HTC needs its new One M8 flagship smartphone to be a commercial hit, but it's not off to a great start. It was a rough May in terms of overall sales for HTC, endangering the company's attempt to gain brand recognition and market share over its competitors through its new device.
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The latest financial information posted by HTC for May indicates a 4.6 percent drop in revenue from April, and 27.37 percent less than May 2013. The revenue amount itself was NT$21.1 billion (roughly $702 million), while it was NT$29 billion at this time last year.
Those will not be numbers HTC wants to see when launching a powerful major device, especially when it has been critically praised. The quality of the Taiwanese company's One line hasn't been in dispute--the original, like the M8, was hailed as one of the best phones on the market and arguably the best Android device available--but sales have not seemed to follow.
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The One kept HTC afloat with the success it did have, but the company was hoping to combat the marketing and brand power of Samsung and Apple to make headway in the market with the M8. In doing so, it could establish itself as more of a major player, rather than a company trying to punch above its weight.
Without the financial support brought about by tremendous sales--which seemingly have already begun to slow against the release of the Galaxy S5--HTC might struggle to remain in the race. It's too early to say the company is facing serious trouble, but it will be hard to argue for continuing to produce an expensive line that does not justify itself.