HTC debuts new phone in Asia

High Tech Computer Corp (HTC, 宏達電), the world's biggest maker of handsets running on Microsoft Corp's operating system, yesterday debuted its first own-brand phone in Asia, which has been dubbed the iPhone killer.

The company introduced HTC Touch, a touch-screen phone using Windows Mobile 6.0, in Taipei yesterday, marking the first promotion leg in the Asia-Pacific after the first appearance in London last week.

"HTC Touch will help the company gain more market share in the segment, as its prices are competitive with LG Electronics' Prada or Apple's iPhone," Citi Investment Research said in a report last week.

HTC Touch retails at NT$15,900 (US$480) via Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), while Prada's sells for NT$29,800. The iPhone will be launched in the US on June 29 with retail prices ranging from US$499 to US$599, depending on storage.

projected sales

Citigroup -- which holds a "buy" rating on HTC with a target price adjusted upward to NT$710 from NT$650 -- said HTC would sell as many as 1 million to 1.5 million touch phone units during the next six to nine months.

Thanks to the launch of HTC Touch, HTC second-quarter sales are expected to hit NT$27 billion (US$815.3 million), up 17 percent from the first quarter, Citigroup estimated.

HTC chief executive Peter Chou (周永明) was upbeat on prospects of the new handset.

"We have confidence in HTC Touch ... It will definitely be a plus to our financial performance in the third quarter," Chou said on the sidelines of the launch.

Chou dismissed comparisons with the iPhone, saying that HTC Touch was already in the design pipeline last year, well ahead of the iPhone.

He said the phone will cater to general consumers with its light weight, fashionable designs, simple-to-use interface as well as its proprietary TouchFLO technology, a 3D interface allowing for tip-of-the-finger navigation on screen.

Europe has already been experiencing a shortage of HTC Touch phones after the product was introduced last week.

Chou would not reveal details on shipments.

ambitions

He said that approximately 400 engineers were involved in the development and testing of HTC Touch, paving the way for its first phone in Asia.

HTC announced the acquisition of mobile phone brand Dopod International Corp (多普達) last month as a step toward its goal of becoming a brand maker.

"We will continue to work with operators and original design manufacturing [ODM] clients, but we will not overlook the importance of brand to sustain long-term survival," Chou said.

Affected by its ODM business, HTC sales dropped 4.13 percent to NT$7.99 billion last month from the same period last year, a 12.1 percent decline over the previous month.

Sales in the first five months of this year rose 1.85 percent from last year to NT$40.68 billion.

Its shares inched up 0.2 percent to close at NT$637 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.