Is Asus going to buy HTC?

[jamezr]

Is Asus going to buy HTC? What would that mean? HTC already has great products. They just have a really bad advertising agency in MHO.

Asus Chairman says he is considering a purchase of HTC

With HTC's stock price at an all-time low and continuing to drop, now would be the perfect time for another company interested in the troubledmanufacturer to make a bid for it. One company considering making a play for HTC is fellow Taiwan device producer Asus. At the company's annual meeting held on Friday, Chairman Johnny Shih replied to questions about whether Asus was interested in HTC by saying that it has not ruled out making a bid for the company.

Asus CFO David Chang added that while Shih has discussed the topic of an HTC purchase internally, the company has traditionally relied on organic growth. The executive added that this means that the chances of a deal between the two companies are actually slim.

Since the HTC One M9 was launched in March, HTC's shares have plunged almost 50%. The company is writing off $93 million for the second quarter as it cuts production of its flagship phone by 30%. With that in mind, HTC says that it is developing a new re-designed "hero" phone for October.

HTC's market value is a little over $2 billion USD now. In 2011, the company was worth $33.8 billion USD. If Asus is interested in HTC, now would seem like a good time for it to make a bid.

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Asus-Chairman-says-he-is-considering-a-purchase-of-HTC_id70372

 

[mi7chy]

What does Asus gain from buying HTC? Brand recognition and product quality are comparable between the two. They wouldn't be my first choice.

 

[jamezr]

What does Asus gain from buying HTC? Brand recognition and product quality are comparable between the two. They wouldn't be my first choice.

My thoughts too. I have never owned a Asus phone but I have had Asus computers and a ton of motherboards. I know they make great products. So not sure what they would gain other than maybe better advertising or better business management.

 

[gotluck]

My thoughts too. I have never owned a Asus phone but I have had Asus computers and a ton of motherboards. I know they make great products. So not sure what they would gain other than maybe better advertising or better business management.

Same here, I've never touched an asus phone, but I'm a fan of their computers and parts.

 

[Michael Goff]

What does Asus gain from buying HTC? Brand recognition and product quality are comparable between the two. They wouldn't be my first choice.

What about design? HTC, to me, have better designs that any Asus computers I've ever seen or owned.

 

[mi7chy]

What about design? HTC, to me, have better designs that any Asus computers I've ever seen or owned.

Both HTC M8/M9 and Asus ZenFone 2 look like the same product to me.

 

[Michael Goff]

Both HTC M8/M9 and Asus ZenFone 2 look like the same product to me.

You have to be trolling me.

 

[mi7chy]

Pretty close.

 

[Savor]

I don't think ASUS would gain anything buying HTC just like I didn't see Lenovo gain anything after purchasing Motorola esp without the patents that Google kept. And Motorola comes up with better and more durable designs than Lenovo and I still see no difference. ASUS and HTC is like Square and Enix and Namco and Bandai teaming up. Or even Sony and Ericsson before breaking if off a couple years ago.

HTC should go back behind the curtains and no longer brand their phones but make phones for others like Foxconn does. Go back pre-2007 when they were a licensed OEM. All my fav companies from before are fading now. A couple companies I would like to see make more phones is Toshiba and Panasonic. They do but it is rare and they are probably made in China. Japanese tech companies were fantastic during the 90's. Panasonic was more reliable to me than Sony. My cousin has Panasonic Walkman that still works after 18 years. And my Toshiba slim hard drive never gives me problems. Very low defect ratings from Sony's biggest rival. I miss the high standard from Made In Japan products.

In some electronics, I want 10 years of use. Not five. I read forum somewhere Samsung was popular in TV's but Sony, Panasonic, and LG were a little more reliable. Designs is nice with HTC, but some people want reliability and easy to fix solutions which HTC doesn't always excel at. Buy an HTC One. You will never have that peace of mind knowing the cam is great and the battery will slowly rot inside. You would need to heat the device to open it. To me, removable battery and micro-sd slot are FUTURE PROOFING features.

 

[Michael Goff]

Pretty close.

I take your photo of the back and raise you a photo of both from the front.

Let's ignore the UI for a moment, obviously, and go for the hardware. Even the bezel is different, both in color and proportion. Speakers? Different. FFS? Slightly different, but probably not enough to matter if you're already assuming they're the same phone.

Also, is that a button on the back of the Zenphone 2 or am I seeing things? Also, is it it just me or did the Zenphone 2 go for a more iPhone inspired back than an HTC one?

 

[MRU]

Pretty close.

Zenphone 2 [back of device] is more a copy of the LG G2/3 than a HTC regardless.

From the front Zenphone 2 looks like generic cheap brand and nothing like either...

 

[Breaking Good]

I'm sorry for dredging this thread back up. But I just read an article that shipments of the M9 were 43% lower than the M8.

I think Asus is the only thing that can save HTC. It's a pity. I had the M7 and now have the M8. I think HTC makes great phones. The problem is that there are a lot of great phones on the market now.

HTC not only has to compete against the flagships like Apple, Samsung and LG, it also is competing against the new mid-tiers like Motorola (Lenovo), One Plus and now Huawei and I imagine that Xiaomi will soon be giving them a run for their money.

HTC just isn't big enough to compete against all these powerhouses.

Edit: In addition to the competition, there is just less and less reason for the average consumer to upgrade as often. And now with U.S. carriers attempting to move away from the subsidized model, it is easy to picture many consumers deciding to delay upgrading by several months. That will not bode will for the smartphone manufacturers.

 

[sviato]

Zenphone 2 [back of device] is more a copy of the LG G2/3 than a HTC regardless.

From the front Zenphone 2 looks like generic cheap brand and nothing like either...

My friend just got an Asus phone, I think it's the zenphone. He got it in black and it looks and feels great - much better than any HTC phone I've held.

 

[MrNomNoms]

What does Asus gain from buying HTC? Brand recognition and product quality are comparable between the two. They wouldn't be my first choice.

It would be down to brand - ASUS isn't known for most consumers where as HTC is known but they really do need money to pay for the ideas they have an ASUS want to break out beyond making PC parts, laptops etc. The same reason that Lenovo had been making phones for years but bought Motorola because it would provide them with the brand recognition in much the same way that their purchase of IBM's old PC division gave them the Thinkpad brand recognition.

 

[jamezr]

It would be down to brand - ASUS isn't known for most consumers where as HTC is known but they really do need money to pay for the ideas they have an ASUS want to break out beyond making PC parts, laptops etc. The same reason that Lenovo had been making phones for years but bought Motorola because it would provide them with the brand recognition in much the same way that their purchase of IBM's old PC division gave them the Thinkpad brand recognition.

This is spot on.... Lenovo with their Motorola acquisition is a prime example. I hate to see HTC gobbled up by Lenovo just be a brand name for their own products but they have put themselves in this position.