HTC is crumbling from within

[tekhna]

HTC in disarray: staff departures, 'disastrous' First, and production problems cloud company's future | The Verge

And this is exactly why I didn't buy a One. You aren't buying just a phone, you're buying the premise that HTC can continue to maintain it for two years, and that HTC will even last two more years. Yikes.

 

[ahaxton]

HTC in disarray: staff departures, 'disastrous' First, and production problems cloud company's future | The Verge

And this is exactly why I didn't buy a One. You aren't buying just a phone, you're buying the premise that HTC can continue to maintain it for two years, and that HTC will even last two more years. Yikes.

Um... the article says most of the turnover is coming out of the marketing department and... isn't that exactly where they need a change?

But it may not be a coincidence that this year's prominent departures have struck HTC's marketing ranks disproportionately, while the hardware and software design teams ? led by Scott Croyle in San Francisico and Drew Bamford in Seattle, respectively ? keep humming along. Specifically, sources say that new CMO Ben Ho, who came from Taiwanese carrier FarEasTone late last year, could share the responsibility for the upheaval as he moves some planning and strategy from Seattle back to HTC's Taipei headquarters.

 

[holz75]

HTC in disarray: staff departures, 'disastrous' First, and production problems cloud company's future | The Verge

And this is exactly why I didn't buy a One. You aren't buying just a phone, you're buying the premise that HTC can continue to maintain it for two years, and that HTC will even last two more years. Yikes.

i think you're being just a little dramatic. i think we all thought blackberry would be gone by now, but they've somehow made it this far after finally coming out with the Z10. i do think some of these companies should stick to producing one phone like apple because i think it would save them some money... but in any event, i do believe HTC will be around in 2 years.

 

[Farish]

If they were in really big trouble, they would not have double the production run of the HTC One. People tend to forget how much money these phones generate. If HTC sold two million One units, they are still grossing over a billion dollars in revenue off that phone alone.

 

[Phil Nickinson]

i think you're being just a little dramatic. i think we all thought blackberry would be gone by now, but they've somehow made it this far after finally coming out with the Z10. i do think some of these companies should stick to producing one phone like apple because i think it would save them some money... but in any event, i do believe HTC will be around in 2 years.

It's inside baseball, for sure. And it's juicy inside baseball, and not unimportant. (And it echoes/confirms what I've heard as well.)

My question is will these changes -- and make no mistake, every organization goes through changes like this at some point -- affect the end product, for better or for worse.

 

[LindtChocolate]

Um... the article says most of the turnover is coming out of the marketing department and... isn't that exactly where they need a change?

These were my thoughts exactly. It might turn out to be a good thing, something HTC finally needed. Clearly what they were doing the past few years wasn't working, so change is the only option.

 

[osubeavs728]

These were my thoughts exactly. It might turn out to be a good thing, something HTC finally needed. Clearly what they were doing the past few years wasn't working, so change is the only option.

You beat me to the punch. They can't be successful doing the same crap they have been doing, which means they need new people to come in a do new things. I see no reason to be alarmed or even think that this is that big of a deal.

And I don't know if I agree with the whole "can they support the phone for two years" thing. I have a bunch of old phones in my drawer that weren't supported for nearly two years, but they still work great.

 

[iknownothing]

This article is sensationalist tripe. It's true that HTC is struggling, and there may be some serious issues with the Seattle office and marketing on general, but that was a hot mess of presupposition and empty rhetoric.

Sent from my HTC One using Android Central Forums

 

[estebancam]

My first thought was: well, marketing is exactly where they need to change.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[CSI Guy]

I really hope that this works for them. They finally have a big winner on their hands and they need to stay on track.

 

[coggster]

Well you lost out on a rather nice phone then. I am shocked you new exactly this was going to happen and thus didn't purchase the One, you should do the lottery. Change isn't necessarily a bad thing but we will probably be in a better position to judge in a year or so

 

[cgardnervt]

This is what I do not understand...People are getting all aggro over a few people leaving. This happens to a lot of companies. We are also acting like HTC is gonna close up shop tomorrow when in reality thats not true. Are they hurting? Sure they are but a lot people are also. I would be worried about 3-4 years from now when HTC's doors could be closed. The only bad thing at this point that could happen would be is if HTC got bought out by a company HP. Then we should be scared! I am an old WebOS die hard fan and even then I stuck it out with them. So at this point this device is not much of a gamble. Updates will come and I'm sure HTC will stand by their flagship phone so that the doors do NOT close in 3-4 years from now. Now I could be wrong but I feel comfortable stating this currently. Really what is there to be all up in arms about with a few people swaps or seeing a few move on?

 

[madlaw1071]

i think you're being just a little dramatic. i think we all thought blackberry would be gone by now, but they've somehow made it this far after finally coming out with the Z10. i do think some of these companies should stick to producing one phone like apple because i think it would save them some money... but in any event, i do believe HTC will be around in 2 years.

Blackberry may be a bad example. I think they are just circling the bowl at this point. Just today Netflix announced there wasnt enough volume to justify an app. Other apps are missing and may follow the Netflix lead. BB will never attract new customers if they cant even remotely compete in the app department.

 

[hooksy7]

This is an overblown story. Some bitter former employee who had a little pressure on him as we all do in the corporate world to produce is mad and acting like a child on his Twitter page because he was forced out. The whole marketing team should be gone. As you can see the hardware and software department heads are all in tact because they did their job and produced a great product in the One. The problem with HTC stems from the very people who left or in my estimation were forced out not doing their jobs by marketing this great phone correctly.

Sent from my HTC One using Android Central Forums

 

[Jakiro201]

Yeah, good news for me so far. In fact, I hope that this should have happened earlier, this whole restructure thing. I want HTC to come back in the Android game. I don't want Samsung to keep dominating the market because HTC has also the ability to make awesome phones like they do.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

 

[Cattails_r_Edible]

Their marketing has been dismal, to say the least! Good move by HTC!

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk 2

 

[Topgonzo]

Great move by htc! They had to make changes and maybe they should fire everyone in the marketing department. People always look for the bad in something to justify their own decisions or purchases. We all know the situation. Threads like this one are junk in my opinion. Posted by someone who doesn't even use a htc one.. Sole purpose is to get a rise out of the community.

Posted via HTC One

 

[Gathomblipoob]

Several people have left Apple as well (John Browett and Scott Forstall for two), but I doubt that Apple is doomed.

 

[madlaw1071]

HTC may be clearing the deck for a merger or buyout. Happens all the time.

 

[holz75]

Blackberry may be a bad example. I think they are just circling the bowl at this point. Just today Netflix announced there wasnt enough volume to justify an app. Other apps are missing and may follow the Netflix lead. BB will never attract new customers if they cant even remotely compete in the app department.

well, my point was that blackberry is still around, and they're on a dying platform. so if they've been able to stay afloat for this long when everyone thought they'd be bought out or just folded, then HTC has a good shot of staying open because at least they're making phones for android. on the other hand, i work in movie advertising, and advertising/marketing can only get you so far. if a movie is a piece of crap, it's pretty impossible to hide it, and people can see right through it. the one is obviously a great phone, but i don't think better marketing can really make it sell more. samsung is the hot company right now, and it's just tough to beat it out.