UK retailers suffer HTC Desire delays

By Brett Winterford on Apr 9, 2010 11:36 AM
Filed under Telco/ISP

HTC accused of favouring telco partners.

Handset manufacturer HTC has been accused of favouring its carrier partners over resellers in the UK during the release of one of its latest Android-powered smartphones.

HTC resellers report that they have only just begun receiving stock of the HTC Desire smartphone - almost one week behind HTC's carrier partners, which made the devices available to consumers from April 7.

Retailers had expected to also have the devices available by April 7, and had been processing orders (ie drawing money from customer accounts) earlier this week, according to customer's posting on the XDA bulletin board.

But the day before the devices were due to ship to customers, retailers informed buyers that the devices had been delayed.

"HTC UK has informed us today that all HTC Desires have been delayed until the 12-13 of April - affects all retailers," said one retailer, Handtec, on its website. Similar delays were reported across retailers across the United Kingdom and Europe.

Customers who cancelled their orders with these retailers have since reported that they were able to purchase SIM-locked HTC Desire's from the manufacturer's UK carrier partners T-Mobile, Orange and Vodafone, plus its carrier distribution partner, Carphones Warehouse.

Retailers and their customers were furious.

One customer claimed to receive a letter from Handtec in which the retailer confirmed said "the most likely reason for any delays to HTC official online partners may be a logistical problem, with Network providers being preferred over the Online Partners.

"We are finding it very hard to substantiate such a delay without any valid reasons and can completely understand what you mean here, we will put any info we have on the site immediately but whilst we too are in the dark we can only apologise and ask for your patience," the Handtec customer service representative reportedly wrote to a disgruntled customer.

HTC UK was unable to comment prior to deadline.

The move has also angered HTC fans in Australia that have ordered a Desire without a SIM-lock from UK retailers to use it on their choice of carrier. (Telstra has three-month exclusivity with the device in Australia as of April 27.)

A representative for HTC Australia warned that Australian customers would not be wise to jump the gun and buy from a UK reseller.

"HTC Australia does not provide local warranty for HTC phones purchased overseas, or for grey imports," a spokesman for HTC Australia said.

"Any phone presented for service or repair at any HTC-authorised service centre in Australia will be checked to see which country they originate from, before customers are advised to send their phones there for service, at their own expense.

"HTC strongly advises customers to check local device compliance and compatibility before purchase, and only to buy phones from authorised local distributors and partners."

Telstra: no delays in Australia

Telstra has reported that it expects to receive stock soon and will launch the device locally on April 27 as planned.

"The devices are in production, the software is locked down, we should have them onshore ahead of the sales date," a Telstra spokesman said.

9 comments in this discussion

"I tell ya what. I am glad I wrote what I did here if for no other reason than to generate this from cosmicharade: (( But history shows us that companies change when their dirty tricks are ..."

