Not only is HTC Corp (TPE:2498)’s stock losing value but also market share. HTC Corp (TPE:2498)’s smartphones captured a quarter of the US smartphone market for a brief time in 2011, putting the devices slightly ahead of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhone. This victory was short lived, however, as Apple released the iPhone 4S and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (KRX:005930) began capturing Android users with its “Galaxy” line of smartphones.
Bad news on all fronts
HTC Corp (TPE:2498) now accounts for less than 5% of smartphone sales, and in its latest reporting made a profit of just $3 million. The latest debacle for the company was the HTC Corp (TPE:2498) First, an Android smartphone that came pre-installed with Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s “Home” interface. The First was discounted to just $0.99 on contract within a few weeks. The likelihood of many other carriers picking up the phone is negligible.
HTC Corp (TPE:2498) has been described as being “in free fall,” and former employees have taken to Twitter to tell their former coworkers to just give up and quit.
The company has been trying to launch a unified line of smartphones across all carriers for years. Up to this point, however, it has not had as much success as Samsung, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) or Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK), whose offerings are uniform regardless of carrier.
HTC has now pinned its hopes of a recovery on the HTC One, which although delayed has just launched to rave reviews.
Alongside the launch of the One, however, there have been some high-profile departures from HTC. The CEO of the company’s Asia division has just left, as has the chief product officer, a VP of communications, the digital marketing director and the company’s product strategy manager.
With competition heating up, the last thing that HTC needs is a brain drain at the top of the company.
Branding and unification
Of course HTC not only has to compete with other Android makers but the original ruler of the smartphone realm, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). For years Apple was the king of branding and unification, as the iPhone is identical on all carriers worldwide. Now Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) not only has to deal with Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) pushing Android, but with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (KRX:005930) and LG pushing branded and somewhat differentiated Android devices. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) makes their money not only from hardware but services such as iTunes and the Apple App Store, which combine to create an Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) ecosystem. The company used to be alone in offering a complete ecosystem, but they are now not the only player with such an offering as now both Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) have full sets of similar services. We could possibly even see Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (KRX:005930) launch some of its own services to go along with their unified and differentiated hardware line.
This branding and unified device line caught HTC by surprise. HTC had been used to releasing phones on specific carriers with the carriers’ branding and specifications. Examples include the Droid phones on Verizon, the EVO phones on Sprint and the aforementioned HTC First. These partnerships and others like the one HTC has with Beats Audio are just one examples of HTC wasting time and effort on gimmicks while their competitors including Apple and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (KRX:005930) strengthen their platforms.
Ever-growing competition
All of HTC’s woes come at a time when Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) is releasing more handsets globally, and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s Windows Phone operating system is actually beginning to show some signs of life.
Maybe Android has become a problem rather than a solution for HTC.
Branching out and offering a line of Windows Phones would be a good start to get some diversification for HTC. They could put Windows Phone software on their existing hardware with few modifications, and should Windows Phone take off then HTC would be at the forefront of the Windows Phone success. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) would be thrilled if HTC doubled down on Windows Phone, as it would give customers a non-Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) choice for a Windows Phone. Several of the high-level departures from HTC have ended up at Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) as well; they could now reach back to HTC with a Windows Phone lifeline.
HTC has launched Windows Phones before, but like most hardware makers other than Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK), the company’s Windows Phone handsets have been a halfhearted afterthought. Doubling down on Windows Phone would give HTC employees something to stick around for, giving them another avenue to direct their resources instead of searching for a new job.
Hardware vs. software
Hardware makers always face slim margins. Think Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) and Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) in the consumer PC market for examples. Software makers, on the other hand, have far higher margins; think Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). The main exception to this is Apple, which makes both their own hardware and software and sells the package at high-end near-luxury prices. But Apple is the exception that makes the rule.
If there is any chance of a turnaround from HTC in the next two years, it is going to be done through at least two lines of unified smartphone lines running not only Android but Windows Phone.
The article Android’s Sinking Ship originally appeared on Fool.com is written by David Danna.
David Danna has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Apple and Google. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple, Google, and Microsoft. David is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
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