HTC confirms it’s closing offices in Brazil, halting direct sales as well (update: Durham, too)

HTC confirms it's closing offices, halting direct sales in Brazil

We don't have great news to share with Brazilian Android fans as the week winds to a close. After AndroidPit's initial word, we've since received extra confirmation from a spokesperson that HTC is closing its office in Brazil "after careful analysis of [its] business." The company wouldn't get any closer than that for reasoning, although the country's high tariffs on technology imports may play a part: they were high enough for Foxconn to open a Brazilian plant just so Apple could keep selling iPads and iPhones at comfortable prices, and HTC hasn't been making phones in Brazil for some time. There's also the matter of fighting to stay profitable in a market where Apple and Samsung are the only real money makers. HTC is vowing to keep up post-sale support, which we appreciate, but it's also stopping all direct sales in the process. As such, the only way you'll get a One S in Sao Paulo from now on is to go through an importer and take the added hit to the pocketbook.

Update: Sadly, it looks like the company's Durham, North Carolina research location is also folding, with around 50 employees being impacted. "Some" may be offered relocation options, but the details remain unclear. For those keeping count, the facility is only around 1.5 years old.

HTC confirms it's closing offices in Brazil, halting direct sales as well (update: Durham, too) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jun 2012 14:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAndroidPit, NBC17  | Email this | Comments

Alexandre Herchcovitch dresses up HP Pavilion dm1 with golden doilies, higher sticker price

Alexandre Herchovitch dresses up HP Pavilion dm1 with golden doilies, higher sticker price
Ask the most fashionable folks you know, looking good isn't cheap -- no surprise then, that playing dress up has put a premium on the HP Pavilion dm1's price tag. Brazilian designer Alexandre Herchcovitch has dolled up the ultraportable laptop with a lacy gold topcoat, applying the signature flair to the machine's keyboard, palm rest and lid. The cost of style? About $1800, according to Notebook Italia, which buys you 4GB DDR3 SDRAM, a 500GB hard drive and 1.65GHz dual-core AMD E-450 brain. A pretty penny, considering the notebook's Core i3 model can be had for a mere $600. Sure, Herchcovitch takes the dm1 out of our holiday gift guide's "on the cheap" section, but where else are you going to get a designer doily kicks?

Alexandre Herchcovitch dresses up HP Pavilion dm1 with golden doilies, higher sticker price originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Apr 2012 12:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Notebook Italia  |  sourceHP  | Email this | Comments