Well, it appears HTC fell short in their attempt to partner with Google on their new co-branded tablet. According to Digitimes, Google has decided to partner with Asustek in developing their 7-inch tablet targeting the Amazon Kindle Fire in the $199-$250 price range.
There are a couple of stark reasons why this partnership didn’t come to fruition. The first reason is that the Taiwanese company was insisting on driving the development of the new tablet which Google wasn’t willing to concede to. Additionally, HTC felt that developing a low-cost tablet would impair its’ brand image of providing high-end devices.
Personally, I feel that HTC made a mistake in not pursuing the partnership further. HTC seems to have slightly lost its focus recently with the implementation of too many devices and that is reflected in their recent financial statements. While I know HTC intends to refocus around the HTC One brand, I think a partnership with Google would only increase their exposure and help their profit margins.
What do you think? Should HTC have been more flexible in negotiations with Google or do you think they made the right decision to preserve their ‘high-end devices’ image? Let us know your thoughts.
Source: Digitimes
The problem with google is they are the only ones making money out of this. They are not concerned about their “hardware partners” and will continue squeezing for lower prices. You will end up with manufacturers that aren’t making profit, end up not being around and google still being just a search engine. Oops, android experiment didn’t work.
Nothing against Google, but I believe HTC made the right move in keeping at the higher end. If they diluted their brand name with low end models with poor quality control, it would be the end of their relatively good reputation. Asus might be making good profits, but their brand name is far from pristine. To analogize to cars, I’d rather buy a Lexus than a Toyota (same parent company, of course, but huge difference in reputation).