HTC are putting on a brave face in the wake of disappointing sales figures for the last quarter of 2011.

The fall in profits by the Taiwanese mobile phone giants comes at a time when two of their fiercest rivals: Samsung and Apple posted record sales over the festive period as more smartphones than ever were activated over the Christmas holiday.

Experts had predicted a plateau in the sales figures for HTC - who had witnessed such phenomenal growth in 2010 – but nobody would have anticipated such a dramatic dip in performance.

From a company use to selling mobile phones for fun, this downturn in fortune will surely act as wake up call for the smartphone manufacturers, who will no doubt be looking to up their game in the coming months in order to stay with in reach of the mobile phone big-hitters.