HTC admitted that it needs to be innovative to regain ground from Apple and Android smartphone manufacturers. An internal memo seen by The Wall Street Journal calls on the company's more than 16,700 employees to ignore the negativity from the market.

Follow us

"Do not be influenced by noise from the market and the industry. We are a strong player in the market and we are just having short-term challenges," HTC CEO Peter Chou said.

HTC spokesperson Jessica pan confirmed that the memo is real. It is aimed at "boosting morale". 

It seems similar to the memo sent out by Nokia CEO Stephen Elop at the beginning of his tenure. He described Nokia as a "burning platform," and wrote passionately about where the company needs to head. The memo quickly leaked after publication. 

HTC's rise to fame came from popular Android devices including the HTC Desire. However, the company scaled back the phones released with the launch of its One family -- a trio of phones aimed at the high-, mid-, and low-end consumers.

"Analysts say the company lacks flagship models that are likely to take off in overseas markets. Morever, they said, the Chinese mobile-phone market is dominated by models in the low- to mid-tier prices, so HTC's strategy to compete through high-end models may not pay dividends," The Wall Street Journal added. It is not clear whether high-end devices like the HTC Desire HD will get continued support through an update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich 

"HTC used to be a company where we did things quick and reacted quick. However, the fast growth from the last 2 years has slowed us down. We agreed to do something, but either didn't do it, or executed it loosely," Chou added. 

HTC saw its growth slow as manufacturers including Samsung released popular smartphones like the Galaxy S2, selling 20 million units. Samsung followed up the success with the launch of Galaxy S3 May 29, selling 10 million units thus far. With the iPhone 4 possibly arriving in September, HTC finds itself in a position where consumer mindshare is with competitors.

Join Our Conversation

Smartphones

Nokia Lumia Windows Phone 8 quad-core smartphone shows up in benchmarks

Leaked images highlight Nokia EOS aluminum body

HTC One will get Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean update despite recent rumors

Oppo Find 7 may boast Snapdragon 800 processor, whopping 4000mAh battery

Tablet / Laptop / PC

AT&T Galaxy Note 8.0 LTE costs $399.99 on contract, $199.99 with smartphone bundles

Chromebooks land on Walmart, more retailers to get it soon

Apple's next iPad mini 7.9 inch Retina display will be Samsung-made

Next generation Google Nexus 7 could launch in July for $229

Gadgets

AMD moves from Intel's x86 platform to ARM for servers

OUYA team and E3 organizers battle over parking lot space

Sony PlayStation 4 to be available at $399 at the end of this year

Mad Catz to unveil M.O.J.O. Android game console at E3 to challenge Ouya

OS / Software

Windows Phone 8 GDR2 update reportedly coming in July

iOS 7 Beta comes with a bug that opens the lock screen to access photos [Video]

Microsoft recovers missing Lumia 920 with prototype Windows Phone Blue

Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie, Motorola X Phone reportedly launching in October

Internet / Social Media

What to expect from Facebook's June 20 event

WWDC 2013: OS X 10.9 Mavericks Safari is going to help you extend battery life

Samsung Galaxy S3 browser bug spikes data usage, slows loading times

Cisco appeals to European Commission to overturn Microsoft's 2011 acquisiton of Skype

What's App

Microsoft paying app developers up to $100,000 to bring content to Windows Phone 8

Windows 8.1 brings newly updated Xbox Music app

Instagram may add video on June 20 to challenge Twitter's Vine

Microsoft Office now available for iPhones, but there's a catch