It looks like another heavily hyped consumer electronics device could be destined for the scrap-heap only a month or so after it was first released. TechCrunch is reporting via unnamed sources that AT&T is preparing to cancel sales of its HTC Status smartphone which launched in mid-July.
This smartphone is an Android-based product with a 2.8 inch touch screen and a QWERTY keyboard. The "big" feature of this smartphone is a button at the very bottom of the device with a Facebook logo. That button would light up if the Status user viewed some kind of content that could be posted on Facebook and when the botton was in fact pushed that content (web site, video or photo) would be automatically added to that user"s Facebook profile.
AT&T has been promoting the HTC Status extensively with a TV commercial campaign, showing some friends using the Facebook upload button to take a picture of a friend who is sleeping at an airport. However TechCrunch reports via unnamed sources that even with all that marketing the HTC Status is not selling. AT&T has sent out an official statement, saying, "The HTC Status is a great product and our plans for it to be part of our portfolio haven’t changed.”.
If the phone does get canceled by AT&T, it"s not likely to be a huge loss for HTC. The Taiwan-based smartphone maker reported back in July that the company had revenues of $4.31 billion in the quarter that ended on June 30 with net profits of $607 million. HTC plans to launch between six to eight new products by the end of the year. That number wll include new Android and Windows Phone 7 based devices, as well as new tablets.