HTC Corp, the struggling Taiwanese smartphone maker, has revealed that it expects its revenue to be somewhere between flat to 17 percent lower when compared to the last quarter of 2012. Such talk isn't good news for the company which used to hold the top spot as an Android smartphone manufacturer. Since the middle of 2011 HTC has seen declining sales while others like Samsung, Huawei and ZTE have been increasing their market shares.

HTC said that it forecasts  first-quarter revenue of $1.69-2.03 billion, lower than the actual revenue of $2.03 billion in Q4 of 2012 and significantly less that the $2.25 billion from a year ago. Market analysts had expected HTC to make as much as $2.12 billion during Q1 of 2013. If it only manages a revenue of $1.69 billion then it will have missed the market's forecast by some $430 million.

The company has seen repeated quarters of falling sales and decreasing profits. The last quarter of 2012 was the fifth straight quarter where net profit fell and this forecast for Q1 isn't good news.  HTC was the biggest Android handset maker in the USA just two years ago, but now its global market share is just 4%.

At the beginning of the year Peter Chou, HTC’s CEO, went on the record saying “The worst for HTC has probably passed. 2013 will not be too bad.” However some industry analysts are predicting HTC's possible demise as it branding isn't as strong as companies like Samsung and Apple.

HTC fans everywhere are waiting with anticipation for the official unveiling of the M7 at a special media event on February 19. The new quad-core flagship device, which is rumored to hit stores on March 8, is expected to have a full HD (1980 x 1080 resolution) 4.7 inch display along with a 13MP camera. By releasing the device earlier in the year, HTC are hoping to gain an advantage over Apple and Samsung who probably won't ship new flagship products until the summer.