Apple is in the news this week with the launch of its second generation iPad, but it's the new smartphone from Taiwanese tech firm HTC that is likely to dominate sales
According to his business card, John Wang is a wizard. Chief innovation wizard to be precise. He certainly seems to be working his magic at HTC, the Taiwanese firm where he oversees new products at a company that is rapidly becoming one of the hottest brands in tech.
This week is set to be another Apple week ? the second generation of the iPad is expected to be unveiled on Wednesday. But in the UK the biggest-selling launch is likely to be HTC's. The hyperbolically named HTC Incredible S is Wang's latest smartphone and has received glowing reviews so far in the tech press.
Later this year HTC will launch its iPad rival, the Flyer. With tech firms churning out more tablets than ancient Mesopotamia, Wang says the Flyer will not be another "me-too" device. "Whatever we do has to be quietly brilliant," he says.
He says the Flyer was designed to weigh the same as the average paperback book (420 grammes), about half the weight of an iPad, and will be far smaller. And while it will be a touch-screen device, Wang says it won't be defined by touch ? users will be able to draw and write notes on any part of the device. The aim, he says, is to produce something different, something that produces "moments of delight".
In order to get to these moments HTC has a "magic lab" where ideas are worked through. One idea from the lab is a technology that makes its smartphones ring loudly in a bag or pocket, but softly when picked up.
Wang started the lab five years ago and its engineers work through ideas to make their devices as simple and user-friendly as possible. The Incredible S, for example, has buttons that change their orientation depending on which way the phone is held. "When people use the word innovation they are often referring to the 1.5ghz, the 4.4in display, megapixels," he says. "But it's often the details, not the specifications that make customers think 'that is so right'."
The strategy seems to be paying off. According to technology analysts Gartner, HTC sold 3m smartphones in the UK last year, compared with Apple's 5m. In the last quarter of the year HTC sold 1.1m, close to Apple's 1.4m. Overall, the company made a net profit of $500m (�310m) for the last quarter of 2010, a leap of 160% from 2009's final quarter. Sales surged 153% from a year ago.
The firm, formerly known as High Tech Corporation, started life in 1997 making notebook computers. It has been building a position in smartphones for years, but Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi says the turning point for HTC was the launch of Google's Android mobile operating system in 2007. The success of Android and HTC's close co-operation with Google gave the firm a new lease of life in mobile.
Google and HTC are close partners: the search giant's team used HTC phones when they were developing Android. Initially Android looked like a dud, but it now outsells all its competitors combined in the US. Next up is the tablet, where Google is also keen to make its mark. "I think we are just at the beginning for innovation in the tablet market," says Wang.
Graham Stapleton, chief commercial officer for Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy, said the retailer had seen enormous growth in HTC sales in recent months. "Their customer traditionally has been more of a business/professional user. In the last 12-18 months they've targeted more of the pioneering customers, people who want the latest technology."
He said HTC was becoming a brand people asked for unprompted. "That's a huge change. They've done an incredible job over the last 18 months."
It hasn't gone unnoticed. HTC and Apple are now locked in a patent spat, with each side accusing the other of ripping it off. Milanesi says that's the price of success. "Can Apple go after Google? No, they don't make phones. They will go after who they can go after," she says.
It's probably the biggest compliment Apple is ever likely to pay them.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/feb/27/smartphones-htc-apple-competition
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