrade) , makes cars and cell phones too dissimilar to compare.
Apple releases 1 device a year because it maxamizes profit. Consumers are stupid enough to believe that this is good for them, which is something I disagree with.

nvm, /delete post pls.

Ive read rumours before the m7 was announced about a m4 and q2.
So basically m7 high end, m4 middle, g2 low end. (all code names obv)
That to me is the perfect model htc should follow
http://htcsource.com/2013/02/new-images-reveal-a-familiar-looking-htc-m4/
http://htcsource.com/2013/02/htc-m4-and-g2-models-to-follow-the-m7-release/

I think so, this can creat a strong brand
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

The one surely is a great device and has lot's of buyers but is it really good to release just one ultra-high-end device for around 600 euros? I don't know many people (except of me and some of my friends) who will pay this much for a phone or would like such a big screen (even if there are phones with bigger screens around) so i think htc should release at least a mid class model with for example a 4" screen and maybe a low class model too..

matthiaswtf6 said:
The one surely is a great device and has lot's of buyers but is it really good to release just one ultra-high-end device for around 600 euros? I don't know many people (except of me and some of my friends) who will pay this much for a phone or would like such a big screen (even if there are phones with bigger screens around) so i think htc should release at least a mid class model with for example a 4" screen and maybe a low class model too..
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They will release lower/mid end devices for sure. I think they just want to release one HIGHEND device per year.

FUN PAGE
Hello guys and gals. I have made HTC One fun page on Facebook. Feel free to join us
Admins are welcome. (just pm. me on facebook page)

Nice Device
nice device i would like to buy one

What the hell was so confusing about the HTC One family from last year? The flagship was the HTC One X. That was it. That was THE ONE. There was a supercharged one called the X+, but that was sensibly named with an extra +. Much like an iPhone that was 32GB or 64GB. It was still very much the same device. The One S was their midrange. The One V was their low-end. Three different price points, three different sizes. It was never customer confusion that caused HTC to not be as successful. It was just their crappy marketing and crappy availability. Since HTC is undoubtedly going to release lower tier phones besides THE ONE, they will be back in the same position they were in last year, meaning all this THE ONE crap is meaningless.
Samsung has a bajillion phones besides the Galaxy S III of all different sizes and specs that all have the same shiny marble rounded look and it has not hurt them in the least. In fact, the Note II and Ace are one of the highest sellers along with the GS3. The One X, S, and V were wildly more different from each other in looks. It's not a problem of confusion. It's a problem with marketing.
HTC is also driving themselves in a corner without releasing more high-end phones that cater to more corners of the smartphone space. Where is the Note II competitor? What about a small screen phone with high specs? There are plenty of people who think phones are getting to big and would want a smaller phone that has as much power as their bigger brethren. The other rather non-existent niche that no manufacturer is really pushing in the modern era is the cameraphone. Sure Nokia had the 808 Pureview, but that was more fanservice for the dying Symbian platform than anything else. HTC could delve into a competitor for the rumored Lumia EOS device. The area is fresh and fertile with almost no competitors. If they are bold enough to drop out of the megapixel race for "ultrapixels", they should be able to go bolder and say that cameras on phones are crap because the sensors are too small. For a minor bump in thickness, the phone being still very pocketable, you get a real camera! And a phone you can actually hold instead of a sliver of something that looks like it will bend in half.
If HTC can't handle just having one high-end phone, I'm really questioning their competence , considering they are still a multi-billion dollar company. Ideally they are using all the resources to make THE ONE the perfect device with perfect software and perfect hardware testing and perfect everything, dedicating more people to this one device than any other manufacturer would to their own flagships. The more cynical person would also wonder if HTC hadn't had a giant layoff after the poor results in 2012 and have just cut the teams for all the other phones. The easiest way to profitability is to fire your workers.

I think it's a very sensible move
They can focus on providing solid software updates
Nothing annoys people like buying a phone and having them release a slightly better model a few months later or even introducing a new flagship!
Sony have an issue of releasing too many phones and not knowing which is the true flagship, I think they're trying to follow a similar path this year.

quoting from phandroid
That’s not to say this will be the only high-end HTC smartphone of the year — HTC still has the mid-range sectors to target, as well as a Windows line to promote — but the HTC One will remain at the top of HTC’s totem pole.
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I just watched pocketnow on YouTube and they announced that another windows 8 device will be dropping from HTC this year. I don't think it will be a high end device though.
Sent from my HTC Mytouch 4g using xda premium

katamari201 said:
HTC is also driving themselves in a corner without releasing more high-end phones that cater to more corners of the smartphone space. Where is the Note II competitor? What about a small screen phone with high specs? There are plenty of people who think phones are getting to big and would want a smaller phone that has as much power as their bigger brethren. The other rather non-existent niche that no manufacturer is really pushing in the modern era is the cameraphone. Sure Nokia had the 808 Pureview, but that was more fanservice for the dying Symbian platform than anything else. HTC could delve into a competitor for the rumored Lumia EOS device. The area is fresh and fertile with almost no competitors. If they are bold enough to drop out of the megapixel race for "ultrapixels", they should be able to go bolder and say that cameras on phones are crap because the sensors are too small. For a minor bump in thickness, the phone being still very pocketable, you get a real camera! And a phone you can actually hold instead of a sliver of something that looks like it will bend in half.
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I'd like that too - but I don't think they could do that now, because they'd be undermining their own marketing of the One if they come out and say "all smartphone cameras are crap - including the one on our flagship phone that it's one of its major selling points".
Veering wildly off-topic , something *I* think there's a niche for is a camera-oriented dumb phone. As it stands, if you want a new phone with an even half-way decent camera, you need to buy a high-end smartphone. There are many people (I suspect) who would love to see a device that is essentially a dedicated digital camera that can, as a secondary function, also send texts and make phone calls (but doesn't do smartphone stuff). There were some old Nokia and Sony Ericsson devices like that - the N93, for example - but no one seems to make them any more. I want a Xenon flash and a proper optical zoom.

Related

http://blogs.computerworld.com/17649/android_upgrades
I can't give you a better argument not to go for SE.

Thank you for the info, on the other hand i can probably find such a site for every car brand and i am still driving :lol
Sent from my X10i using Tapatalk

I think this phone will be quickly replaced by SE with a better higher quality device look at how many PSP models there are. They will probably hold back on updates for a newer model.
It might last a year at most before a "PSP slim" phone, Or dare I say a white model (lol)
P.S I may of had bad experience with the x!0 series owning 3 different models so my post may be a bit biased.

I had a SE Satio, which was a complete failure. Support for les then 6 months, 2 minor bug fixes within those 6 months.
The support of the X1 and the X10 and family dropped fairly quick as well. And also consider that the X10 started with outdated software already.
Why would SE change this policy?
In my opinion they stripped the company so harsch (2009/2010) of all unnescacarry business departments and personnel that they can't support the phones for to long. They just need to sell phones in masses to make profit. They can't give the support the customers asks, or demands. And customers benchmark companies and expect SE to have the same update ratio as other companies like HTC, or Samsung.
They won't give the same update ratio as other companies because they don't have the funds. Everything is focussed on sales, not the aftersales...

SonyEricsson: We won't keep doing what we are doing now! Promise!
Thanks for posting this, Bestevaer.
If, as they have promised, SonyEricsson (SE) really has turned the corner on keeping current on android versions, then the best way for them to demonstrate this newfound commitment would be to begin updating the X10 series.
Why would anyone take the gamble on SE keeping the Xperia arc updated?
If enough consumers are well informed, then SE is going to miss a whole cycle on this series of hardware upgrades. Keeping current customers satisfied should be seen as an investment on getting and keeping future customers.
I know I'll never buy another SE device if they don't keep my X10 reasonably current for the life of my two-year contract -- and I advise my "laggard" friends looking for android devices of such.
When HTC is doing such a good job keeping their devices current, why would anyone go SE?

Because most people don't know any better and only looking for a good looking device. I really know people who are now extremely happy because I showed them there is a market, you won't believe it, but I swear it's true! Those people have no idea if they are on 2.1 or 1.6 or 2.3.. And they really don't care.
We are with far too few to get through to SE's executives... They really don't care if 1% of their users are complaining all the time, they only want to sell big numbers and to do so they make stunning looking devices.
It's all about money and reaching targets, to get there you have to make some thing for the mass public, the top managers only get their asses fired when they don't reach their targets...
For me, once again, I will get one as I already preordered one, just to see by myself what they learned in the last period...
Sent from my X10i using Tapatalk

PollPixx said:
Because most people don't know any better and only looking for a good looking device. I really know people who are now extremely happy because I showed them there is a market, you won't believe it, but I swear it's true! Those people have no idea if they are on 2.1 or 1.6 or 2.3.. And they really don't care.
We are with far too few to get through to SE's executives... They really don't care if 1% of their users are complaining all the time, they only want to sell big numbers and to do so they make stunning looking devices.
It's all about money and reaching targets, to get there you have to make some thing for the mass public, the top managers only get their asses fired when they don't reach their targets...
For me, once again, I will get one as I already preordered one, just to see by myself what they learned in the last period...
Sent from my X10i using Tapatalk
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You are right about SE that they make beautifull phones. You are also right that there are allot of people who go to a store and buy a nice looking new phone when there 2, or 1 year subscription has expired (maybe a new SE).
But you forget that it's very costly for a company to lose loyal customers. Not only in money but also in feedback. And feedback is a free advise for a company. But mine and many others experiences with SE is that they don't care about feedback, so they will not improve as a company. And if you don't improve as a company you will lose marketshare, your position comparing to the competition will weaken. See what is happening atm with SE if you compare them to HTC, Samsung or Apple if you like. They lose market share and loyal customers.
In 2010 they shipped less handsets comparing to previous years and they lost a considerable market share while the smartphone market was growing rapidly. (Side note: yes they made profit in 2010, but every company can fire people and cut company business and make profit. There is nothing fancy about it).

