Google Buying HTC's Smartphone Business

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CHANG3D

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Reports are coming right now that Google is looking to acquire HTC's smartphone business. HTC's Vive division will supposedly remain as part of HTC, although there are rumors that Google may want the Vive too after hiring the designer of the Vive away from HTC some times back to work on Google Daydream.

It's the end of an era. What you guys think? Do you recall some of the good things HTC had done and the things HTC had screwed up on or was screwed out off? What will Google do with this deal? Will HTC become another Motorola?
 
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The HTC HD2, the most awesome smartphone ever made IMO.

After that, they haven't made a single device that interests me, not one, but some folks obviously found some of their devices useful enough to keep 'em in business.

It's difficult to say what Google will end up doing, they were doing OK with the Motorola Mobility thing - the Nexus 6 was one damned fine smartphone and still is but apparently Lenovo made them an offer they just couldn't refuse to part with that company.

Guess we'll all have to wait and see how things turn out as long as this deal goes through, and it looks like it probably will to the tune of about $1.7 billion.
 
HTC 10 was a great phone (still is). I also liked the Incredible and Incredible 2.
 
The M7/M8 phones were their best, IMO. I had my M8 for 2 years and loved it the whole time, so much that I had to get another phone with front facing speakers (my 6P), but I still really miss the IR blaster from it. It even had an IR receiver for learning IR commands from other remotes that weren't in the app's database. You can't get anything like that anymore. The Mate 9 is the closest phone I've seen to it.

I hope HTC doesn't suffer the same fate as Moto did though. But I think the circumstances are different this time around since Google is more into the hardware game now with the Pixel line.
 
It'll be interesting to see the Pixel 3 if Google has full control over everything. Will it be better or worse?
 
One thing I remembered from HTC's history is that early HTC Android phones had AMOLED displays. Then Samsung viewed them as a competitor and refused to sell HTC's AMOLED displays without a Samsung logo on it and instead offered HTC Samsung's own SLCD displays. That's pretty much the beginning of the end for HTC, getting screwed over so that Samsung has a display tech advantage. Then Samsung started spending billions on advertising. With HTC's dwindling price negotiation powers, HTC just could not find good prices on parts in a timely fashion.

HTC also has a history of really bad advertising. Remember the Gary Oldman ads? What about the HTC troll ad? What other ads do y'all remember?
 
CHANG3D said:
One thing I remembered from HTC's history is that early HTC Android phones had AMOLED displays. Then Samsung viewed them as a competitor and refused to sell HTC's AMOLED displays without a Samsung logo on it and instead offered HTC Samsung's own SLCD displays. That's pretty much the beginning of the end for HTC, getting screwed over so that Samsung has a display tech advantage. Then Samsung started spending billions on advertising. With HTC's dwindling price negotiation powers, HTC just could not find good prices on parts in a timely fashion.

HTC also has a history of really bad advertising. Remember the Gary Oldman ads? What about the HTC troll ad? What other ads do y'all remember?
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AMOLED still not a polish tech to be use for mass market to be honest. Burn-in problem and color degrade issue is a massive problem that they ignore.

I rather have phones not using AMOLED. Especially those who use their phone for navigation a lot, which they all pretty much fucked by burn-in.

Also, the reason why HTC end up like this is due to the fact that Samsung constantly hired forums writers and paid journalist to bash HTC, they got into lawsuit and fine for like a million dollar but continue to do so.
HTC could have at least try to do some marketing instead of just letting competitor trashing them on media, but they choose to do nothing about it for some reason.
 
shansoft said:
AMOLED still not a polish tech to be use for mass market to be honest. Burn-in problem and color degrade issue is a massive problem that they ignore.

I rather have phones not using AMOLED. Especially those who use their phone for navigation a lot, which they all pretty much fucked by burn-in.

Also, the reason why HTC end up like this is due to the fact that Samsung constantly hired forums writers and paid journalist to bash HTC, they got into lawsuit and fine for like a million dollar but continue to do so.
HTC could have at least try to do some marketing instead of just letting competitor trashing them on media, but they choose to do nothing about it for some reason.
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we definitely called out several shills here too.
 
https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/20/google-buys-htc-pixel-team-1-1-billion/

As it turned out, it wasn't as huge. Google is buying the Pixel team, which is half of HTC's R&D team. 2000 employees will now work with Google. HTC retain their own brand of smartphones. And Google also gets HTC's IP.

It seems like Google just wanted to close some leaks. By taking HTC's Pixel team away from HTC, Google can now do somethings without HTC knowing. And future HTC can't make stuff that was planned or designed with Google for themselves. While I don't know how much Google's input had in making that camera good and the squeeze, I suspect Google is the one who finally got HTC the win on camera quality. I repeat, it is just my suspension cause HTC failed at the camera for a LONG time until the Pixel.
 
Alright, so Google bought the HTC staff? Sounds about right. What happens when the current staff quits or the HTC files the Chapter 11?

I've seen that before. The Moto X, made in America and one of the best Android device at that time. They screwed up.
 
I don't think I've owned an HTC device since my ol' Dell Axim X50v/HP iPAQ hx4700 combo from a decade ago. Yes, really - if it runs Windows Mobile, it's more likely than not that HTC made it behind the scenes.

I recall wanting an HTC Universal back in the day (looks like a pocket-size convertible Tablet PC), but that never had a US release and predates the time when HTC branded their own stuff directly, so it has a billion names based on carrier. Then the Touch Pro2 came along a few years later and I wanted one of those, in part due to the higher-res screen and that nice slider keyboard with the tilt-up screen, but I never had the opportunity to get one. (It wasn't a time when I was permitted to own a smartphone, you see.)

Then they were ballsy enough to release the HTC Flyer, but I'm not sure I would've been too enamored with their use of N-trig for the active pen over Wacom. Whatever the case, I didn't end up getting one, figuring that a typical Tablet PC that ran full-fledged Windows was a more sensible purchase for the money spent for a litany of software-related reasons. (Still is, actually, as I'd eventually find out with the Wacom Cintiq Companion Hybrid...)

As for selling off their staff to Google, it may be a much-needed cash infusion in the short term, but it'll hurt them dearly in the long term.

And as for their one other super-profitable division... well, I should warn that while HTC may have debuted the first SteamVR headset with the Vive, it won't be the only one soon. We all saw LG's prototype SteamVR offering, and there's likely plenty more to come, with improved HMD and controller designs. Then there's all those Windows Mixed Reality setups about to flood the market. HTC cannot get complacent there either, or they'll find themselves squeezed out of the VR space before they know it and end up with no profitable divisions.
 
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