Chitika: HTC traffic share has dropped 60% in five months
updated 05:00 pm EDT, Thu April 19, 2012
Chitika says Apple, Samsung hurting HTC use
HTC's market challenges have seen it lose more than half of its share of online usage, Chitika found in a new study. Its traffic on Chitika's relatively large ad network has dropped 60 percent in the space of five months, down to 7.3 percent of the total in March. While only representative of Chitika's share, it contrasted with Apple's gain in the same space of time, where it leapt from 46.8 percent in October to 76.9 percent in March.
Along with the impact of the iPhone 4S, HTC may have been affected by its inability to stand out among other Android manufacturers, not having the economies of scale of Samsung or Huawei's emphasis on low prices. HTC itself has said that it was too prolific in 2011 and had so many models that it diluted its focus. An emphasis on acquiring technologies instead of developing them itself, such as with Beats Audio and Dashwire, may have shifted its attention.
The company could see a rebound. Its One series phones are a major turnaround focused on a clear lineup and a much cleaner software experience. Its success now mostly depends on whether it can stack up against Samsung's new Galaxy as well as whether Apple can sustain interest in the iPhone 4S.