Good point there, but so far they never listened to any feedback as far as I can tell. I stopped sending them mails a long time ago as they never replied, and when they did, they completely missed my point of criticism by sending a preset marketing message
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Bestevaer said:
You are right about SE that they make beautifull phones. You are also right that there are allot of people who go to a store and buy a nice looking new phone when there 2, or 1 year subscription has expired (maybe a new SE).
But you forget that it's very costly for a company to lose loyal customers. Not only in money but also in feedback. And feedback is a free advise for a company. But mine and many others experiences with SE is that they don't care about feedback, so they will not improve as a company. And if you don't improve as a company you will lose marketshare, your position comparing to the competition will weaken. See what is happening atm with SE if you compare them to HTC, Samsung or Apple if you like. They lose market share and loyal customers.
In 2010 they shipped less handsets comparing to previous years and they lost a considerable market share while the smartphone market was growing rapidly. (Side note: yes they made profit in 2010, but every company can fire people and cut company business and make profit. There is nothing fancy about it).
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You leave me no choice but to argue. Yes, losing loyal customers is important, I agree, but that they are not listening to feedback is no where near what you said. If you do now know how internal works, please refrain from saying anything of this sort. It's much better if you would just say they work inefficiently, and they already admit it. They can't take in all the voice of ALL consumers. I know that they're at least trying from the scope of the updates they send out internally. They kept adding features and changing support. This is to get the maximum output for the time frame.
Shipped less handsets? Well have you looked at the number of handsets they announced? The price range also increased. They're aiming for premium markets, which means they're not mass producing their units. Whatever number is produced, it will only be sold that amount only. They made more profit selling smaller volumes, but higher price range, so it's not rocket science to have profit even if they ship less. You think kicking out employees make them yield profit? Please study on what the reconstruction cost includes and how ridiculous it costs. Thank you.
http://gizmodo.com/5733556/the-complete-state-of-android-froyo-upgrades
Any thoughts?

unknown13x said:
You leave me no choice but to argue. Yes, losing loyal customers is important, I agree, but that they are not listening to feedback is no where near what you said. If you do now know how internal works, please refrain from saying anything of this sort. It's much better if you would just say they work inefficiently, and they already admit it. They can't take in all the voice of ALL consumers. I know that they're at least trying from the scope of the updates they send out internally. They kept adding features and changing support. This is to get the maximum output for the time frame.
Shipped less handsets? Well have you looked at the number of handsets they announced? The price range also increased. They're aiming for premium markets, which means they're not mass producing their units. Whatever number is produced, it will only be sold that amount only. They made more profit selling smaller volumes, but higher price range, so it's not rocket science to have profit even if they ship less. You think kicking out employees make them yield profit? Please study on what the reconstruction cost includes and how ridiculous it costs. Thank you.
http://gizmodo.com/5733556/the-complete-state-of-android-froyo-upgrades
Any thoughts?
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I don't know about there internal structure but I do know how bunisess engineering works. And what I experience and see there business engineering isn't working out for a bunch of there customers.
It is understandable that they can't listen to all there customers wisches, but what boggles me is that there hasn't made an improvement after thet Satio and the Vivaz (my scope). Those phones got terrible support, and customers received terrible feedback. Since then no improvements have been made, and I honestly don't think they will make improvements according to all the new phones they introduce. All these phones need support as well...
They shipped less handset, but as you mentioned the average prices went up several 10th's of dollars. But compared to the smartphone market they lost market share and other phone manufacturers shipped more phones instead of less. Check out there Q3 report of 2010.
http://www.ericsson.com/res/investors/docs/q-reports/2010/9month10-en.pdf

Bestevaer said:
I don't know about there internal structure but I do know how bunisess engineering works. And what I experience and see there business engineering isn't working out for a bunch of there customers.
It is understandable that they can't listen to all there customers wisches, but what boggles me is that there hasn't made an improvement after thet Satio and the Vivaz (my scope). Those phones got terrible support, and customers received terrible feedback. Since then no improvements have been made, and I honestly don't think they will make improvements according to all the new phones they introduce. All these phones need support as well...
They shipped less handset, but as you mentioned the average prices went up several 10th's of dollars. But compared to the smartphone market they lost market share and other phone manufacturers shipped more phones instead of less. Check out there Q3 report of 2010.
http://www.ericsson.com/res/investors/docs/q-reports/2010/9month10-en.pdf
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So...looking at your document doesn't prove anything you said. They're holding on through each quarter while having increased income per quarter...what's your point? Their market share dropped a merely 1% since 2009 from the latest document I received
All brands has dropped their support for Symbian. It's just the reality that this is not the platform for the future. I'm not going to mention any brand, but you can find that out yourself which brand also dropped their support the same time SE did. They did released 2 MR updates as for their policy. It's not as if they dropped the support midway. They fulfilled its 1 year support. What else is needed when the market doesn't even support the platform anymore? Also, wasn't your post initially for Android? What's the point in dragging in Symbian?

SE's standing in terms of updating their devices is no brainer. This phone however will sell for cosmetic reasons. Despite the massive outrage all over the internet, SE will still retain its market share mainly because they are still comming up with good designs.
However the news that SE devices will now get faster updates should be taken with a pinch of salt. Things don't change over night.
It all comes down to personal preference really. If you want a slick looking device; SE is the way to go. If updates matter go for HTC or Nexus.

unknown13x said:
So...looking at your document doesn't prove anything you said. They're holding on through each quarter while having increased income per quarter...what's your point? Their market share dropped a merely 1% since 2009 from the latest document I received
All brands has dropped their support for Symbian. It's just the reality that this is not the platform for the future. I'm not going to mention any brand, but you can find that out yourself which brand also dropped their support the same time SE did. They did released 2 MR updates as for their policy. It's not as if they dropped the support midway. They fulfilled its 1 year support. What else is needed when the market doesn't even support the platform anymore? Also, wasn't your post initially for Android? What's the point in dragging in Symbian?
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You should see the 1% drop in marketshare in perspective. In 2009 the smartphone market grew rapidly, but SE didn't took a part of the pie. And you should (as a critical customer) think why they didn't grew as other companies.
My point is that you should not take the gamble. Buy a SE and there could be a possibility that you (again) end up with poor support, since they never ever improved there support. But you do end up with a beautifulll looking phone.....
The example of the Satio and Vivaz where just to make my point clear about the lack of support and feedback from SE. And that there policy hasn't changed thus far with the introduction of Android.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

As far as I am concerned, SE are dead. I had the X1, SE are worst for software updates. I remember getting froyo on my HTC desire a good 2-3 months before the X10 got 2.1 eclair.
SE have stated that its a fresh start, lets see if they can hold up to that promise, but after the X10, I can't trust SE anymore, i'd much rather go for HTC, Moto or even samsung...

