HTC and Sony Mobile are two companies that, despite being from different countries, have a lot in common. Like Sony, HTC has dabbled with Windows phones in the past though they rely heavily on Android. Like HTC, Sony once held a much greater market share in the US than they do now. And both companies once saw mobile as a driver of growth, only to be crushed by market realities and their competitors.

Despite their similarities, HTC has enjoyed a lot of success that Sony has only dreamed of. For one, they used to be a darling of the Android community and were able to use their early growth to mount a successful marketing campaign around their products. Samsung may have always been the market leader for Android phones but HTC was able to carve itself a meaningful market for themselves with their powerful phones that attracted enthusiasts. Seeing how the Taiwanese company couldn’t exactly go to toe-to-toe with Samsung and its strong carrier support from Verizon and AT&T, HTC was able to do the next best thing and woo in T-Mobile, known as the Un-carrier network – again, something that Sony has attempted to do in the past.

After all, that’s T-Mobile’s whole thing – being a carrier that doesn’t play by the normal rules and offering phones from HTC made absolute sense as it was in line with their edgy marketing. Keep in mind that other US carriers have also offered HTC phones but one of their biggest supporters has always been T-Mobile. In fact, here is a completely over the top unboxing of HTC’s latest flagship phone, the HTC 10, that T-Mobile put together.

But as Nick Summers writes for Engadget, things aren’t going all that well for HTC.

 HTC needs its latest flagship, the HTC 10, to pick up steam — and fast. But that’s unlikely to happen now that T-Mobile, one of the biggest carriers in the US, has quietly dropped the Android handset. It’s not clear exactly when the smartphone disappeared from store shelves, but a Reddit post has it pegged at July 21st. That’s only two months since the phone went on sale at the so-called “un-carrier.” The more worrying part is that barely anyone seemed to notice. 

Having your phone discontinued so quickly is worrisome on its own and Sony knows this pain all too well, seeing that no carrier offers their phone in the US. Instead Sony has to rely on selling unlocked devices through Amazon and Best Buy, a model that’s not popular in the US. But perhaps the worst of it is that last sentence.

 The more worrying part is that barely anyone seemed to notice. 

Outside of HTC loyalists, no one has noticed the phone’s disappearance off of store shelves and this is troubling for Sony. If HTC, who offers typically well-reviewed phones with a sense for marketing and carrier support, is barely registering on consumers’ radar in the US, what can Sony possibly hope to achieve? Sure, Sony has announced plans to defocus on the US, but as this point, it’s worth asking if there’s even a point for them to remain in the US at all.

 Look hard enough and you might find a HTC 10 gathering dust in a T-Mobile store. These “limited quantities” are just that, however, and won’t be replenished in the weeks or months ahead. 

Without a hit product, like Sony, HTC is forced to go back to the drawing board once again to come up with a new phone that will hopefully capture the attention of consumers and retailers. Their failure could also explain Sony’s bizarre strategy of releasing a new flagship phone every 6 months – if Sony (or HTC) isn’t able to sell their newly released phone in any meaningful quantity, simply by the nature of the business and the need for sustained revenue, the companies are forced to release a new device in a shorter period of time. Unfortunately both companies employ a strategy that’s more based on the hopes of one of their phones catching on (which would allow them to slow down their pace of released devices) than one based on any meaningful strategy and that’s a shame.

Perhaps an apt analogy would be the difference between Marvel and DC films where Samsung (and Apple) are the equivalent of Marvel and produce hit after hit, and HTC and Sony are DC with the hopes of emulating the success of their rival. Film buffs will be quick to point out that one of the reasons Marvel is enjoying the success they do is due to their decade-long approach of building a cinematic universe that’s given audiences a grounded understanding of how that world functions. In fact, with the MCU, there is a very clear timeline that can be followed from WWII all the way forward that’s paved the way for everything to come. On the other hand, DC, sensing that they’re falling behind, has attempted to cheat Marvel’s success by putting us in the middle of a complicated world and working backwards to explain why things are the way they and their struggles show, not just in the less than expected box office returns, but in critic and audience reactions as well.

In the case of Sony and HTC, neither side is laying the needed groundwork for building a sustainable brand and is instead looking for a Hail Mary with each newly released device in hopes of catapulting them to the success that’s enjoyed by their rivals and things are clearly not working. If Sony is willing to put in the long hours of mounting a cohesive strategy that will likely take years to pull off, then I’m all for it. After all, who remembers back in 2004 when Apple was preparing to launch their first retail store which they were mocked for? Now Apple stores are the most successful retailer stores on the planet and act as an integral part of how they’re able to convey and support their products.

However, if Sony is unable to put in the resources to create such a long term vision, and it’s clear from consumers that their phones are simply not selling in the US, then I see little reason why they should frankly waste their time and limited resources.

Discuss:

Is there a point for Sony Mobile to continue to operating in the US?