Telecom Lead Asia: HTC has tied up with Reliance Communications to launch HTC One smartphone in India for a price of Rs 42,900.
The delay in launching HTC One in India and other markets has already affected the company’s revenue and profit.
HTC, the world’s 10th-biggest smartphone maker by shipments in the fourth quarter according to Gartner, says first-quarter revenue was T$42.8 billion, lower than the T$50-60 billion range that HTC had forecast in February. Revenue in the fourth quarter was T$60 billion.
Alongwith HTC One smartphone, which will be available in the end of April, Reliance Communications GSM subscriber can now avail 1GB of 3G data free for 3 months along with free sharing of unlimited text, music, pictures and videos through WhatsApp and Facebook for 3 months.
In addition, Reliance Communications is also offering free BigFlix subscription for 3 months that will enable Reliance 3G users to watch the latest movies without spending on additional data charges.
Nilanjan Mukherjee, chief revenue officer, Reliance Communications, said: “Our bundled offers on RCOM’s superior 3G network is set to provide a compelling new experience with incredible affordability to Smartphone users across the country.”
Meanwhile, HTC said its unaudited net profit was T$85 million ($2.85 million) in its January-March first quarter, compared with T$1 billion in the prior quarter and T$10.9 billion in the same period last year. It was the lowest since HTC began reporting quarterly profits in 2004.
The company has partnered with Facebook, which unveiled new software last week called “Home” that replaces the home screen on some Android smartphones, and introduced a $100 HTC-made handset that is pre-installed with the new app.
