HTC

HTC's comeback plan is to develop a China-centric mobile OS

posted by Michael H. / Aug 28, 2013, 3:37 PM

HTC's comeback plan is to develop a China-centric mobile OS

HTC has been having a rough go of it recently. The company decided to "abandon" the low-end market in order to focus on the high-end, in an effort to cut into Samsung's huge slice of the Android market share. With that in mind, HTC released the One (which of course was not the only One, since we are expecting the One mini and One Max soon enough.) Unfortunately, while the One is a great device, it hasn't been the big seller that HTC had hoped. So, a new report says HTC is aiming at China to continue its comeback.

China is a huge market, and one that has a lot of room for growth with smartphones. It is also a market that is open to new operating systems, or at least HTC hopes so, because a new report says that HTC is planning a China-centric mobile OS. It is unclear if the OS will be proprietary, or if it will be a fork of Android, but word has it that HTC is going to deeply integrate popular Chinese services like Weibo.

HTC had first talked about creating its own OS about two years ago, but it is unclear if this was the plan all along. Apparently, HTC's Chairwoman Cher Wang has been in contact with Chinese government officials in order to make the best product it can without running afoul of China's Great Firewall. China's government has been encouraging more locally-developed solutions (although HTC is based in Taiwan, not China), because it wants to reduce dependence on Western companies like Google, Apple, Microsoft, and BlackBerry.

As yet, there is no word on when HTC might be planning to launch this new OS.

source: WSJ

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27 Comments

1. AfterShock

Posts: 4147; Member since: Nov 02, 2012

Losing me here HTC.

posted on Aug 28, 2013, 3:53 PM 10

2. _Bone_

Posts: 2155; Member since: Oct 29, 2012

Gonna be a good old fashioned epic fail. The last thing HTC wanna do is experimenting when all they need to do is to release good devices on the trusted and popular Android front.

posted on Aug 28, 2013, 4:01 PM 9

4. Feanor

Posts: 1429; Member since: Jun 20, 2012

I disagree. HTC One is as good as it gets and it sold decently but it still didn't save them. I am afraid that HTC has little hope against electronic giants like Samsung, LG and now Sony too, or chinese manufacturers that can rely on their massive domestic market. I am afraid they will indeed have to find their niche to survive or turn again to an ODM.

posted on Aug 28, 2013, 4:10 PM 1

6. Commentator

Posts: 3723; Member since: Aug 16, 2011

Just when people were starting to warm up to their products again too... Then again, if they STILL can't manage to succeed with products like the One and One Max, maybe a change of pace is a good thing. They've always been a tiny company with far fewer resources than giants such as Samsung, LG, Apple, and Sony, so it's surprising they've been able to compete for this long as it is. Maybe pulling out of the international market and focusing locally on what is potentially the largest smartphone market on the planet is the best move to make in their situation.

posted on Aug 28, 2013, 4:12 PM 1

20. oister85 unregistered

Htc is not falling blackberry is (sadly) the one is making good profit not as good as samsung but they are doing good. I DON'T THINK HTC is going anywhere yet.

posted on Aug 28, 2013, 9:28 PM 0

3. Taters

Posts: 6474; Member since: Jan 28, 2013

ROFL. HTC is a bigger failure than I thought and I think they are pretty horrible. They seem even more delusional than their fans if that is even possible.

posted on Aug 28, 2013, 4:10 PM 2

7. Commentator

Posts: 3723; Member since: Aug 16, 2011

Why? (I'm adding this parenthetical because "Why?" is only four characters long, and PhoneArena requires comments to be five characters long at minimum.)

posted on Aug 28, 2013, 4:14 PM 2

12. Taters

Posts: 6474; Member since: Jan 28, 2013

Because like their fans, they are arrogant enough about their products to think that they have the clout to spend money on their own event, make a new OS, and throw money at Robert Downey junior. They are pretty much running their business like they are just as good as Samsung and Apple when they are really not. Try fixing your basics like button placement, battery life, sizing, and quality control first before you even attempt ambitious things like this.

posted on Aug 28, 2013, 5:12 PM 0

14. CanYouSeeTheLight

Posts: 1122; Member since: Jul 05, 2012

Classifying someone as delusional just because they like a brand is just sad, but I do agree they are being idiotic with this and the Robert Downey Jr commercials and trying to be Samsung or Apple in this regard but battery life is pretty good on their recent phones and you do get used to the odd button placement, and regarding quality control I also agree with you, I have had problems with HTC in this regard and wish they could improve drastically in this area.

posted on Aug 28, 2013, 6:10 PM 0

15. DukeX

Posts: 327; Member since: Aug 28, 2013

No it's not sad it's the truth. Just look at ifans. Still using th same lag argument against android. Now THAT'S sad for you.