unknown13x said:
Shipped less handsets? Well have you looked at the number of handsets they announced? The price range also increased. They're aiming for premium markets, which means they're not mass producing their units. Whatever number is produced, it will only be sold that amount only. They made more profit selling smaller volumes, but higher price range, so it's not rocket science to have profit even if they ship less. You think kicking out employees make them yield profit? Please study on what the reconstruction cost includes and how ridiculous it costs. Thank you.
http://gizmodo.com/5733556/the-complete-state-of-android-froyo-upgrades
Any thoughts?
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Click to collapse
Let me comment, please.
I have 30 years of IT experience, and 15 of that in application development in FT100 companies.
SE was unable to take part in the astounding demand for new cell phones this year for a number reasons and they don't yet understand the Android philosophy:
1. They were unable to bring X10 family the USA market early.
2. The hardware was excellent when it was announced over two years ago, but they did not make any changes to that hardware to keep that edge. There was no slip-streaming of a better CPU/GPU or "N" wifi etc. SE took advantage of the reduced costs 'by the time' they went to actually manufacture the phones and made design decisions that compromised the performance of the phone, it's upgradeability and saved them money in the parts list.
3. SE continues to not be able to engage serious interest by T-Mobile in SE phones while not one of the two top carriers, is one that they could certainly make a phone for. Equinox is the only phone they are currently selling and only the TM506 prior to that.
4. SE's move to ATL (according to some posts on XDA by former SE Raleigh staff) and the general reduction in programming staff lost those programmers most familiar with the AT&T firmware testing. Historically in the AT&T relationship, AT&T NEVER RELEASED a second firmware for any SE phone even though SE traditionally has released several versions for every phone they have ever made. AT&T has never felt that updates were important for any phone they sold, to them, it is just a pain in the ass. MS forced them to do updates for Windows phones and the contract with Apple didn't give them a choice.
5. Android is supposed to compete with iPhones IOS. One of the ways that makes the iPhone so desirable is that even the old hardware runs the new version of the OS. This means that people who want to stay in grandfathered contracts have a way to resell their old phone to people who don't want to upgrade to a subsidized phone and don't care about the latest and greatest hardware version. Prior model iPhones were selling for $100-$199 just as the last version came out. (Many were shipped to markets not covered by Apple.) This funds the purchase of new models either subsidized or not. Android OS updates make the phones resalable. A Android phone that is out of phase with the latest OS is worthless for resale. SE and other OEMs don't seem to be taking this into account as a part of Apple's strategy to make the iphone have increased value and are not applying it to their own strategy.
6. SE's heads have decided to "not compete on hardware." Well, this is a problem since the people who are looking for Android phones specifically are generally technical and would certainly look at hardware. The X10 was targeted at women as if it was a traditional SE fashion phone with enhanced social networking, all those early ads were showing women using the phone. The Captivate and the X10 arrived within 'days' of each other. The Captivate certainly has the hardware spec advantage over the X10a. Even small things like the internal storage was huge by comparison, as well as the full 512mb ram. Even though the Captivate phone is seriously flawed and fairly ugly, the 'hardware' outsold the X10 by 30x (at AT&T alone). AT&T has not found it necessary to 2-4-1 it or even reduce the pricing significantly, and it was MORE expensive than the X10a through the entire cycle. SE's proud it made 29-30% in the first 3 qtrs 2010 on the phones, but the last quarter I think we will see that number reduced due to the heavy discounting they did to dump the X10's in stock.
SE's so proud of the 30% markup? Apple makes 100%. Samsung was using parts they actually manufactured in other divisions such as the screens, memory and other components, it would not surprise me if they made 50 or 60%.
7. SE didn't listen customers or even to their own employees. SE gave X10's to every SonyStyle store employee to drum up support for sales. Guess what, every SonyStyle employee that I've spoken to, and I have spoken with more than a dozen, either sold the phone right away or gave it away to a family member. I could not find a single employee that actually used it. As a result they didn't really know how to use or demo it in the stores and since many have iPhones or other Android devices didn't even know it didn't have MT (witnessed by them trying to pinch zoom). The actual sale of a phone ( I bought two of these at SonyStyle stores in two different states), was a 'rare' event that the manager used for training other employees. SonyStyle was giving these phones away for Xmas sales with a two year contract, again to dump inventory. Employees when they realized that I was not just some old guy but a technical person were questioning why I would even WANT a X10. (It wasn't so much for the phone as for SE support which I have always liked and the better than run-of-the-mill PC software to link the phone which they butchered with the X10.)
8. Yes, SE never promised 2.2 or MT. (And some of the other companies have reneged or delayed a 2.2/2.3 update for many phones.) As for the global 1year policy, this is terrible, as the phone will only have been in the US for 8 months. However, with the admitted failure to deliver good customer service this year after the reorganization, Android 2.2 or 2.3 would certainly be a good will gesture to the millions of X10 owners and would make the phone worth a few dollars in resale. Only a buy back program for upgrading would be better, though the ARC with less than 300mb internal storage and 512mb ram, an already 6 month old CPU/GPU combo (which is now very cheap) isn't 'cutting edge' by a long shot.

Stan.S, brilliant informative post!
I agree with all the points you raise but I think I will still actually buy the ARC if it comes to market without delay especially after seeing the latest blog video demonstrating what I think is the best camera capability of any phone (besides the nokia n8).
I currently own a HTC Legend and while it has had updates (maintenance and OS) it was annoying that the 2.2 update came after Vodafone began rolling out a version for their phones, pretty irritating especially as I had bought the phone with no contract..So it seems no one is free of bad practices..
Regarding the lack of cutting edge hardware I was slightly put off that there was no mention of dual-core, but then I remember I work as an animator for a games studio that works on well known games and its amazing what we can squeeze out of a DS.
But frankly Im after a super fast camera with excellent video capabilities and I haven't really seen that from any other brands as an animator its annoying carrying a camera and a phone for those odd moments I need to grab/video I always forget to charge my camera or its too cumbersome for that 1 moment... but my phone I have it with me always..

flynny said:
But frankly Im after a super fast camera with excellent video capabilities and I haven't really seen that from any other brands as an animator its annoying carrying a camera and a phone for those odd moments I need to grab/video I always forget to charge my camera or its too cumbersome for that 1 moment... but my phone I have it with me always..
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Click to collapse
Thanks.
Well, the sensor they put in is certainly a level up from most on the market, however, it is again the cheaper of the two possible sensors available. I also understand that the larger (12mpix) sensor would require the phone to be thicker and have a better lens as well as a higher cost.
If SE was really into the PREMIUM market as they claim, they know that the Cybershot variations of their phones have always been beloved by consumers. X10's and the Arc certainly show that the people from the camera section have had input into the design.
This is supposed to be a flagship phone, and there is not a single component that is Outstanding, it's more like the best of the middle ground.
It's always possible that Arc will have brothers and sisters announced at MWC and a bit more differentiation will show up beyond a keyboard or size, but the constant choice of cheaper components (and the reduced internal storage) will certainly cause all the reviewers to comment on the 'below expectations of hardware available at this time' of the devices.

stan.s said:
Let me comment, please.
I have 30 years of IT experience, and 15 of that in application development in FT100 companies.
SE was unable to take part in the astounding demand for new cell phones this year for a number reasons and they don't yet understand the Android philosophy:
1. They were unable to bring X10 family the USA market early.
2. The hardware was excellent when it was announced over two years ago, but they did not make any changes to that hardware to keep that edge. There was no slip-streaming of a better CPU/GPU or "N" wifi etc. SE took advantage of the reduced costs 'by the time' they went to actually manufacture the phones and made design decisions that compromised the performance of the phone, it's upgradeability and saved them money in the parts list.
3. SE continues to not be able to engage serious interest by T-Mobile in SE phones while not one of the two top carriers, is one that they could certainly make a phone for. Equinox is the only phone they are currently selling and only the TM506 prior to that.
4. SE's move to ATL (according to some posts on XDA by former SE Raleigh staff) and the general reduction in programming staff lost those programmers most familiar with the AT&T firmware testing. Historically in the AT&T relationship, AT&T NEVER RELEASED a second firmware for any SE phone even though SE traditionally has released several versions for every phone they have ever made. AT&T has never felt that updates were important for any phone they sold, to them, it is just a pain in the ass. MS forced them to do updates for Windows phones and the contract with Apple didn't give them a choice.
5. Android is supposed to compete with iPhones IOS. One of the ways that makes the iPhone so desirable is that even the old hardware runs the new version of the OS. This means that people who want to stay in grandfathered contracts have a way to resell their old phone to people who don't want to upgrade to a subsidized phone and don't care about the latest and greatest hardware version. Prior model iPhones were selling for $100-$199 just as the last version came out. (Many were shipped to markets not covered by Apple.) This funds the purchase of new models either subsidized or not. Android OS updates make the phones resalable. A Android phone that is out of phase with the latest OS is worthless for resale. SE and other OEMs don't seem to be taking this into account as a part of Apple's strategy to make the iphone have increased value and are not applying it to their own strategy.
6. SE's heads have decided to "not compete on hardware." Well, this is a problem since the people who are looking for Android phones specifically are generally technical and would certainly look at hardware. The X10 was targeted at women as if it was a traditional SE fashion phone with enhanced social networking, all those early ads were showing women using the phone. The Captivate and the X10 arrived within 'days' of each other. The Captivate certainly has the hardware spec advantage over the X10a. Even small things like the internal storage was huge by comparison, as well as the full 512mb ram. Even though the Captivate phone is seriously flawed and fairly ugly, the 'hardware' outsold the X10 by 30x (at AT&T alone). AT&T has not found it necessary to 2-4-1 it or even reduce the pricing significantly, and it was MORE expensive than the X10a through the entire cycle. SE's proud it made 29-30% in the first 3 qtrs 2010 on the phones, but the last quarter I think we will see that number reduced due to the heavy discounting they did to dump the X10's in stock.
SE's so proud of the 30% markup? Apple makes 100%. Samsung was using parts they actually manufactured in other divisions such as the screens, memory and other components, it would not surprise me if they made 50 or 60%.
7. SE didn't listen customers or even to their own employees. SE gave X10's to every SonyStyle store employee to drum up support for sales. Guess what, every SonyStyle employee that I've spoken to, and I have spoken with more than a dozen, either sold the phone right away or gave it away to a family member. I could not find a single employee that actually used it. As a result they didn't really know how to use or demo it in the stores and since many have iPhones or other Android devices didn't even know it didn't have MT (witnessed by them trying to pinch zoom). The actual sale of a phone ( I bought two of these at SonyStyle stores in two different states), was a 'rare' event that the manager used for training other employees. SonyStyle was giving these phones away for Xmas sales with a two year contract, again to dump inventory. Employees when they realized that I was not just some old guy but a technical person were questioning why I would even WANT a X10. (It wasn't so much for the phone as for SE support which I have always liked and the better than run-of-the-mill PC software to link the phone which they butchered with the X10.)
8. Yes, SE never promised 2.2 or MT. (And some of the other companies have reneged or delayed a 2.2/2.3 update for many phones.) As for the global 1year policy, this is terrible, as the phone will only have been in the US for 8 months. However, with the admitted failure to deliver good customer service this year after the reorganization, Android 2.2 or 2.3 would certainly be a good will gesture to the millions of X10 owners and would make the phone worth a few dollars in resale. Only a buy back program for upgrading would be better, though the ARC with less than 300mb internal storage and 512mb ram, an already 6 month old CPU/GPU combo (which is now very cheap) isn't 'cutting edge' by a long shot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very good post Stan.S!
If I may comment your points a little.
1. Hopefully this will change with arc. Seems like they have a deal with At&t.
2. Dont think hardware could have been so much better. They are using qualcomm hardware and their better processors are not done yet. Internal ROM could have been better though. More than 512 RAM is not necessary in my opinion.
3. From what you say about At&t, t-mobile seems a lot better
4. Same as above, Im not American so I wouldn't know
5. Again I think this will be better with arc. From what Ive seen here in Sweden, SE representatives seems to be really committed to upgrade their phones. They know they ****ed up.
6. Actually the head of the "heads" (Bert Nordberg) have said in a interview in the biggest economic newspaper here in Sweden that hardware is important and that they intend to win that race also. He said something like "its all about clock speed these days and we intend to take the lead". Its my understanding that Arc is not the über device of this year. It takes a while to plan these things and Bert probably influenced a later device. Also arc seems to be more about the looks and screen than the hardware. Its not a super highend device
7. That sucks. Probably the same everywhere. Hopefully arc will attract some more goodwill than the x10. Problem these days is that everyone has an iphone and wont leave that ecosystem.
8. An "insider" on a Swedish forum gave an explanation to why the x10 wont get 2.2. Apparently the boot loader is totally locked down. Even for SE people. X10 was never going to get 2.2 or even 2.1 for that matter. They cant change the kernel even if they want to. 2.1 was easy because it was the same kernel. SE ****ed up big on that one. Arcs boot loader is not locked down which will make upgrades easier, and a lot easier for xda to crack also
Edit. Link to interview with Bert Nordberg (in Swedish) http://di.se/Artiklar/2010/10/15/217454/Bert-Nordberg-gar-for-tillvaxt/

