對許多美國消費者來說，宏達電(HTC)這個招牌或許還未到如雷貫耳的地步，但現(xiàn)在，從辦公室到家庭，已經(jīng)有愈來愈多人開始使用這家來自臺灣的公司所制造的電話了。 HTC 也是讓英特爾(Intel)、高通(Qualcomm)、德州儀器(TI)甚至其它零件供貨商在拿不到蘋果(Apple)訂單之際，卻仍能看到未來的關(guān)鍵因素之一。
接下來幾年，你會聽到更多有關(guān) HTC 的消息，任何人都應(yīng)該更加關(guān)注這家公司。這家企業(yè)在過去5年內(nèi)從默默無聞竄升為消費電子產(chǎn)業(yè)中最具競爭力的廠商，透過與電信業(yè)者結(jié)盟和發(fā)展自有品牌，HTC已經(jīng)在智能手機市場建立了穩(wěn)固地位。
這個產(chǎn)業(yè)可以從HTC的快速崛起學(xué)到一些經(jīng)驗，但這家公司可能還必須借鑒一些競爭對手的歷史，以避免日后重蹈覆轍。
HTC最初是憑借著為電信業(yè)者提供ODM品牌產(chǎn)品服務(wù)而成長。電信業(yè)者能透過這類產(chǎn)品獲得較高利潤，在1997~2006年之間，HTC藉由為電信業(yè)者提供ODM服務(wù)，成為該領(lǐng)域中的可靠合作伙伴，并大幅提高了其設(shè)計能力。包括與Verizon、T-Mobile、Sprint、Orange和NTT DoCoMo等電信業(yè)者的伙伴關(guān)系，都讓HTC能充份運用其知識基礎(chǔ)做為設(shè)計概念，分擔(dān)研發(fā)成本，并避免了在進入此一高度敏感市場之初的龐大入門行銷成本。
這種合作關(guān)系在大型供貨商之間并不常見。像蘋果、摩托羅拉(Motorola)和諾基亞(Nokia)這類大型企業(yè)，通常都獨自負擔(dān)研發(fā)費用，而且僅透露簡單的產(chǎn)品藍圖給電信業(yè)者，更遑論共同開發(fā)了。蘋果更是從不與電信業(yè)者談?wù)摦a(chǎn)品藍圖細節(jié)?；旧希O果開發(fā)產(chǎn)品并不是以消費者意見為基礎(chǔ)，iPhone獲得的巨大成功，更強化了該公司不需要第三方意見的信念。
這個策略對蘋果有效，或許對其他公司也能奏效──只要一家企業(yè)也能像蘋果般贏得消費者的崇拜。但HTC則憑借著自有的設(shè)計團隊，以及來自電信客戶端的反饋，在智能手機市場跨出了一大步。在2006年開始推出自有品牌產(chǎn)品后，這家公司以大量具吸引力的產(chǎn)品線迅速在智能手機市場擴張。事實上，其產(chǎn)品名稱也展現(xiàn)出了這家公司在競爭對手環(huán)伺下仍大膽前進的勇氣。
例如HTC Sensation 4G，已經(jīng)成為該公司最搶手的熱門產(chǎn)品之一。Sensation和其它系列產(chǎn)品如Amaze, myTouch, Wildfire 和 Droid Incredible 等，讓HTC悄悄在這個嚴峻的市場中立穩(wěn)腳步，而沒有招至太多競爭對手的注意。然而，HTC現(xiàn)在要不被注意很難，特別是蘋果和三星(Samsung)，都已開始將三星視為必須迅速擊退的隱形對手。
這也是為何必須密切觀察HTC。Forst & Sullivan的分析師Saverio Romeo在一封郵件中描述了這家公司所面臨的挑戰(zhàn)：
三年前，我問HTC：“你們的品牌在哪里？”答案是：“你就快看到它了?！睆腍TC不久前在倫敦的The Roundhouse舉辦的活動中，我也看到了這個問題的答案。HTC CEO 周永明在這場于The Roundhouse舉辦的HTC Sensation XE發(fā)表會中表示，HTC提出了一種特殊的行動應(yīng)用和行動生活型態(tài)。而所謂的行動生活型態(tài)，是以創(chuàng)新的設(shè)計和技術(shù)所帶來的行動體驗為基礎(chǔ)所建立的。
我對這個問題也有自己的答案。毫無疑問，HTC是當前行動設(shè)備世界的主角之一。而我的下一個問題是：“HTC智能手機品牌的未來發(fā)展方向在哪里？”如果HTC希望成為行動生活型態(tài)的供貨商，那么，僅僅提供產(chǎn)品是不夠的。
HTC的下一步是什么？它瞄準的市場在何方？消費市場中的OEM業(yè)者和其它電子市場現(xiàn)在都已經(jīng)知道這個來自臺灣的隱藏版戰(zhàn)士了。智能手機市場即將展開新一波競爭，不僅僅是HTC，還有更多新的競爭者預(yù)計將快速浮出臺面。這個領(lǐng)域的驚喜已經(jīng)結(jié)束了，真正的戰(zhàn)爭，由此展開。
編譯： Joy Teng
本文授權(quán)編譯自EBN Online，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載
參考英文原文： HTC: The Stealth Warrior，by Bolaji Ojo, Editor in Chief
相關(guān)閱讀：
• 2011年全球智能手機出貨將達4.52億支，Android占46%
• 人類已阻止不了大屏手機，我們該做些什么？
• 宏達電中國市場劇烈膨脹，年底銷售點將達2,000個c1Nesmc
{pagination}
HTC: The Stealth Warrior
Bolaji Ojo, Editor in Chief
Do you know High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC) (Taiwan: 2498)? The name may not ring a bell for many consumers, but chances are that someone in your office or even in your family is making or receiving a phone call on a device from the Taiwanese company right now. HTC is also one of the prime reasons why many components suppliers, including Intel, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments, see a future for themselves in the sector even without scoring a design win at Apple.
You'll be hearing more about HTC in coming years and should keep the company on your radar. Rather quietly, it has penetrated one of the most competitive segments of the consumer electronics industry over the last five years, steadily building up market share in smartphones, first via partnerships with telecommunication services providers and then with its own branded offerings.
The industry can learn some lessons from the rapid growth of HTC, but the company also may want to review the history of some competitors to know the pitfalls that lie ahead.
