Through work I have had access to HTC Android handsets since they became available. This started with the T-Mobile G1, built by HTC, through the HTC Desire, Desire HD and Desire S. All of them individually are cracking phones for their time.
However on getting the HTC Desire S it was a massive let down. It was a real 'Meh' experience. Although the build quality is great and at the time it was running the latest Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system, there really seemed to be nothing particularly novel about it. This, for me, was largely due to the HTC Sense overlay that was forced on HTC Desire users. Through the phones hardware updates (again this is my personal view) there was simply nothing that appealing to me. To be honest I rarely use my HTC Desire S now.
It all seemed very much to me like to Nokia N95 to N97 downward spiral. I loved my Nokia N95 when it first came out. The first phone with on-board GPS (that was incredibly unresponsive and generally rubbish!) and, at the time, great mobile internet browser. It was really ground breaking. Then came the Nokia N96. O.K. that was a disappointment. Probably the first Nokia flagship device that I had no interest in :-(. Then the Nokia N97. Ho hum. By now Android devices were available and Nokia seemed like a distant memory.
The Nokia N95 from 2007
To me this is what the HTC Desire series of devices has been. The gradual decline of a great handset into an also ran. Samsung have kicked their way through the door with there Samsung Galaxy S series of devices. To be fair though both manufactures have far too many devices for a consumer to make a decision they will be happy with for more than a few months!
It doesn't surprise me that HTC had a pretty rough Q4 in 2011. Lets see if their HTC One device range can help their flagging sales. I am sure it can. HTC do not seem to be an oil tanker sized company, in the same way Nokia were, that are simply unable to turn their strategy around. To be fair in the past year Nokia seemed to have ditched the oil tanker for the lifeboats - lets see how the WP7 solution works for them. Nice looking phones so far but a consumer/commercial success?
The HTC One Series of phones is definitly causing some interest and nice reviews. Engadget give a reasonably glowing review of the HTC One X and HTC One S. Definitly worth getting my hands on to see if HTC are making phones again that are as good as their brand names - Sensation, Desire, Incredible, Amaze, Hero, Inspire, etc...
Cheers
M
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