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The new HTC ONE (M7)

onthecouchagain said:
HTC Financial Woes Continue

http://www.phonearena.com/news/HTCs-financial-woes-continue_id44954
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I was reading a discussion about this from a business analyst who was looking at all Smartphone makers including Apple and Samsung who have likewise seen drops in operational profits and stock warnings/prices in the recent months / years and the gist of his theory he was putting across is that ALL mobile phone makers are going to struggle for the foreseeable future because Smartphone saturation is perhaps at its fullest. (Folks who want a top of line smartphone generally have them).

Additionally, to those that want a smartphone that already have one; with Smartphones getting more powerful they are 1) lasting much longer so the majority of customers are holding onto them longer than just their contract period and 2) with them becoming increasingly expensive year on year the contract periods for subsidised handsets are likewise becoming longer with 2 years being routine and 3 year contracts predicted for the near future...

So basically if people are holding onto their phones longer than their contracts and contracts are likewise getting longer, then the net result is that the amount of people accessibly looking to buy a new smartphone each year will actually go down in number because a lot of smartphone users can now no longer upgrade every 12 months like in the past, but now 2 years and going forward even longer. This means the pool of folks to buy the new device each year is actually smaller not greater and therefore its increasingly likely that it will be impossible to see massive sales growth for smartphone makers like they all have had in the past, and for that reason they will all struggle.

Its the reason why many companies are now looking at mid range phones (with specs that 12-15 months ago we thought was flagship) for targeting 'emerging' markets. Simply because these emerging markets are becoming the LAST resource for new customers and sales growth, because they are not at smartphone saturation like us in non emerging markets.
 
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^^^ I think you make a good point. I don't buy a new phone just because a new model comes out. I went from an iPhone 4 to the HTC One and my daughter went from a iPhone 3GS to an iPhone 5.
 
ucfgrad93 said:
^^^ I think you make a good point. I don't buy a new phone just because a new model comes out. I went from an iPhone 4 to the HTC One and my daughter went from a iPhone 3GS to an iPhone 5.
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The main reason for this is since 2012 phones have hit a point where the specs will continue to meet people's needs. Until we change how we use are phones they will last much longer. If you have a phone with lte, a good screen, and the storage you need there is not really a need to upgrade.
 
MacRumorUser said:
I was reading a discussion about this from a business analyst who was looking at all Smartphone makers including Apple and Samsung who have likewise seen drops in operational profits and stock warnings/prices in the recent months / years and the gist of his theory he was putting across is that ALL mobile phone makers are going to struggle for the foreseeable future because Smartphone saturation is perhaps at its fullest. (Folks who want a top of line smartphone generally have them).

Additionally, to those that want a smartphone that already have one; with Smartphones getting more powerful they are 1) lasting much longer so the majority of customers are holding onto them longer than just their contract period and 2) with them becoming increasingly expensive year on year the contract periods for subsidised handsets are likewise becoming longer with 2 years being routine and 3 year contracts predicted for the near future...

So basically if people are holding onto their phones longer than their contracts and contracts are likewise getting longer, then the net result is that the amount of people accessibly looking to buy a new smartphone each year will actually go down in number because a lot of smartphone users can now no longer upgrade every 12 months like in the past, but now 2 years and going forward even longer. This means the pool of folks to buy the new device each year is actually smaller not greater and therefore its increasingly likely that it will be impossible to see massive sales growth for smartphone makers like they all have had in the past, and for that reason they will all struggle.

Its the reason why many companies are now looking at mid range phones (with specs that 12-15 months ago we thought was flagship) for targeting 'emerging' markets. Simply because these emerging markets are becoming the LAST resource for new customers and sales growth, because they are not at smartphone saturation like us in non emerging markets.
Click to expand...
I agree with you. I think for the high end smartphone market we are approaching saturation. We have seen similar numbers reports from Apple and Samsung.
 
jamezr said:
I agree with you. I think for the high end smartphone market we are approaching saturation. We have seen similar numbers reports from Apple and Samsung.
Click to expand...

And also the commodotization of smartphones. As apps become comparable between devices (The whinge about FB for Android not having photo filters was so asinine as to be hilarious), and device capabilities outstrip the developers ability to max them out, a smartphone will just be a smartphone.

I look forward to this day
 
MacRumorUser said:
I was reading a discussion about this from a business analyst who was looking at all Smartphone makers including Apple and Samsung who have likewise seen drops in operational profits and stock warnings/prices in the recent months / years and the gist of his theory he was putting across is that ALL mobile phone makers are going to struggle for the foreseeable future because Smartphone saturation is perhaps at its fullest. (Folks who want a top of line smartphone generally have them).

Additionally, to those that want a smartphone that already have one; with Smartphones getting more powerful they are 1) lasting much longer so the majority of customers are holding onto them longer than just their contract period and 2) with them becoming increasingly expensive year on year the contract periods for subsidised handsets are likewise becoming longer with 2 years being routine and 3 year contracts predicted for the near future...

So basically if people are holding onto their phones longer than their contracts and contracts are likewise getting longer, then the net result is that the amount of people accessibly looking to buy a new smartphone each year will actually go down in number because a lot of smartphone users can now no longer upgrade every 12 months like in the past, but now 2 years and going forward even longer. This means the pool of folks to buy the new device each year is actually smaller not greater and therefore its increasingly likely that it will be impossible to see massive sales growth for smartphone makers like they all have had in the past, and for that reason they will all struggle.

