Hasta La Gadget!

HTC has unofficially declared war on Samsung. Not in legal terms, mind you, but an all-out street fight in a sense, literally. Before and during Samsung’s GALAXY S 4 announcement event, HTC wandered the streets of Times Square and Radio City Music Hall to showcase the company’s new HTC One smartphone to random passers-by.

If you didn’t happen to be waiting in line at the GALAX S 4 event at Radio City Music Hall, then you may not know that HTC showed up and passed out free beverages to those waiting in line. It’s the ultimate troll maneuver, but that’s not all. HTC posted a video on their YouTube channel showing off the HTC One to random folks in Times Square in order take attention off the GALAXY S 4 and put it on the new HTC One.

In the video (which is cleverly edited, of course) shows a handful of people getting the chance to play around with HTC’s new phone, and a few of the company’s PR folks were there to tell people all about it, saying that they “just wanted to make sure that people got a chance to see it,” among the Samsung festivities.

This isn’t the only time that HTC has downplayed the significance of Samsung’s new device. They called the GALAXY S 4 “more of the same,” and they haven’t been afraid to call out the company recently. Of course, when you make a really awesome device, it’s hard not to get a little competitive, and even a little snarky.

HTC One wanders the streets of NYC during GALAXY S 4 event is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

HTC CEO Peter Chou has promised to step down if the HTC One is not a sales success, insiders claim, a dangerous commitment given reports that component shortages have scuppered the original launch plans. Chou put his neck on the line in a meeting with senior HTC executives late last year, sources close to the situation told the WSJ, only to find that HTC had been downgraded as a customer among suppliers and would struggle to secure enough casings, camera components, and other parts for the new flagship.

That’s the word from an unnamed HTC executive speaking to the newspaper, blaming the company’s fluctuating demands for phone parts in previous years for leaving the supply chain wary. “The company has a problem managing its component suppliers as it has changed its order forecasts drastically and frequently following last year’s unexpected slump in shipments” the exec explained.

“HTC has had difficulty in securing adequate camera components as it is no longer a tier-one customer” they concluded. The issue around the One’s camera is somewhat ironic, given the UltraPixel technology – which includes a custom-manufactured 4-megapixel sensor built to HTC’s specifications especially for the phone – is part of HTC’s key marketing message.

The company had originally intended to have the One on store shelves by mid-March, but was forced to rethink plans shortly before the intended launch date. Third-party retailers and carriers began complaining that the arrival of their expected stock had been pushed back to the end of March.

Meanwhile, HTC remains upbeat about its ability to get the One out almost on time, albeit perhaps not initially in huge numbers. “We…are working tirelessly with all of our channel partners to ensure that we can fulfill as many orders as possible” CMO Benjamin Ho said in a statement. “We will start fulfilling pre-orders by the end of March in certain markets and will roll out to more markets as we approach April.”

Chou isn’t the only person at HTC finding the company’s struggles are affecting their employment. The company supposedly froze year-end bonuses in 2012, leaving some to speculate that the money was instead being earmarked for a push in marketing around the One this year.

HTC supplier status downgrade rumored as CEO bets job on One success is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Let’s say you are a subscriber on Verizon, and for the longest time, you have thrown your weight behind Taiwanese company HTC for their range of Android-powered smartphones. Even though they went through (and are still going through) some pretty lean times at the moment, you have yet to make the jump to the other side of the galaxy (ahem!), as you believe that the HTC One is going to be the device that would steer HTC through difficult moments, and you intend to jump aboard the HTC One bandwagon.

HTC USA has just burst your bubble. That ain’t happening, as the HTC One was expressly mentioned in the tweet that the smartphone will no longer be made available over at Verizon, as it will not make its way there. Instead, HTC USA asks the masses to consider the HTC Droid DNA, which they described as “awesome”. Yeah, right, I think the shattering sound that I heard is the breaking of a few thousand HTC diehards waiting for Verizon to roll out the HTC One. Is the Galaxy S4 looking more and more tempting now?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Sony Xperia SP And Xperia L Announced, Blackberry’s CEO Calls iOS’ UI Dusty And Old,

If you didn’t watch last night’s Samsung Galaxy S4 unveiling in New York City, we can tell you the entire experience was rather…. interesting. Much of the event was spent highlighting a number of fictional scenarios where a specific S4 feature would be perfect in said scenario, and less about the actual device itself. While the entire experience was meant to entertain, it made HTC President Jason MacKenzie feeling pretty good, though actually feeling bad for Samsung.

“I went from laughing to actually feeling embarrassed at some of the acting,” said MacKenzie to CNET. “Watching the presentation, it looks like they invested a lot in marketing instead of innovation.” (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: More Nokia Lumia 928 Samples Leaked?, Sony Xperia ZL Gets New Firmware,

This week the Samsung release of the GALAXY S 4 saw HTC summoning up their best set of retaliation words to go into direct battle with the hero phone, saying the HTC One should, by all means, eat its competition’s lunch. A comment has come through today from no less than HTC’s chief marketing officer Benjamin Ho regarding the GALAXY S 4, the HTC One, and consumer’s decision between the two. It should be clear at this point that HTC isn’t afraid to claim their 2013 hero is ready to beat down even the loftiest of releases – Broadway dances and singing and all.

If you’ll have a peek at our hands-on with the Samsung GALAXY S 4 and our review of the HTC One, you’ll be able to see how the build quality may, at first, appear to be lacking in the Samsung presentation. HTC is going to have a relatively easy time claiming the idea that a whole heck of a lot more metal in their casing will prove a more premium experience for all. Per HTC’s Marketing officer, the following is true:

“With a continuation of a plastic body and a larger screen being the most obvious physical change, Samsung’s new Galaxy pales in comparison to the all-aluminium unibody HTC One. This is more of the same.

HTC remains the best option for those people looking for the best technology wrapped in premium design. Our customers want something different from the mainstream, who appear to be the target for the Galaxy. Our customers want original cutting-edge technology, mouth-watering design and a premium feel from their mobiles, which is why we created the HTC One.” – Benjamin Ho, HTC’s Chief Marketing Officer

Feel free to take a peek at our article on the Samsung GALAXY S 4 vs the HTC One as well. Specifications on both devices are extremely similar, while the software experience is a whole different story from one to the next. We’ll also have a review of the Samsung GALAXY S 4 sooner than later too – just you wait!

HTC declares war on Samsung: GALAXY S 4 is “more of the same” is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.