Tag: htc one

HTC mobile marketing scheme uses disguised ads

| August 10, 2015

The handset manufacturer is sending advertisements to its One users that look like notifications.

While most users of smartphones who use their devices to connect to the internet are used to being exposed to various forms of mobile marketing and somewhat expect to see it in certain places, what may come as a surprise for HTC One users is ads that are sent to them in the form of notifications.

HTC has recently taken on a new strategy that sends ads to customers who have purchased their smartphones.

What has yet to be seen is whether or not the users of the One smartphones resent receiving these mobile marketing ads that have been disguised as regular notifications. People who are seeing these new kinds of advertisement are users of the One M7, M8, and M9 devices. These devices are receiving the ads regardless of the fact that they were purchased outright without advertising any discount to the purchase because of advertising based subsidies, as is the case with the cheapest Kindle model from Amazon.

Some of the recipients of these mobile marketing notifications say that they look like movie theme recommendations.

HTC - Mobile MarketingScreenshots of the mobile ads do show that they appear to be recommendations for a new theme for the device that is based on the most recent Fantastic Four movie, despite the fact that it’s not what the notification is, at all. The release date of the film is displayed prominently in several places, as are the logos of the movie studio.

Not every owner of these smartphones are receiving the ad. Instead, they appear to be linked in some way to the BlinkFeed and Sense Home features. Users that have devices with other types of Android launchers do not appear to be receiving the mobile advertisement for the movie.

Back in June, HTC did say that it would be testing out some different BlinkFeed based passive ads as a part of its overall mobile marketing strategy. They discussed placing the ads next to the normal updates for news and social networks, but didn’t mention a full-screen style notification, as appears to be the case in this specific example.

New wearable technology and smartphone unveiled at HTC

| March 9, 2015

The announcement of these new mobile devices was made in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress.

HTC has now announced that it will be releasing a new version of its HTC One flagship smartphone, in addition to revealing that it will be entering into two brand new categories, which are wearable technology and virtual reality.

The company had been rumored to be developing wearables for the past few years, and now the news is official.

The first wearable technology from HTC will be wrist worn. It is meant to be a fitness tracker that is geared specifically toward serious athletes and not necessarily the average person with a lifestyle that is only slightly more active than being sedentary. These wearables will be called the HTC Grip, and it will be possible to sync them with both Android based smartphones and iOS devices.

The HTC Grip took more time to bring the company into wearable technology than had been anticipated.

The reason, according to officials from the company, was that it did not feel that it had adequate in-house expertise for creating the software, infrastructure, and app for health and fitness wearables. Therefore, it partnered up with Under Armour in January, in order to be able to come up with a line of gadgets that would function with the UA Record fitness mobile app from that company.

While the Grip is the first piece of wearable tech that is being launched by the company, it was also made clear that this would not be the last. It is going to become available to consumers this spring, and it will have a price tag of $199. It will contain a GPS tracker, which is unlike most other fitness tracker devices, but it will make it an appealing option for cyclists and runners who would prefer not to have to bring their smartphones with them when they work out.

This wearable technology is also water resistant, so that it can withstand rain and sweat (and even showering), though the company does not recommend that it be worn while going swimming, when it would actually be submerged in water.