Its the reason why many companies are now looking at mid range phones (with specs that 12-15 months ago we thought was flagship) for targeting 'emerging' markets. Simply because these emerging markets are becoming the LAST resource for new customers and sales growth, because they are not at smartphone saturation like us in non emerging markets.
Click to expand...

Then, HTC is in deeper trouble. While Samsung and Apple, with other products and cash reserves, have the resources to combat this, HTC does not.:(
 
rhinosrcool said:
Then, HTC is in deeper trouble. While Samsung and Apple, with other products and cash reserves, have the resources to combat this, HTC does not.:(
Click to expand...

But with all what I posted in mind, you can understand now why HTC have moved back to base, jettisoned old executives, and are refocusing looking towards emerging markets.

Undoubtably HTC aren't the only ones in difficulty, heck even Sony's financial woes are a cause for concern when its looking increasingly likely the entertainment / movie division and then the electronics divisions will split into two seperate entities with the the studios and music possibly being sold off.

There are a lot of troubling times in store for all technology companies in the next few years.

The only solace is that none of them are in the boat 'alone'......
 
Fanaticalism said:
Best Buy is running a promo where you trade in any junk phone, so long as it powers on and isn't broken and they'll give you 50 bucks towards an HTC One, which is 100 bucks right now... so 50 bucks out the door with tax.

Last month it was all about iphone and samsung promos... this should help HTC drive some units.
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Wow, i paid $300 for mine. I think thats the last time I will buy an android phone at launch, I just got an LG Pro for $99 which was only released around a month and half ago.
 
Fanaticalism said:
Best Buy is running a promo where you trade in any junk phone, so long as it powers on and isn't broken and they'll give you 50 bucks towards an HTC One, which is 100 bucks right now... so 50 bucks out the door with tax.

Last month it was all about iphone and samsung promos... this should help HTC drive some units.
Click to expand...

Dang. Although I was considering going for the 64gb model, I might jump on this instead. Technically I'm still trying to decide between the One and the SGS4...but between this deal and the fact that HTC started rolling out 4.2.2 internationally this week...those are definite positives for HTC.
 
I gotta say, I love having 64GB.

I also love that HTC is making 32GB the standard, and leaving the 16GB for the HTC One Mini. Smart move.
 
I did it !!!!

I'm downloading 4.22 OTA now.....


I also unlocked my bootloader, gave myself S-OFF, and SuperCID

Let's just say i've been a little stressed this morning with a rather steep learning curve.... :D

With SuperCID and S-OFF I should be good to go for the foreseeable future with changing to GE when a rom is available and such. I also managed to completely unbrand my Vodafone device in the process.



Now I have reload all my contents back on the device.....
 
MacRumorUser said:
I did it !!!!

I'm downloading 4.22 OTA now.....


I also unlocked my bootloader, gave myself S-OFF, and SuperCID

Let's just say i've been a little stressed this morning with a rather steep learning curve.... :D

With SuperCID and S-OFF I should be good to go for the foreseeable future with changing to GE when a rom is available and such. I also managed to completely unbrand my Vodafone device in the process.


Now I have reload all my contents back on the device.....
Click to expand...

When I had the ONE, it was one of the few phones that I did not want a custom ROM on. I love blinkfeed haha.
 
mattopotamus said:
When I had the ONE, it was one of the few phones that I did not want a custom ROM on. I love blinkfeed haha.
Click to expand...

Yeah well same here, i am going to keep stock Sense on it, I just want to be able to download the newest version as soon as it hits rather than wait for the rollout.

Just impatient :)
 
MacRumorUser said:
I did it !!!!

I'm downloading 4.22 OTA now.....


I also unlocked my bootloader, gave myself S-OFF, and SuperCID

Let's just say i've been a little stressed this morning with a rather steep learning curve.... :D

With SuperCID and S-OFF I should be good to go for the foreseeable future with changing to GE when a rom is available and such. I also managed to completely unbrand my Vodafone device in the process.





Now I have reload all my contents back on the device.....
Click to expand...

Congrats! Let us know how it handles :)
 
4.2.2 changes are subtle but appreciated.

Being able to move home screens around now make it easier to assign new screens as home without faffing with moving widgets or app shortcuts.

Quick toggles mean I don't need settings extended.

Battery percentage likewise.


Gallery... YES YES YES you can indeed remove friends / facebook stuff so you don't get bombarded with it every time you open gallery.

Instagram support built in is handy in blink feed.

Widget lockscreen is restricted to google widgets so some of you hoping for dashclock thing will still have to use widget locker instead, but not a big issue.

Benchmarks slightly higher than it did before for me ....
Quadrant = 12,929 Antutu = 24,987

It's as snappy as ever and no lag

Google Now works more intuitively with being a slide up from home button (same as nexus devices I believe) and yes the dreaded 3 ... menu is dead (assuming you enable it in settings)




Fixes I have noticed so far....


My .mac email account in mail used to duplicate mail when sending - this has been fixed.

Google Play Music album art stretching bug seems to be fixed too.

Camera is much the same :( but Zoe has been improved.





Any questions ask......
 
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