HTC's Benjamin Ho says component shortage behind HTC One launch delay

A shortage of camera parts and substandard metal casings have forced HTC to delay the rollout of its flagship smartphone, the HTC One. The company’s new Chief Marketing Officer Benjamin Ho told the Wall Street Journal that it was facing shortages in camera parts and that it was not possible to speed up production.

Ho also spoke about HTC’s new marketing strategy, which he said will be bolder. “We have a lot of innovations but we haven’t been loud enough,” he said.

Much-awaited, but delayed

The Taiwanese company recently announced that the HTC One would be delayed by up to a month. The handset will arrive next week in the United Kingdom, Germany and Taiwan, but will be delayed elsewhere. Ironically, the company had said at the One’s announcement that it would be the first HTC phone to have a simultaneous global launch in 155 countries.

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HTC has promised to bring the One to rest of Europe, North America and most of the Asia-Pacific before the end of April. This also means that the Galaxy S4 could beat the HTC One in many countries, despite the latter being launched much before the Samsung flagship.

The company said, “HTC has seen unprecedented demand for and interest in the new HTC One, and the care taken to design and build it is evidenced in early reviews. The new HTC One will roll out in the UK, Germany and Taiwan next week and across Europe, North America and most of Asia-Pacific before the end of April. We appreciate our customers’ patience, and believe that once they have the phone in their hands they will agree that it has been worth the wait.”

While a month’s delay won’t make a huge difference for HTC loyalists, it could be a blow for the company’s hopes of attracting more fans, who will have the lure of the Samsung Galaxy S4 when the HTC One rolls out in their markets.

Pressure from Samsung flagships is not new territory for HTC, even though the company would have hoped to avoid it this time around. In 2012, the HTC One X was soon followed by the Galaxy S3, and the Samsung flagship ended up as the highest-selling Android phone of the year. This year, HTC took meticulous care to prepare a top-of-the-line handset with world-beating specs and even had a clear window to properly showcase the One. However, this delay has put a dent in the company’s plans, despite the device’s hardware prowess.