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HTC plans to release fewer Android phones in 2012

In a smart reversal of strategy, HTC says it will decrease the number of devices it releases in 2012.
Written by Ricardo Bilton, Contributor

Like most other manufacturers, HTC's Android strategy in 2011 seemed to center around flooding the market with as many different devices as possible.

Fortunately, the company seems to be coming to its senses. In an interview with Mobile magazine, Phil Roberson, executive director of HTC U.K. and Ireland, said that HTC's 2012 will look a bit different from its 2011.

"We have to get back to focusing on what made us great – amazing hardware and a great customer experience," he said. "We ended 2011 with far more products than we started out with. We tried to do too much."

Instead, HTC will focus on releasing hero products, flagship devices of higher quality like the Galaxy Nexus and iPhone. The move, while shrewd, is probably one HTC should have followed from the beginning.

As for tablets, HTC says that it won't push the devices as strongly in the coming year, though it still plans to have a hand in the market.

And HTC is not alone. At CES 2012 Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha announced a similar shift in strategy, noting that Motorola plans to slow down its smartphone release cycle in 2012.

"A lot of products that are roughly the same doesn’t drive the market to a new place," he said.

Ultimately, while the new strategies of HTC And Motorola will reduce the number of devices to choose from, they'll also no doubt increase the quality of the ones that are released. And that can only be a good thing for consumers.

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