posted on Aug 28, 2013, 6:20 PM 0

5. jove39

Posts: 2149; Member since: Oct 18, 2011

HTC should continue making good phones...samsung won't ride high wave forever. People get tired of things...like they got tired of iPhone...similarly they'll get tired of galaxy phones...and then...some other phone will become new cool device!!!

posted on Aug 28, 2013, 4:11 PM 0

8. Commentator

Posts: 3723; Member since: Aug 16, 2011

People "got tired" of the iPhone, yet Apple continues to sell more and more every year...?

posted on Aug 28, 2013, 4:17 PM 5

9. Napalm_3nema

Posts: 2236; Member since: Jun 14, 2013

How dare you use logic and reasoning to confront a troll! Reported.

posted on Aug 28, 2013, 4:34 PM 0

11. taz89

Posts: 2014; Member since: May 03, 2011

People are tired of the iPhone? Am sure they are still selling in the tonnes of millions. Am no iPhone or apple fanboy, have a s4 but to say people are tired of the iPhone is a joke. Maybe us techies are but the general consumers are still loving it

posted on Aug 28, 2013, 4:54 PM 0

13. Napalm_3nema

Posts: 2236; Member since: Jun 14, 2013

Well, besides being Mancunian scum, you are now officially an Apple fanboy. I kid. I love Apple products, but I have used more Android products (and WP) than some of these trolling children will use in a lifetime. You can't reason with some of these folks because they are living in a Reality Distortion Field. YNWA (I was only partially kidding) ;-)

posted on Aug 28, 2013, 6:05 PM 0

16. taz89

Posts: 2014; Member since: May 03, 2011

Utd 4eva lol...sometime I wonder what reality they live in cause sometimes the things these trolls are just astoundimg and baffling..I don't get why if you are using am android device you have to hate the other os or vice versa and what's even worse about android is that within it you have people hating on each other depending on what device you use lol like as am using a s4 I must hate the HTC one..you very rarely come across people on the internet that accept that not everyone will think what we think they should..

posted on Aug 28, 2013, 7:07 PM 0

10. tiara6918

Posts: 2263; Member since: Apr 26, 2012

What is this gonna be like? An HTC first?

posted on Aug 28, 2013, 4:49 PM 0

17. DukeX

Posts: 327; Member since: Aug 28, 2013

People are getting tired of the iphone. They aren't switching to other OSes for no reason. Explain the dropping market share?

posted on Aug 28, 2013, 7:16 PM 0

18. Napalm_3nema

Posts: 2236; Member since: Jun 14, 2013

Expanding market. Happy? Apple's numbers aren't decreasing, they are increasing, but not at the rate of smartphone adoption. Apple has no real presence in the lower tiers, and certainly nowhere near anything like the $100 Lumia 520. What kind of phones do you think are driving adoption ever faster? If you answered phones like the S4, One, Note, iPhone, then no gold star for you. I know Android acolytes like to shout "Android rulez," but the reality is that the great majority of Android devices make nobody any money (Ever wonder why only Samsung was truly profitable when Android controls 80% of the market?) and those devices will never have Google Play access. Android has become a commodity, and that is a tough market to make money in, unless you control services.

posted on Aug 28, 2013, 7:53 PM 0

19. DukeX

Posts: 327; Member since: Aug 28, 2013

And you do realize once apple's market share drops so do they'reprofits right?

posted on Aug 28, 2013, 9:12 PM 0

21. Napalm_3nema

Posts: 2236; Member since: Jun 14, 2013

Marketshare and profit are not inextricably linked, when it comes to Apple. Their time as smartphone marketshare leader was measured in months, not years, yet they remain the profit leader. Computers? They have never been the marketshare leader, yet their profits are the envy of the segment. It just seems more pronounced this year because we haven't seen a new iPad in over a year (4th gen wasn't new), no new Macs yet this year, besides the MBA, and no new iPhone since last October. Do you think it was coincidence that Samsung moved the S4 launch up three months? They were losing traction, and they jumped. Even though my next smartphone won't be the new iPhone, since the Z1 will come out first, I believe Apple is in good shape. The Note is no threat, and the S4 and One really did no damage to Apple sales. Whether we, the technorati, like iPhones, or not, matters little. The iPhone is still the most popular phone on the planet, and in the end, companies don't cater to the fringe, they cater to the masses, or they die.

posted on Aug 28, 2013, 9:58 PM 0

22. DukeX

Posts: 327; Member since: Aug 28, 2013

Die just like how apple almost did in the 90s because they were niche? That seems to be the case this time around again. History is just repeating itself. People predicted this years ago. Apple can't survive without jobs.