HTC One, BlackBerry 10 and Tech Thoughts

HTC announces the HTC One and dubs it “the one phone to rule them all” yet they offer up no real direct comparisons to back up those claims. Nokia, never ones to let an opportunity to pass, jumped on HTC One trending and sponsored a tweet so that the first tweet you see on Twitter is a link to the Lumia 920 with the tag “The One To Rule Them All”. Nicely played Nokia.

Have you seen BlackBerry’s new video with Alicia Keys promoting the Keep Moving Projects she’s promoting in coordination with her Set The World On Fire tour? No. Well let me save you the trouble of wasting a few minutes of your life. The video basically is Alicia Keys’s love letter to New York City. No not a hot song accompanied by a dope beat fashioned or helped in some way by owning and using the BlackBerry Z10. Just her providing a voice over, random shots of people on the streets of New York and her promoting her aforementioned Set The World On Fire tour. This Alicia Keys/BlackBerry partnership has been nothing but wrong for both parties involved.

The true mark of a smartphone’s potential is the percentage of people who walk away from the announcement saying “That is my next phone.” I didn’t walk away saying that. Yes I think the hardware build quality is pretty awesome, I love the form factor too. Still HTC feels like they are the kid in high school who keeps trying too hard to be cool. Everyone knows the trick is to be yourself and the coolness comes with the territory. I know a good deal of writers penning stories about how Samsung has to step their game up now. That is fair and accurate. The flip side of that is that even if Samsung comes close to the HTC One they will slaughter HTC. Their marketing machine and brand loyalty is at an all-time high and HTC has initially priced themselves out of quite a few people’s market. I’m not saying they were wrong to focus on a premium experience but the consumer does have to clearly see the added value in doing so. I just recently read a report that said HTC has the lowest device value retention among leading smartphone OEMs. Yikes!

The year is just getting started. We had the BlackBerry 10 devices to kick off the year to much attention. HTC has pulled the curtains back to unveil their flagship for 2013, the HTC One. Just measuring the two of these phones side by side HTC looks pretty good especially considering they are using the most popular smartphone OS in the world, Android. These have served as two good primers for what is shaping up to be the most anticipated year in the smartphone world. There is no excuse for walking around with a bum of a phone with the lineup OEMs are bringing to the table. Here is to MWC and Nokia showcasing what they have in store for the next wave of devices. Shortly after that Samsung is rumored to be unveiling their next wave of devices in mid March. Buckle up guys and gals 2013 is going to be testy and amazing for us consumers.