Tim Green talks to exec director Jon French about OS partnerships and being quietly brilliant...
At the launch of the Windows Phone in October, one of the first questions asked by the press was whether Microsoft’s jazzy new UI would actually be hidden behind those of its handset partners – like HTC’s Sense, for example. Good question. And one that had Microsoft squirming.
The exchange was interesting for two reasons. First, because it illustrated that even when an OEM is prepared to build its device around a third party OS, it can still differentiate itself significantly through the interface. And second, because it showed how far HTC has come.
HTC was all over that press conference, not just on the lips of journalists, but also in the demo areas. It remains the key partner for Microsoft, just as it was when it was anonymously making SPV phones in 2005. But these days, it’s a consumer brand in its own right, with a broad range of devices (across Windows and Android) and a strong sense of itself.
And now it's making Google's much-hyped Nexus 'superphone'.
Just prior to the Nexus announcement, ME sat down with HTC’s executive director, Jon French…
HTC has invested hugely in its Sense UI. Does it conflict with your OS partners’ own UIs?
I’d clarify by saying that Sense isn’t so much a UI as a design philosophy with the fundamental aim of putting people at the centre of their mobile experience. It revolves around three fundamental principles of ‘Make it Mine’, ‘Stay Close’ and ‘Discover the Unexpected’. In the case of Windows, there’s still a start button that takes you to that experience.
You’re strongly associated with Windows and now Android. Is there room for other alternatives?
We don’t favour any OS over another. Nor are we tied to them; we look at all options. Ultimately, I don’t believe that anyone walks into a store asking for a phone with a particular OS.
HTC is currently embarked on a bold ad programme. Why now?
The HTC motto is ‘quietly brilliant’ which sums up our approach perfectly. It’s only two years old as a non-white label brand. Now, our products are sufficiently varied and differentiated enough to take that extra step. Especially in Europe, where the consumer is starting to choose phones based less on specs than on experience.
Five years ago, people were very loyal to handset brands. There was a definite Nokia consumer, Sony Ericsson consumer and so on. That’s all changed in the last 12 months, as people are open to something different. I want HTC to be a creditable alternative to what used to be the top five. The campaign is six times bigger than any we have done before. It starts with a brand advert, but there are three product ads to come too.
How can you convince people to make the switch, beyond advertising?
We don’t have the history of some of our competitors so our focus has to be the retail experience. We’re investing in product demonstrators for example, and we’ve set them up with Facebook and Twitter accounts. They’re amazing. They’ve introduced me to things I wasn’t aware of, like the Augmented Reality stargazing app, for example.
Plenty of previously agnostic OEMs have now launched app stores. Where’s yours?
We have no plans for an app store. HTC is not in that business. For us, it’s all about how you integrate the app store – whether Windows Marketplace or Android Market – into the experience of using the device.
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