HTC unaffected by recession, raises shipment forecasts

 While many stalwarts like Nokia and Motorola trim forecasts and are tightening their belts, and even Apple with the iPhone is reducing orders, HTC has gone on record as stating it was unaffected by these troubled economic times.

In fact, not only were they unaffected, they are doing quite well, and has increased shipment forecasts for many of its handhelds. HTC for example now expects to ship 3 million Touch Diamond smartphones by the end of the year, rather than the more conservative 2 million they were expecting.

Of course not everyone is doing as well as HTC, but some of them are determined to try their best. Asustek only managed around 3-400 000 smartphones, vs HTC’s 12-13 million in 2008. They were distracted by Android and Nuvi-phone promises, both of which are yet to materialize, and therefore shipped only 7 handsets, half of what they have originally planned. They however intend to redouble efforts and release 10 devices in 2009, most with 3G and touch interfaces.

It remains to be seen in Asustek will be able to eat into HTC’s marketshare, and if HTC will be able to maintain their optimistic sales forecast, but if both happens it would be rather good.