HTC to reverse sliding smartphone sales

Taipei: Taiwan smartphone maker HTC Corp is struggling to halt its sliding sales and keep its status as a strong global brand in a market increasingly dominated by Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co.

On Friday it reported a 79 perc ent drop in third quarter profit from a year earlier. It was HTC’s fourth consecutive fall in quarterly profit.

The Taiwanese company surged into the fast lane in 2008 after it became the first manufacturer of smartphones based on Google’s Android software.

But its sales have recently declined sharply, outgunned by its much bigger South Korean and American rivals.

On Friday it reported a 79 per cent drop in third quarter profit from a year earlier. It was HTC’s fourth consecutive fall in quarterly profit.

Some analysts say it needs to launch a flagship smartphone model with distinctive features to counter Samsung’s Galaxy phones and Apple’s iPhone.