By quicksite

Tags

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Comments: 9

bcmobile Apr 9, 2010 11:51 AM	Yeah, the whole situation was poorly managed by HTC. Nice to see someone picked up this story. Fortunately they seem to have responded to the angry mobs and they have shipped some SIM free stock to some of the UK etailers including Clove, Handtec, Expansys.
cosmicharade Apr 9, 2010 1:44 PM	This is one of the reasons I deserted Nokia - poor and overly controlling attitude toward their customers (who are NOT networks - HTC and Nokia TAKE NOTE). I really take some lessons from Nokia and don't go down the same path. Thankfully at least HTC don't create the OS. I don't think this bodes well for HTC. I paid my money, give me the phone, pretty simple.
quicksite Apr 9, 2010 2:24 PM	I commend IT News for even bothering to pick up this trail and construct a story. Since I am the user at XDA-developers whose posts you used to drive your story (quicksite), I will just say that it's disappointing that you would only go so far as to say: (( HTC UK was unable to comment prior to deadline. )) A much more useful sentence would have been: "We asked HTC UK to comment on the problem, but in the 8 hours since we asked, they have not replied" ... which would actually add MEAT, albeit in a small way. The issue here is a really dishonest stealthy move made by HTC to ingratiate selves with UK telcos at the expense of repeat-business loyal HTC smartphone customer base... AND the fact that HTC has learned a thing or two from their new USA ad agency, Deutch LA who developed the YOU branding campaign, about how to behave in a post iPhone world: Be quietly brilliant. And by quiet we mean "When you encounter criticism or pushback about any of your products or policies or practices, just REMAIN FIRMLY SILENT. Don't even respond." That's the real story here, but no one, not even IT News has bothered to put 2 and 2 together: There is no coincidence that HTC's new "USA-style" corporate behavior is tied in this case to their new flagship device, the HTC Desire, which worldwide is receiving off-the-chart reviews, often labeling this particular device "an iPhone killer". While I can't stand phrases like that because of their non-value and lack of substance, the takeaway is that an Android phone has finally emerged that the mainstream media in all countries is pronouncing a major contender for best and easiest smartphone available anywhere today. And this coincides to the day with the announcement of iPhone's 4.0 OS launch. This is a huge battle given how Apple sued HTC weeks ago, in their proxy battle against Google and their Android OS, for alleged patent infringements... with the real story, once again, being cloaked: HTC is a threat to Apple's product line. So, here, I;ve written you a REAL story to pursue, vs a half-assed rehash of a web post. A real news division covering IT would have figured it out, and seen there is way more at stake than just supplying SIM-FREE customers with phones: It's about CARRIERS making choices about which phones to bundle with plans to appeal to NEW CUSTOMERS. And you haven't even gotten onto the onramp of the real story. You basically drove around the block and wrote a non-story looking out the window of your car.
cosmicharade Apr 9, 2010 2:59 PM	quicksite - I believe you are being too harsh on ITNews as one of the only outlets to cover this story. I commend ITNews. Thank you for your contribution and may I suggest next time your contributions be phrased more constructively. However the information here is very telling. I sincerely hope HTC aren't adopting the USA style marketing approach. In the social media world, this PR strategy will go down like a tonne of bricks.
BrettWinterford Apr 9, 2010 3:07 PM	Quicksite - The fact none of the UK tech press covered the shortage and we did suggests we're already pushing the envelope on this one, and we're mostly doing it on behalf of the many local readers interested in buying a HTC Desire. Mate I was up pretty late trying to get HTC UK to talk during UK business hours, you can be damn sure its as frustrating for me as anybody else, so I don't appreciate the accusation that I didn't go far enough. As for our 'lack of HTC Desire coverage', you might note that I broke the story of Telstra's deal to take on the HTC Desire prior to the announcement in Barcelona, and we also published the world's first hands on review. So thanks for your commendation mate, but learn to focus your fire.
cosmicharade Apr 9, 2010 3:26 PM	Three cheers for BrettWinterford - keep up the good work. It be because of you that HTC are moving a little faster. And they can kiss my backside in response to them warning Australian customers about importing handsets and not honouring warranty - who cares - from what I hear it is actually faster to do a round trip to the UK and get a phone back in 2 weeks, than go through Optus or Telstra who fluff around for weeks on end, so even with warranty we're better off. Nokia tried all these silly games and look where it got them. This kind of business model was blown wide open by Apple and a good thing too. Consumers are tired of being treated like programmable robots.
quicksite Apr 9, 2010 3:32 PM	Brett, you're right. I apologize. My comments are clearly born out of extended frustration that HTC is being let off the hook as they noodle their way out of this predicament as though it never even happened. You are right. And I am wrong to be so harsh. Maybe then you can tell me and readers your view, because we LOUDMOUTHS over at XDA have been characterized various places as crybabies whining about: "Oh my god! A manufacturer doesn't keep its word and delivers product late??! The sky is falling!" Admittedly, yes, we are whiners, or let me own it and say I am a whiner. But if it were simply a matter of "whannnhhh, I want my Desire before other people have them and I am last on block to get mine", then I should properly be trashed to high heaven. But its the precise elements of this story, or non-story, that to me justifies this escalated sense of "what is going on here?" It's handtec and clove who should be driving this story, but they can't because they'd be biting the hand that feeds them. But they caught the royal shaft -- and what will that do to customer confidence in them when the NEXT big phone that's been hyped for 4 months finally is about to hit the streets? If they have no leverage, and if longstanding repeat buyers of HTC smartphones have no leverage, then might as well call tis a victory for the corporate machine running ramshod over two communities who are their biggest "partners" -- their longstanding resellers online, and their longstanding buyer base. So my question got lost. Could you please forgive me my attitude, and just pull back to provide some additional context: IS this, in your view, just a tempest in a teapot? because i'm okay with that being the call. Or do you think this is indicative of some kind of larger story that's not just about UK HTC and shipping logistics, but rather about how the Taiwanese little guy is manning up to fully take on Apple in all venues -- with carriers, with TV ads, in the courts, etc. I;'d be interested in your take. Thanks for reporting on the story. I should not have been so ungrateful.
