HTC’s new phone models get upbeat reviews

Share of HTC Corporation jumped on Wednesday after it launched its One series of models, taking the fight to Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc with fast graphic chips and advanced music and photography functions. The new models of the world’s No. 5 smartphone maker -the company’s bet to boost sales this year after their swift fall as previous models failed to keep up with those from major rivals -have received positive reviews from analysts and tech magazines. “Sales of HTC this quarter will be very good because of the new models,” said Michael On, a managing director at Beyond Asset Management. He expected shares of HTC would climb further as their valuation remains inexpensive, even though the anticipated debut of the new models had been priced in before the launch. The upswing marks a recovery for the worst performer among global smartphone companies last year, down 42 per cent. “We were impressed HTC seems to have resolved most of its hardware issues in 2H11,” wrote Goldman Sachs analyst Robert Yeh in a research report. “We believe its new marketing strategy of focusing on segmentation and killer features (camera & audio) should position HTC to regain consumer mindshare and support our above-consensus estimates.”