Not the Best Way to Sell a Smartphone
By DAVID SEGAL MARCH 22, 2014
As HTC readied a new version of its flagship smartphone, it planned for many challenges. It didn't know that one of them would be Roshan Jamkatel, a teenager from Schaumburg, Ill.
On March 2, Roshan - a self-described prankster - turned up on YouTube offering a hands-on, guided tour of the sequel to HTC's highest-profile product, the One. The world's first glimpse of the device was scheduled for this Tuesday, March 25, at the sort of orchestrated reveal that has become the industry standard, with product demonstrations, plenty of video-screen close-ups and a crowd to give the proceedings a sense of moment. Locations in New York City and London were booked for the occasion.
But Roshan upstaged this show with a rambling, mumbly critique that was posted for all the world to see. (The video was up, then taken down, then resurrected on a batch of Android fan sites, and now is much harder to find.) Forget stagecraft. The phone was placed on what appears to be Roshan's outer-space-themed bedspread, and his monologue was sprinkled with bland endorsements like, "The build design of this phone is really nice," and "This camera, I give it a 9
- no, an 8.7."
..