HTC refutes Asus takeover rumours in strongly worded statement
Last week saw reports that the takeover of struggling local rival, HTC, had been discussed internally at Asus. The chairman of Asus had even gone so far as to say that it hadn’t ruled out the possibility of such a takeover, thus causing many articles to be written about the possible takeover. In response, HTC has today released a statement to its investors saying that such a takeover is not on the cards. Basically, HTC has stated that they have not initiated any contact with Asus and that they will not entertain the idea of such an acquisition. The full statement as such is below:
To be honest, it was probably an unlikely scenario in the first place, but the fact that HTC felt the need to deny that it had anything to do with even the idea of Asus taking it over, says something about how vulnerable HTC (and its investors) must be feeling at the moment thanks to the plummeting share price. So, while HTC has denied it contacted Asus, I wonder if there were any contact initiated by Asus?
In the meantime, HTC has promised to continue designing world-class, innovative smart devices. Hopefully, the Taiwanese handset maker will refrain from wasting its resources on further distractions such as its Project INK campaign. What do you think? Are you disappointed that HTC has strongly rejected the idea of being taken over by Asus?
Source: HTC
Come comment on this article: HTC refutes Asus takeover rumours in strongly worded statement
ASUS Chairman says the company is entertaining the idea of ASUS acquiring HTC
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Simply put, Taiwanese device manufacturer HTC is not doing well. In the past week, it announced its revenue was going to take a 30% hit compared to its predictions and as a result, 20% of its share price was wiped out. With this in mind, it’s no surprise to hear murmurs of other technology players eyeing HTC as an acquisition, the latest of which concerns the ASUS (Asustek) Chairman, Johnny Shih, speaking about the possibility of ASUS acquiring HTC at the ASUS annual general meeting. ASUS is a global manufacturer of smartphones, tablets, laptops and plenty more, however their smartphone division lacks true global reputation, unlike HTC’s devices – in this way, ASUS acquiring HTC would make a whole lot of sense.
However, speaking with Reuters, ASUS CFO David Chang said that while the idea has been floated within the company, the actual chance of this happening is “not big as Asustek is a company that has depended on organic growth.” Even so, we’ll be keeping an eye out in case something does happen in this space as we have a feeling it would definitely change the landscape of the smartphone market.
What do you think about ASUS acquiring HTC? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Reuters via Phone Arena
The post ASUS Chairman says the company is entertaining the idea of ASUS acquiring HTC appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Asus may be interested in acquiring HTC
Asustek Computer could be interested in taking over HTC but isn’t ready to make a formal decision just yet. According to Reuters, the matter is being tossed about internally with various executives involved in discussion.
“Our chairman has chatted about the topic internally. Still, the chances of an actual takeover are not big as Asustek is a company that has depended on organic growth.“
HTC, which has struggled over the last few years, is located Taiwan; Asus also resides in the same country. The former has been slowly expanding its portfolio while the latter already offers a more robust lineup of products.
The post Asus may be interested in acquiring HTC appeared first on AndroidGuys.
HTC reveals limited edition One M9 INK
After teasing a limited edition HTC One M9 back in April, the company finally revealed phone on Thursday. HTC, in collaboration with tattoo artist Cally-Jo and supermodel Jourdan , worked together to bring this piece of art to the public.
On comparing with the regular version of the HTC One M9, the INK’d version has an engraved tattoo designed by INK’er Cally-Jo on the back. The rest of the specifications and design are the same as regular version. The engraved tattoo is made up of two symbols, an eye and a hand. According to HTC, the eye represents strength and sincerity, while the hand stands for protection and positivity.
“The open hand and eye symbolize the need for protection and strength while still being open and approachable in personality and style. The natural leaf elements and patterns around the outside of each visual reflect the growth in creativity that Jourdan is feeling at this time, and the sun and moon together represent balance and harmony in her character.“
The HTC One M9 has not been the biggest success of the year as anticipated by the HTC so hopefully this limited edition M9 will help them get some attention. HTC also launched the 24-carat Gold Edition HTC One M9 couple of weeks ago.
Although the smartphone has been announced by the company, there is no word on a release date or pricing. If you’re interested you can register on HTC’s website for further information. We suspect this phone won’t be priced too much higher than the regular version based on the previous model.
