HTC eyes market with periscope camera
Smartphone maker bets on new product to capture niche fans in Asia
HTC Corp, a smartphone maker hobbled by declining world market share and thin profits, will find a niche following in Asia with a periscope-like camera that bypasses the need for a camera app icon on smart devices, analysts say.
The RE camera, with photo and video functions, gives the Taiwanese hardware developer a chance to win at least regional favour after the world market share for its core product smartphones sank to 2 to 4 per cent from 10.7 per cent in 2011.
The camera reached shelves in Taiwan on December 3 after selling for more than a month in the United States, and media reports say the company's North Asia president has forecast as many as 20,000 sales on the island by Wednesday.
The product is also on sale on the mainland but HTC would not say how many had moved.
"HTC is the first leading mobile device vendor to eschew the wearables space and look to the POV [point-of-view] camcorder space as a way to differentiate," said Christopher Chute, a vice-president and camera analyst with US-based market researcher IDC. "We believe they could have a larger impact in Asia-Pacific markets than in the West."
High-definition personal cameras by US brand GoPro led sales in the West, Chute said.
HTC has released 50 mostly low-end and mid-range handset models on the mainland since 2010. More than 700 million mainlanders use smartphones but prefer Apple, Samsung or domestic brands such as Xiaomi.