I like SE cause I tend to care more about hardware then software. When it comes to software I'm not looking for SE I'm looking at the great XDA developers community which is always upgrading every phone way before the manufacture does anyway.

thorstenn said:
7. That sucks. Probably the same everywhere. Hopefully arc will attract some more goodwill than the x10. Problem these days is that everyone has an iphone and wont leave that ecosystem.
8. An "insider" on a Swedish forum gave an explanation to why the x10 wont get 2.2. Apparently the boot loader is totally locked down. Even for SE people. X10 was never going to get 2.2 or even 2.1 for that matter. They cant change the kernel even if they want to. 2.1 was easy because it was the same kernel. SE ****ed up big on that one. Arcs boot loader is not locked down which will make upgrades easier, and a lot easier for xda to crack also
Edit. Link to interview with Bert Nordberg (in Swedish) http://di.se/Artiklar/2010/10/15/217454/Bert-Nordberg-gar-for-tillvaxt/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
7. You say that leaving iPhone is not possible, but it's not true, there are people who wish to no longer be sheep and not straight jacketed. I talked to a couple of people just today who got HTC's when they decided to sell iphones.
8. Wait, they can't put another kernel on due to the bootloader? are you implying that the bootloader runs some sort of a checksum on the kernel or checks a specific offset address for something? There's only a limited number of things that would lock it to a specific kernel.....

Galaxy S II the envied one.
How many of you here have noticed the tides change. This phone is really the hottest phone on the planet right now. I remember a couple months back how everyone was talking about the sensation/ evo3d, optimus 2x and 3d, people were in love with tegra 2 and in a couple months it becomes the fastest phone with best screen anyone has used according to many reputable gadget sites and blogs. How many people think this is the hottest phone this year? It has destroyed all other dual core competition in the android arena. Do you think this is going to be the first huge hit for android world wide? How many think GSII has pushed android to aa whole new level?!

Hail SGS2.
It is gonna sell hot cakes.

LoveisPeace2012 said:
Galaxy S II the envied one.
How many of you here have noticed the tides change. This phone is really the hottest phone on the planet right now. I remember a couple months back how everyone was talking about the sensation/ evo3d, optimus 2x and 3d, people were in love with tegra 2 and in a couple months it becomes the fastest phone with best screen anyone has used according to many reputable gadget sites and blogs. How many people think this is the hottest phone this year? It has destroyed all other dual core competition in the android arena. Do you think this is going to be the first huge hit for android world wide? How many think GSII has pushed android to aa whole new level?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're in love pal.
Well,it has taken Android to new heights,that's for sure.But wait,we still have a long way to go.

Yeh i can see gs2 going furthere with some updates. But it is getting alto of press, that's always a good thing
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App

Right now it could be the best one but we still have 6 months to go. There is iPhone 5 looming around the corner. Lets wait and see what they have to bring to the table. Although I am Android till the end it is still always nice to see what Apple has to bring because they quite often bring something new and "revolutionary" to the competition.
SGS2 is good but it is kind of like "just" beefed up and perfected version of SGS.
It is actually quite interesting with Android phones because there doesn't seem to be anything new and great coming. Although I am suspecting that for christmas sales there must be something great

SGS2 is a fine piece of kit and a great advert for how good Android can be. The only thorn in the side for me is the silly Tegra fragmentation - and gaming is where the SGS2 could really shine due to the screen and cpu grunt. I know we have Chainfire but it's not the same.
Funny thing is I dislike all things Apple but I can see myself getting the next iPhone.

It's definitely a very good phone. Yes, and it's surely the best dual-core out there. Like someone mentioned, Apple will launch their version of dual core soon. We will wait and see how that goes. I have a feeling that the Apple going to use the Arc camera module.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/02/sony-ceo-casually-mentions-hes-supplying-cameras-to-apple/
I think SGS3 would be launched around Q1 2012 (speculation and some rumors in the internet) http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/30/samsung-teases-4g-tablet-for-2011-galaxy-s-iii-in-first-half-of/
I am expecting the SGS3 to have the super-duper-uber screen from the new OLED plant that Samsung just got operational and sort out some of the issues with GS2. GS2 rectified some of the issues with SGS - like GPS, Pentile matrix, not-so-good TW3 and improved on their strong points - hardware. GS3 "should" be something revolutionary.
I believe that GS3 will be something which would totally blow the market away. Sammy had already shown they can make great dual core device. That would (imho) represent a crowning glory.

i have never understood how people call thing best of the year since we are only half way through it..
Its like when i hear ads on the radio..Fast Five: "BEST MOVIE THIS YEAR".... 1month later X-Men First Class: "BEST MOVIE THIS YEAR"
.. and when transformers 3 comes out.. i will hear the same thing.
but yeah.. i would say SGSII is the best phone out right now.. but not best of the year..

Phone truly does take Android to new heights. First real phone that combats the iPhone's "smoothness" or fluidity, not to mention it looks stunning!
If other phones follow in its footsteps...Android will reign supreme!
And I think it is definitely the best phone of the year, hands-down - seeing as 3D is still (mainly) viewed as a gimmick (plus they're really fat)
HAVING SAID THAT, I'm excluding the Nexus 3/4G and whichever OTHER quad-core devices that are coming this fall. But I imagine quad-core will mainly be the "topic" of 2012, as dual-core has been for 2011.

and like i said.. we still have 6months of the year left.. how can any one say this is the best phone of 2011?

RedBlueGreen said:
and like i said.. we still have 6months of the year left.. how can any one say this is the best phone of 2011?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because people know, what is coming out. Films aren't like phone. Few phones come out, that can ever contend for the best phone of the year.
There aren't meant to be any big releases now, until the end of the year, in which there's no point in saying "BEST PHONE FOR 2011!" (for a month of two) as we move into 2012.

Lots of time left this year indeed. But is there anything really big on the horizon, except for next iPhone? And this phone is called one of the more "future proof" ones. Lets see what the times bring...

