HTC to Lead Taiwan's Smartphone Market in Mid-2011

Taipei, March 17, 2011 (CENS)--The Taiwan-based High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC), a world-caliber developer and vendor of smartphones, is expected to unseat Nokia as the largest brand in the Taiwanese market for smartphones by sales volume in the first half of this year, according to its telecom partner Chunghwa Telecom Co., the largest telecom company in Taiwan.

Both companies just signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in early February to strengthen their cooperative promotion of HTC's smartphones in Taiwan. HTC will draft 9-to-12-month product plans every year for Chunghwa Telecom in the future.

As HTC's smartphone sales in Taiwan via Chunghwa Telecom have sharply soared over 50% in the first quarter of this year from a quarter earlier, HTC's Asia-Pacific region vice president Jack Tong indicated that his firm is quite satisfied with its cooperation with the partner.

In fact, based on statistics compiled by local market survey institutes, HTC already led the Taiwanese market for smartphones in terms of sales value, and ranked No.4 in sales volume last December. Therefore, with Chunghwa Telecom heavily promoting HTC's products, Tong said his firm is optimistic about becoming the No.1 brand of this kind in terms of monthly sales volume in the first half of the year

As sales of smartphones in Taiwan are estimated to grow to between 2.8 million and 3.5 million units this year, Chunghwa Telecom is determined to cash in on the emerging segment and will purchase over one million smartphones for sale in the market this year. Hopefully, smartphones will account for 50% of the company's total handsets sold in the year, with low-to-middle models to make up a majority.

After inking the MOU with HTC, Chunghwa Telecom vice president Shih Mu-piao said each of HTC's smartphones sold by his firm in Taiwan will be installed with a Hami platform, which makes phones accessible to its online music and application software store for better value-added services.