cosmicharade Apr 9, 2010 3:39 PM	Mate you're frustrated like the rest of us, I'm with you 100% on this. But history shows us that companies change when their dirty tricks are exposed, and that is precisely what this is, a dirty trick by HTC to protect a crumbling business model that annoys consumers and protects manufacturers from falling product values and margins. Nokia tried this and it just annoyed everyone to the point high value customers deserted them. Apple instead chose to actually innovate rather than protect crumbling business models. The real question is what path HTC will choose? Innovation, or protection? Because consumers don't like being pushed around by companies THEY give money TO.
quicksite Apr 9, 2010 5:26 PM	I tell ya what. I am glad I wrote what I did here if for no other reason than to generate this from cosmicharade: (( But history shows us that companies change when their dirty tricks are exposed, and that is precisely what this is, a dirty trick by HTC to protect a crumbling business model that annoys consumers and protects manufacturers from falling product values and margins. Nokia tried this and it just annoyed everyone to the point high value customers deserted them. Apple instead chose to actually innovate rather than protect crumbling business models. The real question is what path HTC will choose? Innovation, or protection? Because consumers don't like being pushed around by companies THEY give money TO. )) This is the most important comment, and topic, I have run across in a long time. And hats off to you for making it explicit. THIS INDEED IS THE QUESTION. That crumbling business model -- and who feeds it, and who breaks away. It's a very interesting thing what Google did with the Nexus One. Sure they blew it on the customer service model -- but what's fascinating there is: they don't care! How do I know this? because of where I happen to live. In San Francisco where I live, many Google developers and marketing people also live. Most of us know the basic story of the Nexus One: Week 1 it was almost all raves. Week 2 it was "wtf is wrong with the wifi? Why are the soft keys not registering my touch accurately? Why was a NEW t-mobile customer's phone subsidized at the highest discounted cost, yet me, a loyal T-mobile customer, cant get that subsidy? But the main complaint was "where in the world is the PHONE SUPPORT line from Google??!" ... and that lead to a week of finger pointing where T-Mobile customer support was pointing to HTC customer support who pointed to Google Customer Support -- notably the lack thereof. Just when it seemed that Google had grossly miscalculated, and was going to feel a major slapback from consumers and the whole industry re "Clearly you should stick to search products because you don't have a clue about how to sell a consumer electronic product!", the air shifted and what did Google do? They DIDN'T scramble to provide phone line support. What a ballsy and arguably stupid move. Yet, they have succeeded without being slapped in the marketplace. It interesting to contemplate WHY? ... I ran into a Google employee in their PR Division, and I asked him this very question: "Isn't Google risking its brand reputation here by not rushing to open up phone line support? I thought for sure they'd respond immediately and have a new call center in place in Banglador by the next day! What are you guys waiting for?" He said "As a consumer, you are absolutely right, and I actually agree with you. But you don't understand the Google Culture" to which I agreed. He said "They are engineering centric, ad will remain hat way." Me: "But surely if consumers demand the y support the N1 with phone lines they will adjust, right?" He: "Not a chance. You will not see Google adding phone support." Me: "You mean the model of FAQs and keyword detection and pushing "related answers" online is all consumers are going to get? I mean thats' annoying enough for Gmail and Youtube support. Isn't that arrogant beyond belief?" He: "Maybe so. But that's the culture. And their answer would be: We will keep working on heuristic systems until we can address all consumer issues in this way. We are determined to break he business model and we intend to present an alternative." Now THAT was interesting. I had read official Google replies to the press, and they were along those lines, kind of like "While we understand the frustration on many users, we are convinced that we are building a new method of selling phones to consumers, and we admit it will be full of problems right now as we learn how to manage these problems, but we believe it is time to change the way phones are sold, and we are committed on this path" ... something like that. Well. The fruits of that arrogance, if you will, have already been produced. Google was negotiating with other USA carriers besides T-Mobile, preparing to broaden the distribution of the N1 by allowing carriers like AT&T to also carry it. AT&T played it old school, unprepared for Google's new school philosophy, and unprepared for anyone at all having the temerity to try to fight AT&T... What happened is: AT&T kept dking around, trying to chnage the terms of agreement, get more favorable subsidies from Google, and Google simply got tired of the nonsense. BOOM. They cut off the carrier bundled deal with AT&T and instead decided we're pulling the trigger on a Nexus Oner freely avail to consumers to buy directly from us, which contains all the AT&T 3G bands. It was done overnight. ld school AT&T protested, "but we were still negotiating". Google had the equivalent answer of "we don't give a **** about your old school model. We gave you a deal, you refused it, end of story. Next stop, consumers directly. Now go F yourselves." So, cosmicharade, I am aligned with your thinking and your desire (bad pun) to see tis old carrier-protect model get exploded into oblivion. Thus, you have now reframed this whole issue in a far more potent way than I had been. Bravo (bad pun #2). We'll see how the wind blows with HTC -- and we'll see if they get any blowback from crapping on their e-retailers while scurrying to curry favor with the Telcos. GREAT GREAT comment... Worthy of a whole website devoted to the elimination of the Telco-favored model, and how companies like Google can help speed up the last remains of that protected NON-free-markets model of business.