SGSII is the best so far

I don't see anyone pushing out anything better. The next iphone might be a worthy contender, but don't forget, it still has iOS *shudders*
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

gstar_raw said:
I don't see anyone pushing out anything better. The next iphone might be a worthy contender, but don't forget, it still has iOS *shudders*
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1. the only contenders are the iPhone 5 (but the whole iOS Android think, kinda separates the two)
and the Nexus 3. If rumoured to have a 720p, 4.3"/4.5" display AND a quad-core KAL-EL - that will be the phone of the year for 2011 (or what's left of it) and 2012....until the S3/HTC's equivelant.
But there's no point crowning a phone, phone of the year, for 2 months. :/

Don't get me wrong, i love my Samsung Galaxy S 2, the specs and tests might recommend it as the best device of the year, until now, but i have another top in mind: "2011 dual-processor smartphone with the fewest flaws". Maybe someone collects all the weak spots of S 2, Optimus 2x and Sensation and makes a non-biased comparison to see which device wins from this point of view. Although i think S 2 was the best choice for me, it's still far from my concept of a perfect phone.

3 of my friends wer so impressed they jumped ship two from iphone 4 and one from nokia n8 and we all have this phone more of my mates are going to get it when ther upgrade is due
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

Doesn't matter if a better phone comes out, the SGS2 is a significant milestone. The iPhone was a "phone of the year" kind of phone, and so was the Blackberry before that. Were the iPhone 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. "phone's of the year"? No, not really. SGS2 is where all the most important pieces came together for Android - processor, display, system integration, 3rd part apps, to where out of the box, it is a powerful tool, it SOLVES THE PROBLEM. There will be better phones on the horizon, but the SGS2 is the phone, like the Blackberry and iPhone, that redefined the industry.

The Sensation is possibly the most comparable phone to the SGS2 at the moment and seems to be getting a lot of attention. Some would say the HTC is better. To my eyes, it's ugly sitting next to the slim, sleek lines of the SGS2.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2fAf5QC3SQ

reflux21 said:
Hail SGS2.
It is gonna sell hot cakes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's impressive, but I have no hot cakes to sell.

The HTC One is very much looking like the next phone for me long term, but all this talk about how poor HTC is doing is making me wonder is it worth the risk if they go bust, then I guess the software would stop getting updates, warranty wouldn't be covered if things go wrong, no sell on value as well.
What are peoples' thoughts?

happysteveo said:
The HTC One is very much looking like the next phone for me long term, but all this talk about how poor HTC is doing is making me wonder is it worth the risk if they go bust, then I guess the software would stop getting updates, warranty wouldn't be covered if things go wrong, no sell on value as well.
What are peoples' thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Here in the uk warranty wouldnt be an issue as the contract is with the company you purchased the phone from and not the manufacturer. I dunno how it works in other countries but we are safe this side of the pond.
2) If the development community is thriving then I wouldnt worry about updates (i plan on jumping straight to cyanogenmod if it is ever supported).
3) Sell on value would naturally be effected but thats the risk you take with anything you buy these days.
Personally I cant see HTC going under and if they do, ah well, not like im spending thousands.

You could play the Titanic theme as you toss your One off the back of a ship?

jdawglx01 said:
You could play the Titanic theme as you toss your One off the back of a ship?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i lol'd in the office

i really cant see htc going bust anytime soon.
They are still making money , and that without the launch of the htc one which should boost them up for a bit.
Dont forget they are still the 4th largest manufactor of phones in the world.

That thought did cross my mind too but I do not think they would go bust or do a blackberry and mess things up totally.

happysteveo said:
The HTC One is very much looking like the next phone for me long term, but all this talk about how poor HTC is doing is making me wonder is it worth the risk if they go bust, then I guess the software would stop getting updates, warranty wouldn't be covered if things go wrong, no sell on value as well.
What are peoples' thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTC isn't going busted. They are not in bankrupcy they only have lesser sales but still they earn a gross of million dollars per quarter. It's just it is low compared to other phone companies. Don't be a paranoid, the smartphone manufacturing sector is one of the most lively business today there's no way any company would go bankrupt from it. There's far too many other OEMs which has lower sales than HTC infact HTC has even higher sales compared to blackberry and LG.

GRRR .. how do you remove a thanks !! ... Fat fingers and a touchpad don't mix !!!
Of course HTC isn't going bust .. what a daft idea. Their sales have slowed per quarter year on year when the crazy economy nowadays expects constant growth. If HTC comes a respecatble third behind Samsung and Apple that will satisfy the company goals as long as they take back some more market share.
Remeber that the percentage of market share figures being shown around are dependent on the size of the market. Samsung has done an enormous job (and spent an enormous amount of money) expanding the overall market. 10% of the market 5 years ago is nowhere near as good as 5% of the current market, and that's mainly thanks to the marketing divisions of Samsung and Apple competing to take over the world ...
On the other hand, HTC has always produce a 'disruptive' product every couple of years, one which stretches the envelope in some way or another. They innovate, the others market ... There will always be a relatively small but extremely comfortable place for HTC top-end phones ... and don't forget ... they made white-box phones for other companies and carriers for years before 'coming out' ... there's still a market there too.
Worry more for Nokia, Blackberry and a few others. The likes of Samsung and LG are appliance manufacturers and Apple are computer manufacturers so they have safe business to fall back on. Once the Cellphone market starts to approach saturation they'll ease off .. but right now the race is for a decent slice of China, South America and India ... Let's see how HTC acceptance is in those regions before we start to ring any funeral bells

yes this post pisses me off as well
HTC has so far been profitable, ie: they are not yet sustaining operational losses
yes yes sales are down, but the latest numbers are just media FUD, with a new supreme SINGLE flagship almost released no one would buy their old flagships
the recent news is that they are at their lowest pre android level, surprising how they've survived and grew back then if its a near death experience
besides even if they cross into "loss", companies can survive this state for years as well

What everyone else said, plus: Absolute WORST CASE scenario, they get bought. A company with as much valuable talent, branding, IP and carrier/manufacturing partnerships as HTC doesn't "go bust". Who would buy them? Well, ASUS is a Taiwanese company that desperately wants to transition successfully into the phone market..

hamdir said:
yes this post pisses me off as well
HTC has so far been profitable, ie: they are not yet sustaining operational losses
yes yes sales are down, but the latest numbers are just media FUD, with a new supreme SINGLE flagship almost released no one would buy their old flagships
the recent news is that they are at their lowest pre android level, surprising how they've survived and grew back then if its a near death experience
besides even if they cross into "losses", companies can survive this state for years as well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A bit OT but I have a feeling they will release more phones than just "ONE" over this year but I really hope they don't as it's just easier to maintain and support 1 phone a year rather than 6 or more.

jdawglx01 said:
You could play the Titanic theme as you toss your One off the back of a ship?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you are so funny, man.:laugh:

While it's true that HTC's revenue and profits have been depleting for about 18 months, the company is actually doing quite well when compared to Sony, Motorola, Nokia, BlackBerry and a few others. All of those companies have been operating at a loss for quite some time, yet they have managed to stay alive.
The fact that HTC is changing its approach with the One is actually a very good sign. The company will be able to focus its software development efforts on fewer devices and throw its entire marketing budget behind one device. We will see other HTC devices launch in the coming months, but a handful of HTC execs have stated that a number of phones were killed off so that the company could make the HTC One a priority.
If things go really bad with the HTC One this year and can't find a way to reverse its downward trend, HTC will still be around for at least 2-3 years before they would need to file for bankruptcy.

Imagine if HTC did go bust...we'd have to buy plasticy toy looking phones that make toilet noises.

Wiki shows this
Revenue $9.449 billion USD
Operating income $1.496 billion USD
I think they will be ok ....

hamdir said:
yes this post pisses me off as well
HTC has so far been profitable, ie: they are not yet sustaining operational losses
yes yes sales are down, but the latest numbers are just media FUD, with a new supreme SINGLE flagship almost released no one would buy their old flagships
the recent news is that they are at their lowest pre android level, surprising how they've survived and grew back then if its a near death experience
besides even if they cross into "losses", companies can survive this state for years as well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could not agree more. HTC made less PROFIT this quarter making it their lowest performing quarter since the nexus one days.
Remember winmo? This site used to be all HTC, their stock was rising based on decisions like branding on their own etc. The One will be the largest rollout since the Touch pro 2. They are still more profitable now since then. HTC isn't going anywhere.
Sent from my HTC One V using Tapatalk 2

I think HTC is unlikely to go bust. They took everything they learned from the Sensation line and gave us the One X. As they realized various issues, HTC rapidly adapted their phones to fix issues of the past. Things like the WiFi antenna issue will never happen again. Sense 5 is much more in line with AOSP and Holo, with much better functional addition. They brought back the aluminum unibody. They innovated new features, brought a truly good camera to the table rather than better optics and a good camera app. They added new sound hardware and truly delivered on their promise to give great sound instead of just an equalizer. The list just keeps going on.
HTC has shown that they rapidly adapt to fix their weaknesses and give customers what they want. I think that is what will ensure their survival.

