I’ve been very critical of smartphone makers in recent times. Last year Nokia got it in the neck and last week I laid into RIM. Now it is time for credit where credit is due. Just how did HTC increase its share price 30x in two years…?

This is the topic for my TrustedReviews feature. As always, find a link to the full feature at the bottom of this sample.

How HTC Got It Right

On Wednesday HTC hit a remarkable milestone. Its market capitalisation surpassed Nokia. It had already surpassed RIM. Even more impressive was the vast majority of the rises occurred in just the last two years. So what is HTC getting so very right?

First things first. Let’s put these figures into context. Market capitalisation is not a literal valuation. For example in 2010 Nokia turned over €43.5bn and employs over 130,000 people. HTC turned over $9.57bn (€6.7bn) in 2010 and employs just over 5,500 people. Instead market capitalisation is share based. It looks at the share price multiplied by the shares outstanding. Run these numbers and HTC is currently worth $33.88bn, Nokia $32.84bn and RIM $28.5bn. What’s more HTC’s market cap is in excess of 30x its value five years ago. This poses two questions: 1. Why? and 2. Don’t you wish you bought shares?

The why can be answered economically. For all Nokia’s size its €43.5bn turnover made just €1.85bn in net income. By contrast HTC’s €6.7bn turnover produced €1.35bn in net income. Who would you say has the more efficient, more profitable and consequently more appealing business model to investors? On Friday HTC reported its Q1 2011 financial results. Net profit for the first three months of the year hit $511m, this traditionally slow time is almost triple HTC’s figures for the same period in 2010.

Don’t you wish you bought shares? In fairness you’re not daft if you were caught out. Despite its meteoric recent rise, HTC isn’t a new company, it was actually founded way back in 1997.

READ ON

RIM’s first entry into the ever expanding world of touchscreen devices was inevitable but first generation products are notoriously poor. Has the BlackBerry Storm fallen foul to this rule?

The preamble: My cult and contentious reviews’ system. Designed as a time saver to highlight the potential deal breakers in a product before you commit to reading lengthy reviews on your favourites sites and/or magazines. For a more detailed description please read: the Rules

RIM BlackBerry Storm Review – Just the Bad Points

BlackBerry Storm

• No WiFi
• Touchscreen display slides around under finger, not just depresses
• Dust gets under the screen
• Virtual Qwerty keyboard is a love it/hate it affair (I side with the latter)
• 155g weight is heavier than iPhone 3G, Samsung Pixon and LG Renoir
• Impossible to recommend to anyone without them trying it.
• The ultimate Marmite smartphone.

Here’s something new…

Let’s face it, in your average review what most readers aren’t looking for is praise or description. We know the majority of products these days do the basics just fine and if we want a specification list we can get that off the manufacturer’s site – it doesn’t require 1,000 words.

In short, we’re all on the look out for the Bad Points, the deal breakers, that single missing or poorly implemented feature that can on occasion be like finding a needle in a haystack. It is the issue which says for you individually this product requires no further investigation and can be dismissed.

Here’s an easy example. Considering its midrange positioning, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 is the best smartphone I’ve seen from RIM to date. Build quality, screen, keyboard, software, pricing, it’s all superb and therefore omitted.

Instead the deal breaker is its lack of 3G – something many cannot do without yet will get 700/800 words into a review just to discover. Let’s cut through this – a blog isn’t paid by the word and we’re all busy people.

So without further ado here is GordonKelly.com’s first ‘Just the Bad Points’ review:

BlackBerry Curve 8900 – Just the Bad Points

• No 3G Connectivity

Got it?

Yep, it’s dead easy. Now the issue won’t always be this simple to spot, often it can be something you’d only notice from physically using the device. So this should also allow me to bring you word on the latest and hottest products FAST, after all it’s Only the Bad Points – the points that matter. Enjoy!

Feedback most welcome.