HTC Corp (宏達電), the leading maker of smartphones running on the Windows Mobile and Android platforms, said yesterday it was working with T-Mobile and Google Inc to determine possible causes for the glitches plaguing HTC’s Nexus One.
Nexus One, which was designed to compete with Apple Inc’s iPhone, was launched last week and its forums have been overloaded with complaints ranging from coverage and delivery problems to network compatibility and from dropped calls to operational woes.
On the forums, Google promises an e-mail response within 48 hours, but offers no telephone service.
Customer service is handled by HTC and T-Mobile, with the former tackling hardware problems and the latter wireless service glitches, HTC said.
The problems could be linked to the software, hardware or wireless network communications, and it was hard to tell which part had gone wrong, but the three parties are working together to sort out the issues and will get back to consumers in due course, HTC spokeswoman Maggie Cheng (鄭雅蓮) said by telephone.
One thing HTC had discovered was that base stations were showing no coverage, which meant there was no third-generation service to consumers, the company said.
The company said Nexus One, the first smartphone from Google, had drawn a positive response in the US since it debuted there on Jan. 5.
Consumers can purchase the phone from Google’s online store without a service contract, or purchase it with a service contract from one of the firm’s operator partners. In a statement on Jan. 5, Google said this sales format would give consumers “the ability to match a phone of their choice with the service plan that best meets their needs.”
For example, Nexus One is sold at a discounted US$179 with a two-year contract from T-Mobile.
The online sales, however, mean there are no store or customer service representatives to hold shoppers’ hands through the experience.
USAToday.com reported on Tuesday that HTC would provide telephone support for “device troubleshooting and warranty, repairs and returns,” citing a Google statement.
The Wall Street Journal Online’s Digits blog also reported on Tuesday that HTC would start providing telephone support for the Google phone, without specifying when the service would begin.
Cheng was not available for further comment in response to a separate phone call yesterday.
HTC’s net profit last year shrank 21 percent to NT$22.65 billion (US$0.7 billion) from NT$28.64 billion in 2008. Revenues fell 5 percent to NT$144.88 billion from NT$152.56 billion in the previous year.
The company’s first-quarter revenues are likely to drop 16 percent from the previous quarter, with earnings per share at NT$5.7, Fubon Securities Investment Services Co (富邦投顧) said in a client note on Saturday.
“Despite Nexus One’s contribution to HTC in terms of sales, the upside to HTC is limited as Nexus One shipments are small,” Fubon said. “It will also eat into the market share of HTC’s own brand smartphones.”
Shipments of Nexus One are expected to be about 300,000 units a quarter, with the possible maximum of 2 million units this year, the note said.
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