The HTC One is being delayed. HTC’s flagship smartphone is being held back from release due to part shortages.
The phone was expected to roll out during the third week of March, but the company was forced to push this date back. The news first came when retailers and cellphone carriers mentioned that HTC had told them of shipping delays for the HTC One.
“We ... are working tirelessly with all of our channel partners to ensure that we can fulfill as many orders as possible,” Benjamin Ho told the Wall Street Journal. “We will start fulfilling pre-orders by the end of March in certain markets and will roll out to more markets as we approach April.” Ho is Chief Marketing Officer for HTC.
The cause of the delay is component shortages, which have slowed production of the phone. HTC executives specifically mentioned metal casings and camera parts as some of the components causing the delay.
HTC “changed its order forecasts drastically and frequently following last year’s unexpected slump in shipments,” one executive told the Wall Street Journal. The executive then added pessimistically that “HTC has had difficulty in securing adequate camera components as it is no longer a tier-one customer.”
This pushback will create an even bigger challenge for the already struggling HTC Corporation. Delaying the HTC One’s release puts it in closer competition with Samsung’s Galaxy S4 phone, unveiled last week. The Galaxy S4 goes on sale in April.
“This was the first time that HTC didn’t give out a year-end bonus,” one HTC engineer said. “Management probably wants to reserve the money to boost marketing this year,”