The only phone company going bust this year is Blackberry

There is no chance at all but in case Google or Samsung are the potential buyer they will take care of all things
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

Reckless187 said:
Imagine if HTC did go bust...we'd have to buy plasticy toy looking phones that make toilet noises.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just awesome
by the way HTC just closed a 10 year deal with apple, a 3 year sponsorship with UEFA and has been on a hiring spree, so yea it's safe to say they are not going anywhere
don't let media FUD get to you
---------- Post added at 10:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:02 AM ----------
daleski75 said:
A bit OT but I have a feeling they will release more phones than just "ONE" over this year but I really hope they don't as it's just easier to maintain and support 1 phone a year rather than 6 or more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the strategy is for one supreme flagaship, no other devices for at least half a year, and with a very high chance of a One + mid year
there will definitely be other mid to low range devices, a phablet + tablet maybe
considering that even Apple is about to release two iPhones (and two ipads, ipod etc) you can't really expect a phone specific company like HTC to just go for one device, actually no body releases one device...stop dreaming
but they did fix their biggest mistake which was release three competing flagships last year (One S, X, XL)
a mid year refresh will not hurt, in fact it will persuade those considering the One mid year but tempted with newer devices specifications, all their previous mid year refresh were basically the same device with a slight speed+battery boost/ refinement to the finish/red accents! so no matter how the minority of XDA memebers like to cry about those minor refresh releases, ITS STILL THE SAME DEVICE
yesterday i saw the One X+ with someone and i asked him if i can see it, i just couldn't stop myself from laughing all those who freaked out when it was announced, its 99% the One X, HTC have the same team for what basically is the same firmware on both, in fact im all for it, refreshing the same device actually entices HTC to keep the updates flowing

Samsung Allegedly Concerned About Current Plastic Designs
http://www.technobuffalo.com/2013/04/13/samsung-plastic-designs/
Sent from my Tricked out 2.4.0 HTC One via xda-developers application

They should also be concerned about those fugly buttons and the crappy touch wiz
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium HD app

EnIXmA said:
They should also be concerned about those fugly buttons and the crappy touch wiz
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, +1, couldn't agree more
Sent from my PG86100 using xda app-developers app

EnIXmA said:
They should also be concerned about those fugly buttons and the crappy touch wiz
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As much as I dont like the look of TWUI, it is the most functional skin of any skin. I quite like it to be honest.
And I love buttons too. Having used Nexus 4 for a while, you get used to the on screen buttons as way of life, but capacitive buttons still have their own benefits. If I am to have buttons, I would rather have it the way samsung does than the layout on One at the moment.
Frankly Samsung has done the right thing this time around. There is no point in producing a phone with premium material if you cannot produce it in enough quantity by maintaining the quality.
S4 will sell on specifications and features alone. Note 3 being more premium is right way to go. S4 is for masses really.
We are all seeing how much this delay with One is costing HTC. Not to mention QC issues we are seeing in initial batches.
To be honest this whole premium material thing only lasts for few days. I am OCD about my phones, they are kept in case, I dont really care if they use metal or not. If it feels good in hand, has good developer support, fast and decent battery life, I am golden.
I am going for One simply because of curiosity. I have been thoroughly disappointed by my last 2 HTC phones (One X and DNA).
I hope One bucks the trend.

I read this earlier, who knows if it's true. Seems like people just throw random stuff out in the hopes that it sticks. I mean, sooner or later something they say has to be right. I have always said that Samsung should buy HTC and let them design the hardware and let Samsung do the software. A match made in heaven.

Touchwiz on the One would make me ****ing puke.

Funkym0nkey said:
As much as I dont like the look of TWUI, it is the most functional skin of any skin. I quite like it to be honest.
And I love buttons too. Having used Nexus 4 for a while, you get used to the on screen buttons as way of life, but capacitive buttons still have their own benefits. If I am to have buttons, I would rather have it the way samsung does than the layout on One at the moment.
Frankly Samsung has done the right thing this time around. There is no point in producing a phone with premium material if you cannot produce it in enough quantity by maintaining the quality.
S4 will sell on specifications and features alone. Note 3 being more premium is right way to go. S4 is for masses really.
We are all seeing how much this delay with One is costing HTC. Not to mention QC issues we are seeing in initial batches.
To be honest this whole premium material thing only lasts for few days. I am OCD about my phones, they are kept in case, I dont really care if they use metal or not. If it feels good in hand, has good developer support, fast and decent battery life, I am golden.
I am going for One simply because of curiosity. I have been thoroughly disappointed by my last 2 HTC phones (One X and DNA).
I hope One bucks the trend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are disappointed by the One X? Give me a break
Unless you are not aware QC issues were quickly sorted and the device is the most well and hastily supported device in HTC history, I bet you've jumped ship so early you have no idea what your are talking about
I said it again n again I prey HTC will drop the mainstream game and become solely aimed at upper end, boutique and more expensive, then we will be done with all this non sense

hamdir said:
You are disappointed by the One X? Give me a break
Unless you are not aware QC issues were quickly sorted and the device is the most well and hastily supported device in HTC history, I bet you've jumped ship so early you have no idea what your are talking about
I said it again n again I prey HTC will drop the mainstream game and become solely aimed at upper end, boutique and more expensive, then we will be done with all this non sense
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes,
Screwing early adopters is never a good thing. I had to go through 4 One X before getting a good one. Leave the quality issues aside, but there were and are plenty of other things wrong with HTC handsets at the moment. That is discussion for other thread. But this notion that users are suppose to shut up and live with the problems when there are good alternatives is ridiculous.
I have bought flagships of all manufacturers over years. All of them. All HTC flagships since their first android. All Samsung and LG and even current flagships from xiaomi and Oppo. At this moment I have 5 flagship devices from 5 manufacturers with me. Mobiles are my passion. But I don't get attached to manufacturers blindly. I give fair shot to them. And the good ones end up being my daily driver. I still keep phones for few months on hope that company might turn things around or the xda development scene might get exciting for that device. And thanks to my business I do need to own multiple phone lines. So no, I have given HTC enough money and time and I am giving it to them again as I have Dev edition on preorder.
That does not mean I will be good little fanboy and say only good things about them.
From my Droid DNA, right in your face....

Funkym0nkey said:
Yes,
Screwing early adopters is never a good thing. I had to go through 4 One X before getting a good one. Leave the quality issues aside, but there were and are plenty of other things wrong with HTC handsets at the moment. That is discussion for other thread. But this notion that users are suppose to shut up and live with the problems when there are good alternatives is ridiculous.
I have bought flagships of all manufacturers over years. All of them. All HTC flagships since their first android. All Samsung and LG and even current flagships from xiaomi and Oppo. At this moment I have 5 flagship devices from 5 manufacturers with me. Mobiles are my passion. But I don't get attached to manufacturers blindly. I give fair shot to them. And the good ones end up being my daily driver. I still keep phones for few months on hope that company might turn things around or the xda development scene might get exciting for that device. And thanks to my business I do need to own multiple phone lines. So no, I have given HTC enough money and time and I am giving it to them again as I have Dev edition on preorder.
That does not mean I will be good little fanboy and say only good things about them.
From my Droid DNA, right in your face....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm with you. Same story. Don't pay any attention to the other guy. He spews the same stuff over and over again.
As for Samsung, I'll believe it when I see it. I remember the S3 was supposed to be ceramic or something...
Sent from my C6603 using xda premium

What things no body is saying any good things its like a joy to just bash their devices for the stupidest of reasons
Give me a break, nothing besides the initial one x software and QC issues that you can call a disappointment, sorted in just 2 months, otherwise its now one of the best smartphones ever created
No body is screwing any body it's the life long story of early electronics adopters, nothing new and nothing specific to HTC
But alas like I said if we slab any other logo on their devices it would have been another story

hamdir said:
What things no body is saying any good things its like a joy to just bash their devices for the stupidest of reasons
Give me a break, nothing besides the initial one x software and QC issues that you can call a disappointment, sorted in just 2 months, otherwise its now one of the best smartphones ever created
No body is screwing any body it's the life long story of early electronics adopters, nothing new and nothing specific to HTC
But alas like I said if we slab any other logo on their devices it would have been another story
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd say battery life is a disappointment. My camera lens was scuffed within a week because of the design. My unit also had the Wi-Fi hardware defect. It has nothing to do with the HTC logo. I scrapped the Nexus 4 because of the weak glass too.
Sent from my C6603 using xda premium

