HTC eyes top-three market spot with launch of competitive smartphone
Taiwanese company also has designs on high-end consumers with planned release of HTC one max premium smartphone
HTC expects to be in the top three in the mobile-phone market next year as it plans to come out with a competitive model so it caters to all market segments. It has also unveiled a new premium smartphone, HTC One Max.
Jack Yang, the Taiwanese company’s president for South Asia, said it was looking to gain more market share. It will continue to develop innovative products and expand its customer base. It also will cooperate with mobile-phone retailers such as Jaymart and telecom operators to penetrate the market more.
“Thailand is an important market and a huge growth opportunity for us,” he said.
“We will work closely with partners to provide products that meet consumer [demand] as we want to be in the top three in the market.”
As Thailand moves from second- to third-generation cellular service, “it is a huge opportunity for us to enter the market, and the market is very big. We will become an alternative for consumers, partners and carriers.”
Sirpa Ikola, senior marketing director for South Asia, said HTC planned to come out with a new competitive smartphone next year.
“We have a huge thing with marketing and brand-building to bring the company’s brand to the next level,” she said. “We have realised that our consumers are people who have already a smartphone and are aged between 18 and 34 years. We have a good product and also have a strong brand.
“We are trying to kick off brand activity with Robert Downey Jr – Iron Man – to create marketing [for] TV and social media.
The company is changing, and we want our products to be changing products.”
The firm has also launched HTC One Max, a premium smartphone designed for users aged between 18 and 34. It features a 5.9-inch full HD (high-definition) 1080p display
to enhance users’ enjoyment of photos, videos and movies on the go. It also comes with fingerprint scan, and the 16- or 32-gigabyte on-board memory can be expanded to a micro SD (secure digital) card slot as well as the optional HTC Power Flip Case, which is a 1,200mAh (milliampere-hour) battery expansion for the HTC One Max.
The HTC One Max is the third product for the HTC One family, which also includes the basic HTC One and the HTC One Mini.
The new product had its official global launch on Tuesday. HTC One Max and HTC One Mini will be available in Thailand next month, and the company will collaborate with cellular operators to market the phones. HTC also will set up experience zones at retail shops so people can try them out.
“I believe that we will bring smartphones with style and big-screen functionality to the market,” Yang said. “I think that is an opportunity [for us to enter the] top three, possibly next year. And one year we should be a top-three player globally, including Thailand.
“Even thought our market share [in Thailand] at the moment is very low, we are doing very well in Australia and India.
I see a lot potential in Thailand, and Malaysia. For in the case of people in Thailand, people lover the biggest-screen devices and style.”
However, the firm also has plans to come out with mid-market and competitive smartphones next year to create more sales volume.
