As the world’s 4th largest handset manufacturer has seen its once popular line-up of innovative devices steadily lost ground to both Apple and Samsung.

Resources: http://www.thetelecomblog.com/2011/11/29/htc’s-struggles-mirror-nokia-downfall/

Two years ago, HTC, the Taipei-based mobile devices maker, was riding a leader in the exploding sales of premium smartphones globally. It was racking up awards, enjoying record stock prices and a string of acquisitions, and was busy poaching rival executives for a continued assault on the dominance of Apple, Samsung and Research In Motion (BlackBerry). Yet, two years later, its stock price has fallen beyond what anyone would have predicted, and profits have been falling every quarter. A former mobile phone analyst with Topology Research Institute in Taipei described one of the main problems of HTC: “Their portfolio was a mess and they wanted to make Android, Microsoft and Facebook phones. They should have concentrated on Android, instead of wasting their money on Windows and Facebook.” Also, C.K. Lu, an analyst with Gartner, said, “HTC doesn’t know how to make a cheaper phone. It isn’t in their DNA. They don’t know how to do it by cost, or differentiate. They usually downgrade from their premium segment and that doesn’t work. It’s a very, very old-fashioned approach.”

For HTC to get back to the highs, it should focus its effort on its accounting and marketing strategies, and make a decision to become a specialist in just one or two single market segments where it has a distinct advantage, rather than trying to chase every market segment all at once.

References: Cunns, Cain. “A Long Fall for Taiwan Smartphone Maker.” The New York Times. N.p., 08 Sept. 2013. Web. 08 Sept. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/09/technology/a-long-fall-for-taiwan-smartphone-maker.html?pagewanted=all>.