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Asus hasn’t ruled out taking over struggling HTC
Asus is currently riding a high after announcing that its mobile division turned a profit in May, having sold over 1.5 million smartphones in the month. With the release of its aggressively priced ZenFone 2 in North America, Asus expects the trend to continue and hopes to sell around 2 million handsets in June. As is natural with companies seeing positive results, Asus has given its rivals the once over to see if it is financially viable to expand by taking over a competing company to fuel further growth.
And which company has Asus looked over? None other than its local rival, HTC whose stock has recently plummeted to a record low despite the release of its latest flagship, the One M9. While Asus’ Chairman, Johnny Shih, has commented that the company had not ruled out the possibility of acquiring struggling smartphone maker HTC Corp, it would seem as if the topic is merely a possibility at the present time.
Asus’ Chief Financial Officer, David Chang told Reuters that “Our chairman has chatted about the topic internally. Still, the chances of an actual takeover are not big as Asustek is a company that has depended on organic growth.”
While Asus have downplayed the possibility of a takeover, it’s likely that we will hear more about HTC being the target of a possible takeover seeing as its share price has tanked recently. And strategies such as Project INK probably won’t help HTC’s cause all that much either.
Source: Reuters
Come comment on this article: Asus hasn’t ruled out taking over struggling HTC
HTC unveils its Limited Edition Project INK One M9 handset with custom engraving
Back at the end of April, HTC made the announcement that they were going to partner up with British supermodel, Jourdan Dunn, for its INK campaign that seeks to expand the definitions of beauty by offering a limited edition HTC One M9 handset with a custom design engraved on the rear panel.
The metallic silver or gold handsets can be seen in the images above, with the supermodel posing with the gold version. There is a video below if you would like to see more of Jourdan Dunn and her collaboration with celebrity ink designer, Cally-Jo Pothecary, for HTC’s INK Project. When Project INK was first announced, it was intimated that a few designs would be produced, but it would seem that this is the only design available for the moment. No details were available on pricing or availability of the handsets at the time of writing.
It’s unclear just how popular the INK campaign will prove with consumers. The question has to be asked – is this a worthy recipient of HTC’s resources and attention? At a time when its stock price has slumped to record lows, its flagship smartphone hasn’t performed to expectations, and its Chairwoman/CEO Cher Wang has had to apologize to investors for the company’s poor performance? With the release of a flurry of similarly specced devices in recent week, is it possible that HTC has forgotten the steps it took to return to profit after flirting with financial difficulties in previous years? Let’s hope not.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Source: HTC Blog
Come comment on this article: HTC unveils its Limited Edition Project INK One M9 handset with custom engraving
ASUS has discussed internally acquiring HTC – Reuters
It’s no news HTC has been having a horrible year. The Taiwanese manufacturer recently reported their worst April financial figures in 6 years, and they are expecting to lose substantial amounts of income for Q2, 2015. It’s clearly time for a change, and there is a slight chance ASUS has exactly what they need – an acquisition.
Asus Chairman Jonney Shih
Think about it. It’s really the best time to make a bid to acquire HTC. The company’s stock prices are declining rapidly as ASUS continues to rise with awesome products like the ASUS Zenfone 2. I was honestly much more excited about this mid-end smartphone than I was about the HTC One M9. The Zenfone 2 offers great value for a stunning price, while the HTC One M9 failed to impress the industry very much.
Should an acquisition be in the books? Whether such an event is to take place or not, Asustek Chief Financial Officer David Chang has told Reuters it’s not something the company is entirely ruling out. He mentions Chairman Jonney Shih touched on the topic at ASUS’ annual general meeting.
“Our chairman has chatted about the topic internally. Still, the chances of an actual takeover are not big as Asustek is a company that has depended on organic growth.” – David Chang, chief financial officer at Asustek
This acquisition may not seem likely, as we do know ASUS doesn’t really need HTC to keep growing. They have an amazing computer business and are finally getting a stronger foothold in the smartphone market. I personally don’t see it happening. We have seen crazier things happen, though, and you never really know what these companies may have in mind.
Will we see an HTC acquisition by its Taiwanese brother, ASUS, soon? Sound off in the comments and let us know your take on this possibility.
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Camera and battery improvements are on the way to HTC One M9
If you are an HTC One M9 owner then there is great news for you. HTC is to begin pushing out an update to One M9 users in Europe, the Middle-East and Africa today. This update will bring the software version to 1.40.401.5, and it is the same update update that was rolled out in Taiwan couple of weeks ago.