HTC grew initially by serving as an ODM making branded products for telecom companies. The telcos could get a higher margin on such products, and HTC used its years as an ODM (1997 to 2006) to burnish its own reputation as a reliable partner and vastly improve its design skills. The partnerships with telcos like Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, Orange, and NTT DoCoMo allowed HTC to tap their knowledge base for design concepts, share R&D costs, and avoid the huge startup and marketing costs associated with entry into such a highly sensitive market.
Such partnerships aren't common with the larger vendors. Companies like Apple, Motorola, and Nokia typically carry development costs alone and simply share product roadmaps with telecom companies rather than jointly develop such offerings. Apple doesn't even discuss details of its product roadmaps with telecom carriers. The company makes a point of not soliciting customer input, and the enormous success of its iPhone has further reinforced the belief it doesn't need third-party contributions.
That strategy works for Apple, and it may be a model for other companies, too -- as long as they keep on winning customer devotion. HTC, in the meantime, is straddling the line by pumping out products based on telco feedback, its own internal design teams, and customer input. After launching its own branded products in 2006, the company has flooded the smartphone market with a wide range of appealing products. In fact, the names for its offerings demonstrate a willingness to be daring while hewing closely to offerings from rivals.
The HTC Sensation 4G, for instance, is a widely sought-after product, and so is the HTC Thunderbolt. Both these and other HTC products (Amaze, myTouch, Wildfire, and the Droid Incredible) have allowed HTC to quietly establish a presence in the tough market without drawing too much negative attention from its heavyweight rivals. But such attention is inevitable and has arrived, with Apple and Samsung especially beginning to see HTC as a stealth rival that must be quickly repelled.
This is why what HTC does next is being closely monitored. Frost & Sullivan analyst Saverio Romeo best summed up the challenge facing the company in an email:
Three years ago I asked HTC: 'Where is your brand?' They answered: 'It will come'. At the recent HTC party at The Roundhouse in London, I could see the answer to that question. Today, HTC represents a specific mobile style, mobile lifestyle as Peter Chou, the CEO, highlighted during the press conference at The Roundhouse launching the HTC Sensation XE. That mobile lifestyle is built around delivering a mobile experience made of design and technological innovation.
I have the answer to my question. Without doubts, HTC is one of the protagonists in the world of mobile devices. My next question to them will then be: 'Which is the future direction of an established smartphone brand like HTC?' If HTC wants to be a mobile lifestyle provider, and I know the term provider is not very stylish, probably, devices are not enough.
What will HTC come up with tomorrow, and which markets will it next invade? The OEMs in consumer and adjacent electronics markets are now aware of the stealth warrior from Taiwan. So, the next moves will come, not only from HTC, but also from the rivals that didn't at first see its fast approach. The surprise is over; let the real war begin.