Tetsumi06 said:
Samsung Allegedly Concerned About Current Plastic Designs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As with all news coming from "our sources," take in to account who's putting the story out. All the sites are just quoting SamMobile which HTC's lucky not to have an equivelant of on their "team." The further out the news is, the more frequently SamMobile's wrong.
BREAKING: Samsung ditches own AMOLED and EXYNOS inside new Galaxy S IV
Posted by DannyD on 23 February 2013 at 10:01
Yes you just read the title of this message right. Our insider just gave us the first official “unconfirmed” specifications of the next generation Galaxy S, the Galaxy S IV. The Galaxy S IV will no longer use the Samsung EXYNOS processor and according to the latest rumours this processor has overheating issues. Today we can confirm Samsung will use the Snapdragon 600 and it is clocked at 1.9 Ghz which is 0.2 Ghz higher than the HTC One. The Galaxy S IV will have 2 GB of RAM and will come in three variants 16, 32 or 64 GB. As the rumours earlier reported Samsung is going to use a Full HD display. The Galaxy S IV uses a 4,99″ Full-HD SoLux Display we have no information if this is based on LCD3 like the HTC One. But a couple of months ago we posted the first hint regarding Samsung’s LCD factory is ready to produce Full HD panels from early 2013. And we also know Samsung’s AMOLED factory does have many problems with the production of full HD AMOLED screens.
http://www.sammobile.com/2013/02/23...xynos-inside-new-galaxy-s-iv-with-bootscreen/

Funkym0nkey said:
Yes,
Screwing early adopters is never a good thing. I had to go through 4 One X before getting a good one. Leave the quality issues aside, but there were and are plenty of other things wrong with HTC handsets at the moment. That is discussion for other thread. But this notion that users are suppose to shut up and live with the problems when there are good alternatives is ridiculous.
I have bought flagships of all manufacturers over years. All of them. All HTC flagships since their first android. All Samsung and LG and even current flagships from xiaomi and Oppo. At this moment I have 5 flagship devices from 5 manufacturers with me. Mobiles are my passion. But I don't get attached to manufacturers blindly. I give fair shot to them. And the good ones end up being my daily driver. I still keep phones for few months on hope that company might turn things around or the xda development scene might get exciting for that device. And thanks to my business I do need to own multiple phone lines. So no, I have given HTC enough money and time and I am giving it to them again as I have Dev edition on preorder.
That does not mean I will be good little fanboy and say only good things about them.
From my Droid DNA, right in your face....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Epic post, I feel the exact same way as I have used many phones from many different manufacturers, even different OS. The folks that enjoy tech the most are those that keep an open mind and see good things in all brands, not the close minded that are stubborn, in fact they are the most unhappy.

Funkym0nkey said:
Yes,
Screwing early adopters is never a good thing. I had to go through 4 One X before getting a good one. Leave the quality issues aside, but there were and are plenty of other things wrong with HTC handsets at the moment. That is discussion for other thread. But this notion that users are suppose to shut up and live with the problems when there are good alternatives is ridiculous.
I have bought flagships of all manufacturers over years. All of them. All HTC flagships since their first android. All Samsung and LG and even current flagships from xiaomi and Oppo. At this moment I have 5 flagship devices from 5 manufacturers with me. Mobiles are my passion. But I don't get attached to manufacturers blindly. I give fair shot to them. And the good ones end up being my daily driver. I still keep phones for few months on hope that company might turn things around or the xda development scene might get exciting for that device. And thanks to my business I do need to own multiple phone lines. So no, I have given HTC enough money and time and I am giving it to them again as I have Dev edition on preorder.
That does not mean I will be good little fanboy and say only good things about them.
From my Droid DNA, right in your face....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree completely. Loyalty is the quality of the ignorant consumer. The smart consumer is never loyal to any brand; he goes to whichever product is best for him regardless of who manufactured it.

MohJee said:
I agree completely. Loyalty is the quality of the ignorant consumer. The smart consumer is never loyal to any brand; he goes to whichever product is best for him regardless of who manufactured it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And what of companies failing in CSR? Would you still buy their product just because it is the best? This is only one example. A smart consumer can also be loyal. In fact, a smart consumer should be loyal.

ataft said:
And what of companies failing in CSR? Would you still buy their product just because it is the best? This is only one example. A smart consumer can also be loyal. In fact, a smart consumer should be loyal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I guess we all went way OT lol but one last point. You're right, being a loyal consumer is a good thing ( although I disagree that you should be like you mentioned, it's a personal choice). The issue is that some consumers are loyal to one brand and dismiss or try to discredit other brands or one brand in particular(definition of a fanboy), that's the issue that we are discussing.

Competition is always good and if HTC forces Samsung to up the game and use better materials then that is all good in my opinion.

BarryH_GEG said:
As with all news coming from "our sources," take in to account who's putting the story out. All the sites are just quoting SamMobile which HTC's lucky not to have an equivelant of on their "team." The further out the news is, the more frequently SamMobile's wrong.
BREAKING: Samsung ditches own AMOLED and EXYNOS inside new Galaxy S IV
Posted by DannyD on 23 February 2013 at 10:01
Yes you just read the title of this message right. Our insider just gave us the first official “unconfirmed” specifications of the next generation Galaxy S, the Galaxy S IV. The Galaxy S IV will no longer use the Samsung EXYNOS processor and according to the latest rumours this processor has overheating issues. Today we can confirm Samsung will use the Snapdragon 600 and it is clocked at 1.9 Ghz which is 0.2 Ghz higher than the HTC One. The Galaxy S IV will have 2 GB of RAM and will come in three variants 16, 32 or 64 GB. As the rumours earlier reported Samsung is going to use a Full HD display. The Galaxy S IV uses a 4,99″ Full-HD SoLux Display we have no information if this is based on LCD3 like the HTC One. But a couple of months ago we posted the first hint regarding Samsung’s LCD factory is ready to produce Full HD panels from early 2013. And we also know Samsung’s AMOLED factory does have many problems with the production of full HD AMOLED screens.
http://www.sammobile.com/2013/02/23...xynos-inside-new-galaxy-s-iv-with-bootscreen/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There was a real image of an LCD S4 prototype. My friend said he had seen 3 different S4 prototypes. And the article of OP also mentioned about the metal prototype of S4.
And for the question about the touchwiz, I'm sure MultiWindow is the desire of any smartphone user (more or less, but I think nobody doesn't want it in their phone)

Build quality goes out the window when you put a decent case on your phone so who cares man.

daleski75 said:
Competition is always good and if HTC forces Samsung to up the game and use better materials then that is all good in my opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Competition is the mother of innovation. Personally I set my top criteria when looking for a new phone: will it feel
robust in my hand. This always leads me back to aluminium (granted, 2nd criteria is: Not Apple)
hung2900 said:
And for the question about the touchwiz, I'm sure MultiWindow is the desire of any smartphone user (more or less, but I think nobody doesn't want it in their phone)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I certainly don't want multi-window on any platform below 8 inches. No matter what res you're running there just isn't enough physical realestate (that chat-head that FB messenger pushed out is getting disabled! There's no part of the screen it WON'T get in the way)
Sent from my 2.4.0 Trickdroid HTC One via xda-developers application

Idk if you guys have noticed but HTC is declining at an alarming rate http://thenextweb.com/insider/2015/08/13/htc-cuts-15-of-its-workforce-as-it-battles-poor-sales/ and they're worthless http://techcrunch.com/2015/08/10/htc-is-now-essentially-worthless-and-insecure/#.lb8fpr:0sl9 . So do you guys think HTC is doomed or will they make a comeback?

Theandroidfan said:
Idk if you guys have noticed but HTC is declining at an alarming rate http://thenextweb.com/insider/2015/08/13/htc-cuts-15-of-its-workforce-as-it-battles-poor-sales/ and they're worthless http://techcrunch.com/2015/08/10/htc-is-now-essentially-worthless-and-insecure/#.lb8fpr:0sl9 . So do you guys think HTC is doomed or will they make a comeback?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL I read those same links and came up with a different conclusion than you..........................................
In the short term profits are non existent, but that does not mean they are down and out.
Look at most of the USA's motor manufacturers, they were in the same boat not to long back

It's funny you mention this. I was displaying something at work the other day to a coworker and a few of his friends. After the video was over, someone asked: "What phone is that?" I said "The HTC One M9". He responded with "HTC? Wow I haven't seen anyone with an HTC in a long time." The rest of the group nodded. That's when I realized that HTC is behind in the game, even if their Flagship product continues to out-pace the S6 and G4 in terms of battery life and build quality. When people think of buying a new phone the first thing that pops into their heads are either the iPhone or Samsung. Samsung is a massive company that has been saturating the market with advertisements for years. But even moving passed them, what are some other phone manufacturers that normal, non-tech savvy people would think of. LG is a familiar name. HTC? Not so much.
HTC needs to get its name out there. Its making quality devices and no one seems to care. The M9 wasn't a big departure from the M8 in terms of looks and when people buy phones they want to be noticed. A phone is every bit an upgrade to the person's communication capabilities as it is a social status. For the buyers that do research before purchasing a new device, they probably stumbled upon the slew of articles proclaiming the Snapdragon 810's heat problems. They also probably read about the lackluster camera. While the camera, after many updates, is quite good, it still doesn't have basic features like OIS. Unfortunately, we live in a society where the camera is the most important part of the phone; thanks to Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, etc. People want a phone that they can just point and shoot in any condition and take a good photo. So when I read articles like the ones you posted above, I find myself not really that surprised. HTC has struggled to keep up with the likes of Samsung, LG and Motorola. Period.
As for me, the M9 is nice, but I absolutely cannot wait for the new Nexus 5 to come out this year. The development community here has some nice content but between Sense and the lack of sources coming from HTC, I find myself missing my old N5 more and more. This will be the last HTC device I'll ever own.

