Stefan Mileschin

2012 was a terrible year for HTC, but the Taiwanese smartphone maker managed to regain its footing earlier this year with the lovely aluminium clad HTC One. Although the One has enjoyed a lot of attention, Bank of America Merrill Lynch reckons it’s just not enough.

Robert Chang, the bank’s Taipei-based analyst, believes HTC simply doesn’t have what it takes to continue its recovery. In a research note he pointed out that competition in the mid-range segment is a lot stiffer than in the high-end, Focus Taiwan reports.

This doesn’t bode well for HTC’s business model and design philosophy, as the company places an emphasis on build quality resulting in a higher bill of materials. Although the HTC One was a success, it won’t contribute to growth in the second half of the year.

HTC doesn’t have much to offer in other market segments. It is expected to introduce the HTC One mini in the third quarter and it might benefit from the success of its older sibling, but the rest of the range doesn’t appear nearly as attractive.

The Butterfly S might be an exception. It's a high-end smartphone with a 5-inch screen and a few novel features, but doesn't look like the big hit that is the HTC One.

http://news.techeye.net/mobile/analy...-on-htc-growth