HTC sales drop sharply in February

Taiwan handset manufacturer HTC is waiting for the launch of its new flagship Android model, the HTC One. The latest info we have suggests a March 22nd launch for T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T in the U.S. But in the meantime, HTC has to sell its remaining inventory of a lame duck line that is not exactly inspiring buyers to reach into their wallets. According to HTC's February sales figures, buyers have been scarce with sales for the month down 44% from last year to $381.7 million from the $685.8 million achieved in 2012. On a sequential basis, the sales total represented a large 27% drop from last month's sales total.

HTC has introduced the HTC One, its next big Android model, that offers a 4.7 inch FHD screen, which works out an industry leading 468ppi pixel density. Other features include a quad-core 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, a unibody aluminum construction and front-facing stereo speakers. It will be sold by 185 different carriers in 80 countries and comes with HTC's new BlinkFeed which turns the home page from a collection of widgets to boxes of streaming information that is important to the user. It also introduces UltraPixels which uses three layers of 4.3MP camera sensors to bring in 300% more light for clearer, sharper pictures.

Besides the current line of Android phones which includes the HTC One X+, HTC One S, HTC One V, HTC One SV and HTC One VX, HTC also has a line of Windows Phone 8 models that the company had hoped would lead the company in the fourth quarter of 2012 and early this year. That strategy is apparently out the window and judging from the way that CEO Peter Chou introduced the HTC One (then called the HTC M7) to a throng of chanting employees at HTC's year end party, the manufacturer is rolling the dice on this one model (no pun intended this time). The company has already said that this is its only flagship Android phone for 2013. For HTC, this is about the third or fourth different strategy it has embarked on to recapture its once booming business. But the Samsung Galaxy S IV, which will be introduced in New York on March 14th, stands in the way of any possible recovery like a huge road block looming on the highway to success.

source: FierceWireless