HTC Reportedly Developing Two Entry-Level Desire Phones

By Anuj

| Published: Saturday, May 17, 2014, 16:01 [IST]

It has been no secret that Taiwanese handset manufacturer HTC has been struggling to compete in the hugely competitive market. But as HTC struggles to hold its ground against Samsung, the company sees value in producing low-to-mid range handsets.

Earlier this year, HTC launched four new mid range handsets under the Desire series, besides the HTC One (M8) flagship phone. Off late, the company has started focusing on affordable segment to turn around its fortunes. Now, according to Twitter leaker @evleaks, HTC is currently working on two more entry level phones under in the Desire series. Yes, you heard it right!

Serial leaker @evleaks is reporting that the company's roadmap includes two new handsets internally known as A1 and V2. Both the phones will be launched under Desire series. No specific info on what these devices will be all about has been provided, but surely we can expect these devices to land in retail stores before the end of 2014.

HTC Reportedly Developing Two Entry-Level Desire Phones

At this year's MWC tech show, HTC for the first time admitted that there is a need to develop low-end handsets to revive the struggling business.

"The problem with us last year was we only concentrated on our flagship. We missed a huge chunk of the mid-tier market," HTC Chairwoman Cher Wang told Reuters.

It now appears that the company really wants to focus on the affordable segment in countries like India and China, and so HTC is making some changes in the strategy for 2014.

HTC has so far launched four new phones under the Desire series: the HTC Desire 816, the Desire 310, the Desire 610, and the Desire 210. Out of those, the Desire 210 is the cheapest, and costs Rs. 8,990. In emerging markets like India, for instance, the company sees the most growth under Rs. 15,000 price slab.

Apparently, the biggest threat in front of HTC is to tackle Motorola's growing stature in India. Motorola, now under Lenovo group, recently unveiled the Moto E at Rs. 6,999. Reportedly, e-commerce site FlipKart sold its entire stock in less than a day.

Stay tuned to GizBot for more updates!