Since the day it entered the era of smart phones, the open struggle in the mobile phone circle has not stopped.
I don't know if the friends remember, 8 years ago, the "China Cool Union" combination debuted and announced that it would start a war with the international first-line big names.
At that time, the "China Cool Union" record was not bad, and it was a successful way to pull domestic smart phones back to the mainstream vision from the marginal position.
However, today, 8 years later, the mobile phone market has changed greatly, and the sales of these 4 mobile phone manufacturers have been reduced to "Others".
However, it is gratifying that although the overall sales volume is not very strong, they have never given up the mobile phone business.
After all, over the years, XiaoLei has seen too many mobile phone brands that cannot survive and have been eliminated by the market.
But what Xiao Lei did not expect was that recently there was a brand of double ding that closed the mobile phone business coldly.
Mention this brand, everyone is certainly not unfamiliar, it is the HTC that has been in the mobile phone circle for many years.
Oh, according to the latest news, HTC has removed all models of mobile phones on the official website of Chinese mainland.
All the products on the official website are left: "blockchain smartphone" and "VIVE" virtual reality headset two types of devices.
There may be a small partner to say, is there not a "blockchain smartphone"?
Don't worry, little Ray dot into a look, good guy, jump directly to the HTC US official website...
Since the official website is no longer sold, what about other mainstream e-commerce platforms? The platform Xiao Lei that everyone thought of checked it all.
As a result, HTC flagship/self-operated stores on other platforms such as a treasure, a cat, and a certain east have all been closed.
That said, HTC is now completely out of the Chinese mainland selling phones.
From the time when a machine was difficult to buy to now there is no machine to sell, what has HTC experienced over the years, today Xiao Lei will talk to everyone.
Glory days
The original iPhone brought fire to the smart phone, but also let the majority of mobile phone users know that the original mobile phone can still play like this.
So, many mobile phone brands have come down to participate in the smartphone market, and HTC is one of them.
Among so many brands, why is only HTC becoming a generation of hegemons in the future?
In Xiao Lei's view, the strength of HTC is beyond doubt, but it is more of an opportunity to seize.
In 2007, after Apple released the original iPhone, Google followed suit and tinkered with the Android operating system.
In 2008, relying on the customization of T-Mobile USA, the three major operators in the United States, HTC oem produced the world's first Android operating system mobile phone - HTC G1.
Side slip or full keyboard, this design was indeed quite rare at that time, there is no small partner used, lift a claw.
HTC G1
With a trendy appearance, good hardware, and the name of the world's first Android phone, this phone sold 1.5 million units during the pre-sale period, which opened the glorious era of HTC.
HTC's subsequent HTC G3 (HTC Hero) is also gray and powerful, using a capacitive screen that supports multi-touch, and the operation experience can also break the wrist with the iPhone 3GS.
HTC G3
By the G7 era, HTC's market shipments had been terrifying, surpassing Samsung and Apple in the U.S. market.
At that time, on the streets of the United States, there was basically an HTC in everyone's hand, and it was not an exaggeration to say that it was an "arcade machine".
After the HTC continued to exert its strength, the launch of the G10, G11, G12 several models, but also to make their market value several times.
In 2011, HTC had a market capitalization of $33.88 billion, Nokia $32.84 billion and RIM $28.5 billion
Just making a lot of money, for HTC, is obviously not satisfied with the drops, and all kinds of awards naturally have to be taken.
For example, in the 2010 MWC, HTC Hero won the "2010 Best Mobile Phone" award; and in the 2011 MWC, HTC also won the "2011 Best Mobile Phone Company" award.
What is not a sound is already a blockbuster! It can be said that HTC at that time taught other Android manufacturers a good lesson.
From prosperity to decline
However, Xiao Lei wants to say that he has occupied so much market share in just a few years, and has also earned a lot of money, who does not look at it?
The first wave to stand up and make trouble is Apple, Apple means is very simple, directly moved out of the patent, want to directly restrict the sale of some HTC mobile phone models.
So, in March 2010, Apple began to sue HTC for patent infringement, and HTC returned to Apple in May of the same year, starting a patent litigation war between the two for 2 years and 8 months.
In November 2012, the two sides chose to settle, and HTC spent a large amount of money to sign a ten-year patent licensing contract with Apple.
Patent tycoon Nokia was overjoyed to see the end of this lawsuit, saying that I would also come?
In 2013, Nokia began to sue HTC in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, accusing HTC's products of infringing patents.
The end of the routine, of course, was the same, and in February 2014, the two sides reached a settlement and signed a patent and technical cooperation contract.
In the past two years, HTC has been fighting lawsuits with Apple and Nokia, and it seems that most of its energy has been consumed and has begun to decline.
In June 2012, HTC closed its R&D office in North Carolina, USA; in June 2013, HTC withdrew from the Brazilian market; and in July 2013, HTC withdrew from the Korean market.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that HTC is starting to give up treating the inner taste a little.
Defeated
In addition to Apple and Nokia tripping, HTC began to decline, in fact, we have to find reasons from ourselves.
For example, in the mobile phone sales channel, there were three ways to choose from online, offline and operator channels.
Domestic mainstream mobile phone manufacturers found that they could not sell well through a single channel, so they turned to the depth of the three lines and went hand in hand.
Only HTC which channel is selling, and there is not much in-depth cooperation, sales are naturally not good.
Speaking of core mobile phone products, when mainstream manufacturers switched to the annual flagship strategy, HTC was still adhering to the outdated machine sea tactics.
Product update frequency is high first, not to mention, just buy back not long after the price plunged, put aside who can stand ah?
And well, mainstream manufacturers have localized Android, HTC is too dependent on the native system, it can be said that there is nothing.
HTC is also quite double-standard, does not pay much attention to the Chinese mainland market, and the difference in treatment can be said to be.
For example, consumers found that HTC One S sold a down-frequency version of the previous generation of processors in Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, but the price was not less, the same as the normal version.
The world's first all-metal body mobile phone HTC One (M7), to the Chinese mainland replaced by a three-stage opening and closing back cover, the fuselage is thick, the middle frame gap is still very large, and the back cover snaps at various burrs, which is really not good.
These sets of combinations of drunken punches down, HTC's decline is naturally inevitable.
At last
Since 2015, HTC probably felt that the mobile phone business could not be done.
So he chose to jointly launch the Vive with the game company Valve, and began to enter the VR field.
The "VIVE" virtual reality headset, which is still being sold on the official website, is HTC's main business now.
In September 2017, HTC signed an agreement with Google to transfer part of its mobile phone business to Google.
Since then, HTC's business focus has not been on the mobile phone business at all.
In recent years, HTC's machines, either high prices or configurations are not good, Xiao Lei will not expand into detail.
From the world's largest foundry and manufacturer of smart phones in those years to the removal of all mobile phones on the official website today, HTC's experience along the way has also given other manufacturers a wake-up call.
The smartphone market is changing rapidly, and if you don't take a good step, you may fall off the altar!