Alcolawl said:
The M9 wasn't a big departure from the M8 in terms of looks and when people buy phones they want to be noticed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah because Apple totally redesign their phones every year and wouldn't possibly ship the same phone again with an S badge on it. People still queue for days down the street for it.

They're in trouble, yes. Even a killer M10 might not be enough because the market is just saturated and the margins on flagship phones are so thin. And they're going to have trouble rolling out a killer phone for the simple reason that nobody can afford to max out the specs anymore and still sell their phones at a profit. I mean, look what happened with the OP2. Even Samsung had to cut corners on the S6 (battery, sdcard slot).
Samsung is surviving on marketing and market share, but when the cheap smartphones from China start really flooding the market, things are going to change for everyone.

Despite the negation of some, HTC is at its darkest hour. If the hero product coming doesn't turns out to be a real hero, I'm afraid the M10 will be the last for them to succeed they need both to be successful, and considering the middle tier and phones like the Redmi Note 2 out there, it's gonna be really hard

In my humble opinion, HTC should try not to compete with Apple and Samsung, but move in a new direction. They should move to a more niche market, keeping the things they are good at and also creating a device that comes rooted, so people who like all the modding can have a device that would truly unique to them or bespoke.
Samsung and Apple are to big now for HTC to compete with, so heading in a completely different directions may save HTC, but the company would be a lot smaller than it is now.
Sent from my HTC One M9 using XDA Free mobile app

Alcolawl said:
It's funny you mention this. I was displaying something at work the other day to a coworker and a few of his friends. After the video was over, someone asked: "What phone is that?" I said "The HTC One M9". He responded with "HTC? Wow I haven't seen anyone with an HTC in a long time." The rest of the group nodded. That's when I realized that HTC is behind in the game, even if their Flagship product continues to out-pace the S6 and G4 in terms of battery life and build quality. When people think of buying a new phone the first thing that pops into their heads are either the iPhone or Samsung. Samsung is a massive company that has been saturating the market with advertisements for years. But even moving passed them, what are some other phone manufacturers that normal, non-tech savvy people would think of. LG is a familiar name. HTC? Not so much.
HTC needs to get its name out there. Its making quality devices and no one seems to care. The M9 wasn't a big departure from the M8 in terms of looks and when people buy phones they want to be noticed. A phone is every bit an upgrade to the person's communication capabilities as it is a social status. For the buyers that do research before purchasing a new device, they probably stumbled upon the slew of articles proclaiming the Snapdragon 810's heat problems. They also probably read about the lackluster camera. While the camera, after many updates, is quite good, it still doesn't have basic features like OIS. Unfortunately, we live in a society where the camera is the most important part of the phone; thanks to Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, etc. People want a phone that they can just point and shoot in any condition and take a good photo. So when I read articles like the ones you posted above, I find myself not really that surprised. HTC has struggled to keep up with the likes of Samsung, LG and Motorola. Period.
As for me, the M9 is nice, but I absolutely cannot wait for the new Nexus 5 to come out this year. The development community here has some nice content but between Sense and the lack of sources coming from HTC, I find myself missing my old N5 more and more. This will be the last HTC device I'll ever own.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great post, I'm with ya... In my case, I miss my OnePlus One just like you miss your Nexus 5. I'm planning on getting one of the two new Nexus that are coming out in October as well, and the M9 is probably going to be my last HTC device as well.
Sent from my HTC One M9 using XDA Free mobile app

HTC for ever rip
Inviato dal mio HTC One M9 utilizzando Tapatalk

CaseyChaos666 said:
Yeah because Apple totally redesign their phones every year and wouldn't possibly ship the same phone again with an S badge on it. People still queue for days down the street for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTC is not apple. Apple can afford to do that, HTC can't.

I bought the M9 on a whim (and to see if HTC got its head straight after the Doubleshot debacle) and I'm impressed with this phone. Unfortunately it's too little too late.
Sent from my toaster

I have a lot of htc devices before i buy sgs3 and then sgs5. I go for sammy because there was too many hardware issues with htc phones. But touchwiz i the ugliest launcher. I just can'tuse it. So i install cm on my samsungs. But there was always something that doesnt work as it should. Now with m9 i am very happy again. I would definitely support this copamny in future. I don't know why people are expecting so different design. Not always different is good.
Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

I hope it doesn't lose ground. I know this isn't a popular device amongst the 2015 flagships. Definitely doesn't beat m8 in terms of popularity either. Their main focus is their next phone but hope htc continues to give us timely updates and support for this device. My only concern.
It's sad that my dad even knows this company is struggling and he doesn't know anything about smartphones.

I'm hoping HTC doesn't die either, pretty much the only phone on the market I like due to the sense overlay, don't like Samsung's touchwiz and as for the rest, LG, Sony etc, well you may as well just get a Nexus, and Sony are rubbish for updates in my experience, Cant stand I don't know phones.
M9 is currently available on Virgin Mobile for half the price it was 4 months ago, sorry all those who grabbed it as soon as it came out on a 2 year contract and are paying double :crying: current price is not a good sign, still may grab one however when my contract comes up for renewal in November, maybe it will be a bit cheaper.
HTC are upsetting a lot of people at the moment with them promising updates and then not bothering, M8 just lost its August update, we now have to wait till android M release, and I can really see by the time its ready, they will use the excuse that the device is over 2 years old so no update, so still no Sense 7 unless you go custom rom, if XDA developers can do it, why cant HTC ?
HTC Mini 2 aka M8 mini, only got a year of updates, didn't even get Lollipop, not a very happy Mrs. promised by HTC then cancelled.
M7 updates got the 2 year excuse and left with a buggy Lollipop, which were fixed by Google 4 weeks later in 5.1.

I miss the HTC that made good phones like this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfSxWNOG8DQ That video gives me a nostalgia overload.

Looks like htc is digging a bigger hole for the m9 with the a9 being announced in September.
The support for this device is going to downtrend fast.

cougzzz said:
Looks like htc is digging a bigger hole for the m9 with the a9 being announced in September.
The support for this device is going to downtrend fast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If they do a good job with the initial release that doesn't needs to be true; It will include the latest android version, so no need to worry about system updates probably until android M, it will include the stagefright patches, so no need to worry about that either. If it includes a good camera and gets rid of Snapdragon 810, there won't be a need of constant firmware updates and even if it includes the 810, they've improved it so much so far, so there would be no need to firmware updates, cause they passed for that with the M9 already.
Again that's assuming they're going to announce sometihng at IFA, which is yet uncertain.

Simply put...nowadays phone manufacturers don't need to build the best phone to sell the "best" phone, they just have to make it the most popular phone. People outside of XDA don't buy a phone because it has killer features, or superior build quality, or the best camera; they buy a phone because the marketing department said it was the best phone on the market, plain and simple. If HTC wants to catch up, all they need to do is change the look of the M10 and focus on marketing it heavily. HTC has been building top tier smartphones for some time now and they have lost the market game to Samsung and Apple every year.
And also, don't think for a minute that other manufacturers will not pay for negative press on competing phones. They know that public perception is what drives public reception. I am quite certain that Samsung "influenced" atleast a few of the bad review that the M9 received. I am the proud owner of an M9 and although it hasn't been the best phone that I have ever owned, it is FAR from as bad as some of the reviews made it out to be; but if you read the reviews and base your phone decision off of them, you would think the M9 was a piece of junk to be avoided.
All HTC needs to do is figure out some hip gimmicks and marketing (not for us, but for the public), and they will be just fine.

Htc is for people who don't want to go with the sheep of the phone world, plus once you've had a decent high end htc device you'll always be looking back if you switch to let's say a Samsung or an apple device. They're always really close to getting it perfect, this time round it's obviously the camera which is still good but you need to tweak it a bit, personally I'd always chose htc, they're great phones, especially since the m7.
In terms of overall sales, no they're not doing as well as Samsung and apple, bare in mind though that Apple and samsung sell lots of other devices besides phones, htc do not. A fresh approach needs to happen in terms of marketing, and a thoroughly tested flagship with every angle covered, plus I don't think it's necessary for them to release several phones per year. A flag ship and a budget phone would suffice, allowing them to optimise the devices properly. Having an E an E+ an m9 and an m9+ with desires popping up all over the place for me is far too much.
Time will tell, but I don't think they're down and out.

This is my sixth HTC phone and still happy with it. Sad though they can't keep up with the telecom market nowadays.. I would say HTC ain't dead, but it had its better days. Hopefully they strike back with a stunning 2016 flagship. They really deserve a better position or either everybody's attention like last year with the m8 in my opinion
Sent from my HTC One M9 using XDA Free mobile app