HTC还能撑多久

    王雪红和HTC显然不想束手待毙。为了不在Android一棵树上吊死，HTC正和微软就制造Windows Phone手机一事展开谈判，不过目前还没有取得任何成果。上周又传来消息，HTC正为电子商务巨头亚马逊（Amazon）研发三款智能手机，作为其免费手机推出。亚马逊在Kindle Fire平板电脑身上已取得了不小的成功，这笔订单对于HTC称得上是雪中送炭。

    这真是条不错的消息。但接下来几条新闻可就不怎么样了：台湾《苹果日报》（Apple Daily）称HTC和联想的管理层正就并购一事展开谈判，联想或将取得HTC品牌所有权。这样的新闻不是第一次。无论是华为还是别的PC制造商打算收购HTC，我们都不意外。PC和移动设备之间的界限越来越模糊。智能手机/平板电脑制造商和PC制造商整合是大势所趋。HTC最终落入别人手中或许在两年内就会发生。

    HTC的兴衰史令人唏嘘，我们不禁回想起同病相怜的Palm、诺基亚和黑莓，更不用提惠普（Hewlett-Packard）和戴尔（Dell）智能手机市场的惨败了。这正可谓是“人面不知何处去，桃花依旧笑春风”。Android已成长为全球最受欢迎的操作系统，但生产出第一部Android手机的HTC却风光不再。HTC曾经制造出不少非常优秀的Android手机，但这些还远远不够。

    HTC的衰败应当令所有智能手机生产和销售商三思：似乎没有哪家公司能逃脱销量急剧下滑并从此一蹶不振的命运。在智能手机市场，每家公司都有软肋。(财富中文网)

    译者：项航 

    Wang and HTC are clearly not wanting to go down without a fight. The company is talking with Microsoft about installing Windows Phone software as a "separate option" on its Android phones, although how this would work exactly remains unclear. This week, another report said HTC is developing three smartphones with Amazon, devices that the retail giant may offer for free. Amazon has had limited success with its Kindle Fire tablets, but such a deal could give HTC a needed boost.

    That's the good news. Now the not-so-good: On Friday, Taiwan's Apple Daily reported that executives at HTC and Lenovo were in acquisition talks for a deal that would let Lenovo take over the HTC brand. Such rumors aren't new, nor are rumors that Huawei or other PC makers might buy HTC. In the same way that lines are blurring between PCs and mobile devices, smartphone/tablet companies and PC makers are likely to consolidate. Increasingly, an HTC takeover seems likely within two years.

    The decline of HTC echoes those of Palm, Nokia, and BlackBerry, not to mention the failed efforts of giants like Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Dell (DELL) to gain a foothold in the smartphone market. What makes HTC's situation unique is it's the first smartphone maker to power its phones with Android, which continues to be the most popular mobile OS in the world. HTC makes some of the best Android phones in the market, but that's not enough anymore.

    And that should give pause to all companies manufacturing and selling smartphones: No one seems exempt from a quick and irreversible decline in sales. In this market, every competitor is vulnerable.