The difference between two of the most well-known smartphone makers could hardly be more stark these days.
Samsung issued earnings guidance overnight for record operating profit of at least $9.2 billion in the third quarter, with about two-thirds of that coming from its mobile business, including its dominant Android-based smartphones.
It’s doing well enough that one of its biggest problems is pressure from shareholders to return some of its growing cash pile to them.
HTC, meanwhile, posted a net loss equivalent to $101 million for the third quarter, its first loss since becoming a public company and considerably worse than the loss that analysts were expecting. The company, which has its North American headquarters in Bellevue, Wash., has struggled to keep up against Samsung in the market for Android phones.
Once the flagship partner of Microsoft’s mobile business, HTC has been shifting away from Windows Phone as Microsoft has strengthened its ties to Nokia’s smartphone business, culminating in the Redmond company’s plan to acquire that business for $7.2 billion.
Bloomberg reported overnight that Microsoft is talking to HTC about adding the Windows Phone operating system as an option on its Android-based devices “at little or no cost,” in its latest effort to boost Windows Phone’s market share.
Microsoft is at risk of becoming the sole supplier of Windows Phones. Bloomberg quotes one person saying that HTC “hasn’t unveiled a new Windows-based handset since June and has no current plans to release any more.”
