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We’ve been using the One X for three solid months, and this is a truly awesome phone. But we’ve got a few gripes: More »

HTC has posted its Q2 numbers and they’re not pretty. While numbers were up on Q1, the Taiwanese Android/Windows Phone smartphone maker saw declines in nearly every line of earnings compared to the same quarter a year ago. Revenues were 91.04 billion Taiwan dollars ($3 billion), down nearly 27% on Q2 2011 (and missing consensus analyst expectations); gross profit was down by more than 30% to NT24.59 billion ($819 million); operating profit down by over 57% to NT8.2 billion ($273 million). Earnings per share were also down by nearly 57% to NT8.9 ($0.30) per share.

HTC also provided a sober look at the quarter ahead. It expects that in Q3 revenues will drop even further to NT$70-80 billion ($2.3-2.7 billion), with the gross margin also dropping down to 25%, and the operating margin also coming down to 7%.

The results show that despite gains in some key markets like China (and a slight one in the U.S.), HTC continues to see huge competitive pressure in the smartphone segment in which it competes. This year, in an effort to better focus the company, HTC launched a line of handsets under the brand “HTC One”, which followed a similar convention to Apple with its streamlined iPhone line-up.

In its short earnings statement (which will likely see more elaboration during the conference call later today at 8AM Eastern time) HTC also emphasized its success in China, noting it was “well positioned to become a key growth driver.” Just as Canalys noted yesterday, the company highlighted operator partnerships as a key part of the equation, along with brand awareness and increasing retail presence.

Overall HTC said Asia was meeting expectations for the launch of the One line. But noticeably the key North American and European markets did not get mentioned in that context. Instead, these have been seeing “increasing marketing and sales efforts in North America & EMEA.”

Based on comments from April (via Slashgear), when HTC’s CEO Peter Chou was frank about how hard it would be for the company to claw back lost market share in the U.S. (where it currently accounts for only 6.4% of all smartphone users, says comScore), HTC may have already given up the ghost on this one.

But if it is still holding out for a recovery, HTC will have to spend even more (read: more margin/profit pressures) to try to make better headway in these two markets, where it once commanded a respectable presence but has more recently been hit hard by competition, partly from Apple, but also from other Android players, primarily from Samsung.

HTC, like Samsung, makes smartphones based mainly on Google’s Android operating system, with a secondary line based on Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS. But despite being a very early mover in smartphones — it was Microsoft’s first handset partner for its smartphone forays, and Google’s first Android handset maker — HTC has not managed to hold on to its lead.

Unlike Samsung, HTC focuses only on smartphones (and, increasingly, a streamlined lineup of models). That means that HTC offers a less diversified range to the market, and that makes it more susceptible to feeling a pinch when its main/only line of business is not performing that well. While feature phones are getting gradually replaced by smartphones in the overall market, there is still a strong business to be had in the lower end models, as both Samsung and Nokia have shown. And it also provides a customer base loyal to a brand that can be tapped for upgrades. (Apple has been the one standout in the market that seems to have bucked this trend.)

More to come. Refresh for updates.

Just a couple days short of its latest deadline, the HTC Rezound now appears to be ready to be knighted with Ice Cream Sandwich via an OTA update. Verizon has taken to its official site to publish upgrade instructions and benefits, indicating that the rollout has begun. Once your install is complete, you should find yourself gazing at Sense 3.6 and its many associated features. These types of refreshes usually take a couple weeks to reach its entire consumer base, so don’t fret if your particular device doesn’t ping you with a notification while you’re jamming to your Beats today.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

HTC Rezound finally ready to receive Android 4.0 update originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 12:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So we reported earlier today that the HTC EVO 3D on Sprint got updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and just like even earlier reports have suggested, it seems that the HTC EVO Design 4G has also received its update to Android 4.0 ICS as well. The update was initially scheduled for early August, but with July at its end, we guess Sprint and HTC managed to push it out slightly ahead of schedule which we’re by no means complaining. The changelog does not state if this upgrades the UI to Sense 4.0 or if it will still run on Sense 3.6, so if any of you HTC EVO Design 4G users on Sprint who have already received the update, do let us know in the comments below! If you have yet to receive the notification to update, you can always try to manually fetch it or you can wait for a couple of days where the update should eventually be pushed out to you guys.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: HTC EVO 3D and EVO Design 4G getting Ice Cream Sandwich by early August, HTC EVO Design 4G officially announced by Sprint,

Rise and shine HTC EVO 3D owners, we’ve got some great news for you today. According to reports online, owners of the phone have started receiving the long-awaited Ice Cream Sandwich update today. While you won’t get Sense 4.0, the update should bring your the device up to date with all the latest Android features (excluding features from Jelly Bean, of course). Be sure to check out our post on Ice Cream Sandwich to find out what’s new on your phone.

For those of you who didn’t receive any notification, you can try manually calling for it via the Android settings menu, or you can just wait for it patiently. As usual, be sure to back up your device so you don’t lose any important data just in case anything goes wrong. It’s even recommended that you wait a few days to see what other people think of the update before you put it on your phone. After all, Android updates have been known to mess up perfectly usable devices before. But if you do get the update today – let us know how it goes for you.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: HTC EVO 4G update fixes Netflix, other issues crop up, HTC EVO 3D simulator online on RadioShack,