HTC HD2 sold beyond expectation, HTC unprepared for “massively strong demand”

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soldouthtchd2 UK based FoneShop.com has released this press release below which however still contains some interesting quotes from HTC.

Smartphone manufacturers HTC have seemingly been caught unaware by the massive b2b demand for its latest HD2 handset. With an increase in b2b consumer demand, smartphones dealers have reported difficulties sourcing the HD2 for supply since the turn of the New Year.

The HTC HD2, which was unveiled November last year, has sold far beyond initial expectations with the handset boasting the worlds largest touch-screen and innovative blend between Windows Mobile and HTC Sense software.

HTCs UK chief executive, Jon French admits they have been surprised by the influx in interest from both casual and b2b consumers.

"I have to hold my hands up to that one. It is fair comment. We saw a huge uptake following the product launch in November and we were struggling to keep up with demand. There was a massively strong demand for the HD2."

Nevertheless, Mr French has also revealed that HTC is working hard to meet the demand and enhance its market share across business and casual user markets.

At the end of March, a smartphones distributing source revealed: "Everybody we deal with has been asking for stock and there are just not enough devices out there. The shortage has been getting worse over the last three weeks. We are being inundated with calls and every single scrap is getting picked up."

Although the HTC HD2 is not Android-powered and therefore not connected to the Android marketplace, the Windows marketplace is beginning to offer a bigger range of mobile apps tailored for everyday usage. The main reason for a lack of choice for Windows Mobile smartphones apps is that the marketplace does not support open-source software which has enabled hundreds of developers to push their products on the Android marketplace.

We have certainly seen device shortages in both Europe and US when the device was released in the respective markets.  It is somewhat surprising that HTC was not prepared for demand for the device, but I think it would be accurate to blame this on HTC’s focus on Android and an expectation of more rapid decline in interest in Windows Mobile.  I do however feel that the only real feature missing from Windows Mobile was capacitive screens which has similarly stimulated sales from devices such as the Nokia’s Symbian Touch devices.

At present the only real limiting factor on the success of the HTC HD2 is the cloud cast by the upcoming Windows Phone 7 series, something which could be corrected, were it nor for Microsoft’s intransigence on the issue.

Is the HTC HD2 doing better than our readers expected? Let us know below.

More about the topics: htc hd2, htc leo, sales

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