Increased competition from rivals like Apple and Samsung has forced Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp. to cut its fourth quarter revenue forecast by about 23 percent. Despite a revenue drop in 2011, the Taiwanese phone maker is confident about 2012. Speaking to Reuters, HTC’s chief financial officer (CFO) told reporter Jeffrey Van Camp that he believes that new devices with LTE integration will help the company grow in 2012.
Expressing optimism, Yung said, “HTC’s 2012 sales will still be almost double what they were in 2011. The company will also announce competitive new models for 2012 including more LTE devices…I don’t think it’s so serious,” added Yung. “We have six quarters of improvement, the most conservative guidance is 45 million units of shipments this year, a lot higher than 25 million last year. We will focus on the better and more competitive product for next year. Other than new LTE phones for the U.S. market, we also have phones for the global market. We will launch some worldwide flagship products. We’re confident in them,” Yung told Camp.
Camp wrote in his report that no details were provided on the upcoming devices. But, the reporter suspects that HTC will display the new LTE integrated samrtphones at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January 2012. “It will harbor the next big product announcements from HTC and its competitors,” wrote Camp.
Since CES is the biggest technology trade show of the year, it is a good venue to announce new products. So the reporter is looking forward to seeing innovative smartphones at the upcoming show. But, his key question going into 2012 is if any of the major smartphone makers will offer more than just improving the touchscreen in size and performance.
Ashok Bindra is a veteran writer and editor with more than 25 years of editorial experience covering RF/wireless technologies, semiconductors and power electronics. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.Edited by
Rich Steeves
