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Originally Posted by HobbesIsReal
About a year ago, i posted a news release from HTC on one of the forums a while back that HTC has developed a plan to actively change it's image and the way it deals with resellers of it's phones. It's aim to make HTC the recognized manufacturer name brand. They offered a few logos the were planning on using at that time on the phones. I will did it up and post a link if I can find it again.
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Yes, it has been well established in the media around the world that HTC has been changing it's business model, cutting out resellers, and rebranders. That's not the point here.....Sorry Hobbes.
Sprint and Bell Mobility were days from launching with UTSTarcom. DAYS! A deal was in place between these parties. There is no way that HTC could, or would come in at the 11th hour and say they changed their minds and were cutting out UTStarcom. If by some huge stretch of the imagination they actually did that they would submarine any chance of ever working with Sprint again. If they were to mess with things that late in the game, there's a much better chance of it completely blowing up in their face then there is of them gaining a new direct customer. If you were Sprint how would you feel if HTC came in days before and messed with your launch, as well as everything else down the line?
No, there is something else at play here for it to happen so late in the game. HTC would have played it that way from the start, many months ago as they did with Telus, O2, iMate, and many other resellers and carriers.
I would speculate that UTSTartcom ran into some problems in building the final ROM or some other technical aspect at their end as a rebrander and the wheels fell off forcing HTC to jump in to save the deal, and this is the main reason for the delays. It also explains why there was so much confusion around the launch date after the initial delay. They were no longer working off a set schedule. They were now reworking things, now with HTC, and in a panic mode trying to get it out the door as soon as possible, but unsure just how long that was going to take. Wondering if they could pull it off in a month or was it more likely going to take several weeks or months?
This of course fits well with HTC's new business model, but the timing sure doesn't. As I said it would be far more damaging then it would be good doing it this way.
Dave