This case study tells the story of the smartphone market from the perspective of HTC, one of the manufacturers, who has been there from the beginning of the modern smartphone era. The case study is divided into the following sections:
I. HTC Growth – We start by looking at the early history of the smartphone and HTC’s role as a trailblazer. It describes the first mover advantages, which helped HTC rise from obscurity into a significant player in the market.
II. Market Changed – Next we examine how established electronics players enter a ripening market and quickly carve out majority of the market share for them.
III. Key HTC Problems – Here we investigate some of the critical challenges faced by a smaller, less known player in the smartphone market.
IV. HTC’s Options Today – We end by reviewing the current status of HTC in the smartphone market and the options available to it going forward.