[HTC Droid DNA] BarryH_GEG:
I'm a big HTC fan. And even people that aren't should be rooting for their success as Samsung's becoming an oligopoly and HTC's the closest thing to a competitor. But HTC's a mess. They squandered their early lead in the Android world by becoming complacent and releasing a string of derivative phones one after the other that were frankly mediocre in design and execution. The Sensation was under spec'd compare to its rival the SGS2 and marked the beginning of HTC's decline and Samsung's rise. The next wave like the Lucid, Rezound, and Rhyme were just plain random and looked like HTC phoned them in . The One series was to be their salvation but they flopped because of execution. Once again, compared to Samsung, people were forced to compromise. Until people can look at an HTC phone and say "wow, I want it" without any ifs, ands, or buts, HTC's going to continue to struggle. And while their still profitable the rate that profit is eroding each quarter they release earnings is alarming. If the One X+ and DNA/Deluxe don't gain some traction for them they'll end up being acquired or merging with someone like Asus, LG, Sony, or Motorola (who are also struggling against Samsung). And that may not be a bad thing as there are way too many smaller companies chasing way too little opportunity.

Here's a list of the issues with some of HTC's major releases:

Sensation - too little RAM, too heavy an overlay, build and QC issues, "antenna-gate," under-powered

Lucid - butt ugly, heavy, crappy battery life

One X - major design and QC issues, weak non-removable battery, sufficient but non-expandable storage

One XL - inadequate RAM, weak non-removable battery, insufficient and non-expandable storage

One S - mediocre for the price

DNA/Deluxe - no ground breaking features (other than the display which will end up common), weak and non-removable battery, insufficient and non-expandable storage

The One X+ is a very competitive phone. It's the phone that HTC should have launched in March ahead of the SGS3's release. AT&T spent more on marketing the One X than they did any other non-Apple phone they've carried. It was a flop and went from $199 to $99 to $49 within a three month period. Why? Because it paled in comparison to the SGS3 which had parlor trick features like all the S-Crap which were gimmicks but marketable, a bigger swappable battery, and 70MB of storage by adding a $50 SD card. People loved the superior design and display of the One X but bought the SGS3 (at a higher price) which is still AT&T's best selling non-Apple device in their history.

Since VZW is CDMA you guys are stuck with what they choose to offer you. Maybe VZW's size and limited choices will make the DNA a success. But VZW has two strong Android alternatives in the SGS3 (we're bored, the masses aren't) and the "new" Note 2. If HTC put some ground breaking features (H-Crap) in the DNA maybe people would be more drawn to it. As it is the DNA has to rely on its display to overcome HTC's self-inflicted weaknesses of a small non-removable battery and 11GB of fixed user accessible storage. If the DNA's battery was at least the same size as the SGS3/One X+'s and had either 32GB of memory or an SD card slot it's chances of being successful would be higher. But it doesn't and once again a major HTC device launch is accompanied by "ifs, ands, or buts." If the Deluxe is launched globally with the same specs as the DNA HTC will once again shoot themselves in the foot and be one step closer to being an acquisition or merger candidate. No matter how big VZW is and how successful the DNA is for them it's not enough to turn HTC around globally. And HTC's put themselves in that position through a string of conscious decisions that began in 2010.