Sometimes in life an important thing to remember is to choose your battles wisely. You would think HTC would know to follow this practice, but it could be following Samsung's Apple-bashing lead in an attempt to promote its HTC One smartphone.
Many considered Samsung's Galaxy S4 presentation to be overly and unnecessarily staged for a smartphone launch. HTC took to Twitter during Samsung's Galaxy S4 event and described the event as "off-Broadway," and ended the tweet with #theNextBigFlop. But HTC didn't stop there.
HTC President Jason MacKenzie also decided to take the opportunity to slam Samsung's Galaxy S4 by telling CNET:
"I went from laughing to actually feeling embarrassed at some of the acting, watching the presentation; it looks like they invested a lot in marketing instead of innovation."
MacKenzie went on to slam Samsung's Galaxy S4 presentation, noting it lacked any significant new features and Samsung spent too much time highlighting the S-translator feature that is already available on many other Android smartphones.
The Galaxy S4 bashing didn't stop with HTC's president. HTC Chief Marketing Officer Ben Ho also joined in and released a statement to The Wall Street Journal saying:
"With a continuation of a plastic body, and a larger screen being the most obvious physical change, Samsung's new Galaxy pales in comparison to the all-aluminum unibody HTC One. This is more of the same. HTC remains the best option for those people looking for the best technology wrapped in premium design. Our customers want something different from the mainstream, who appear to be the target for the Galaxy. Our customers want original cutting-edge technology; mouth-watering design and a premium feel from their mobiles, which is why we created the HTC One."
HTC also decided to crash Samsung's Galaxy S4 launch outside Radio City Music Hall and in Times Square, where Samsung was streaming its event: HTC offered hot chocolate, bottled water, snacks, $100-off coupons on the HTC One and hands-on demos of the HTC One smartphone.
HTC appears to be taking the approach that Samsung has taken with Apple: bash your biggest competitor in the hope of informing consumers why your smartphone is superior. Samsung's Galaxy S4 event seemed to go way overboard in the minds of many people, including HTC. HTC figures if it can't beat them, bashing might work, although HTC has never commented on any rival products before the Galaxy S4.
Samsung spent millions bashing Apple, so is bad karma coming back to Samsung via HTC? It's not clear if it will work, but it's entertaining nonetheless.