The update will fix battery related problems, camera issues and overheating issues while charging. The list of changes is:
Battery life:
Battery life was one of the first complaints about the HTC One M9 and is probably one of the most important features of any phone. This update will improve battery life by reducing the power consumption by the YouTube and Facebook app – two very popular apps that almost everyone uses on their smartphone.
Camera:
Though the HTC One M9 has a 20 megapixel camera, the image output of it is always average. This update will solve all the issues regarding camera by including greater auto-exposure balance that improves overexposure, and a reduction of blur and noise in low light conditions.
Heat Management:
The HTC One M9 uses Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 810 SOC and the primary concern of the chipset was the heating issues caused by it. This update will reduce overheating of the phone while charging through an update to smart charging.
Although this is only a small update and it will keep the Android version to Lollipop 5.0.2, the camera and battery improvements address two major flaws on the M9. Currently this update will be rolling out in Europe, the Middle-East and Africa, and the users in North-America will be getting the update later this month depending on the carrier.
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Apple makes Android Migration possible with iOS 9
Of the many new features announced at Apple’s WorldWide Developer Conference on Monday, a few stuck out just a bit for those not intertwined with the Apple world. The introduction of Apple Music and Android Migration. While most will grunt or groan about this feature, Android Migration can, and hopefully will help, many people who decide to switch from Android to iOS.
There are already tools available from the likes of Samsung, Motorola and HTC, that help you move data from one device to another, but it’s not really intended to be used across platforms. That’s what is most exciting to me. In no way am I suggesting that anyone ditch their awesome Android devices for an iPhone, but if you do decide to, you will be able to easily transfer most of your information.
Now a big hiccup that is seen when switching between platforms, is remembering which apps you downloaded on your previous phone, before switching to the new device. You can either do something like I do, and write out a list, or just wing it. However Apple is hoping to make things a bit easier when it comes to downloading those apps you were using on your Android device.
It securely transfers your contacts, message history, camera photos and videos, web bookmarks, mail accounts, calendars, wallpaper, and DRM-free songs and books. And it will help you rebuilt your app library too.
Free apps will be automatically suggested through the App Store and Apple’s new suggestions page. Now the trickier one. Those paid apps. Paid apps will obviously not be able to be transferred between iOS and Android, or vice-versa, however when using the Android Migration tool, any of your paid apps that are available on both platforms will be added to your Wish List within the App Store. Of course this doesn’t solve all of your headaches, but at least all of your paid apps will be able to be easily located and purchased.
It isn’t yet known how Android Migration will exactly work between both platforms, but we can assume that Apple is working on an application that will be released on the Google Play Store. You can expect to see Apple’s Android Migration application released this fall with the release of iOS 9 and possibly alongside the release of Apple Music to Android users.
Man, this is getting weird.
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HTC slide continues after sales forecast cut becomes official
Last week HTC’s stock price hit a new low when news leaked that supply chain companies had been advised that HTC was cutting their sales forecast for 2015. The stock market continued to punish the company after HTC officially announced on Friday they were cutting quarterly sales projections by as much as 35 percent. This triggered a new dip in the stock price to NT$83.60 ($2.69 USD) on Monday.
According to HTC’s latest guidance, they now expect second quarter revenues to total NT$33-36 billion ($1.06 – 1.16 billion USD) which is a major reduction from their previous guidance of NT$46.5 -51 billion ($1.49 – $1.64 billion USD). HTC also revised gross margin down from 23.0 – 23.5 percent to only 19.0 – 19.5 percent.
Perhaps most stunning and distressful for investors is HTC’s announcement that it now expects to post a net loss of NT$9.70 – 9.94 per share instead of slight earnings of NT$0.06 – 0.34 per share. Part of this loss will be driven by one-time charges to account for idle assets and prepaid expenses.
HTC says the reductions are due to a softening market for high-end Android smartphones and weaker than expected sales in China. Analysts have described HTC’s position as a “nightmare.” Calvin Huang with Sinopac Financial Holdings Co. says,
“HTC will keep losing share in the smartphone market and will keep losing money in the coming quarters.”
Currently, 65% of analysts being tracked are recommending investors sell HTC stock. Jasmine Lu with Morgan Stanley, who has analyzed book value for the company, has cut her price target and predicts HTC may slump as far as NT$57 per share.
Do you think HTC can save itself or will we be reading about its sale to another company soon?
Come comment on this article: HTC slide continues after sales forecast cut becomes official
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