HTC blasts Samsung for underhand smear tactics

Taiwanese firm says Korean rival should focus on fixing its own devices' shortcomings

HTC has criticised competitor Samsung for a smear campaign against its handsets, promising it will take action to protect itself from the Korean giant's name calling.

An HTC spokesperson told V3 that the company was aware Samsung had paid reviewers to post negative articles about its handsets in Taiwan and hinted it is considering legal action, in a statement issued on Wednesday.

"We are disappointed that a competitor would resort to misleading consumers to discredit our innovation," said the spokesman.

"HTC values its product innovation and design, and we will take appropriate actions to protect the interests of the company and our customers."

Widespread reports emerged on Tuesday suggesting Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission was investigating Samsung for foul play against HTC.

At the time of publishing, there was no indication of an investigation on the Taiwan's FTC website and the FTC had not responded to V3's request for comment.

A Samsung spokesperson told V3 the company was aware of the incident and had already taken appropriate action to ensure it doesn't happen again.

"Samsung has ceased all marketing activities that involve the posting of anonymous comments," they said.

"We regret any inconvenience this incident may have caused. We will continue to reinforce education and training for our employees to prevent any future recurrence."

If found guilty the under Taiwanese law Samsung could face a fine of up to £550,000.

HTC is currently one of Samsung's biggest competitors in the Android smartphone arena. The Taiwanese firm has a track record of releasing innovative, critically praised smartphones.

This tradition was carried on earlier this year with the release of its HTC One smartphone, which featured a host of custom technologies like its UltraPixel camera technology and BlinkFeed social media collation service.

The HTC One is currently viewed as a key competitor to Samsung's forthcoming Galaxy S4 flagship smartphone.

For more in-depth look at the HTC One check out V3's full review, or click on the video below.