"We have to get back to focusing on what made us great – amazing hardware and a great customer experience," said Robertson. "We ended 2011 with far more products than we started out with. We tried to do too much. So 2012 is about giving our customers something special. We need to make sure we do not go so far down the line that we segment our products by launching lots of different SKUs."
This change in product philosophy has also been echoed recently by Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha following the conclusion of the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The talk of HTC's strategy shift comes straight after the company published weak 2011 revenue results earlier this month when first quarter net profit fell 26-percent to $365 million, its first quarterly decline in earnings for two years as it faced increasing competition from Apple's new iOS devices and Samsung's Galaxy lineup.
Analysts are describing the new change in strategy as "encouring," hoping that HTC will offer a more streamlined product portfolio in 2012 with more easily identiable "flagship" devices. Back in December, BGR learned that the company was preparing for a strategy shift and would deliver the HTC Elite as its flagship smartphone for the first half of 2012. The device is slated to be carried by AT&T, will run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and is expected to launch sometime in April.
Will focus heavily on fewer "flagship" models
According to a recent interview between Mobile Magazine and HTC's UK Chief Phil Robertson, the company is aiming to reduce the overall size of its smartphone product lineup for 2012 and will instead focus on delivering a few "hero" devices in a bid to reduce segmentation and consumer confusion.
Last modified on Thursday, 26 January 2012 21:40
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