HTC debuts own-brand phone in US

With Sprint Nextel Corp debuting a new cellphone carrying the High Tech Computer Corp (HTC, 宏達電) brandname, the world's biggest maker of handsets running on Microsoft Corp's operating system is now gearing up to introduce its own cellphones in the US.

"HTC is not missing out on the mainstream markets -- the US and Europe -- with handsets under its own brand," Jamie Wang (王菊梅), an analyst with Gartner Inc Taiwan, said in a telephone interview yesterday.

With its strong technological edge, the maker has a good chance of tapping into the US market and raising awareness of its brand and cellphone sales, she said.

"US consumers are loyal to brands like Nokia and Apple. HTC's promotions in the US market must be more aggressive than ever and must include a wide product portfolio," Wang said.

CDMA device

US cellphone service provider Sprint Nextel announced on Monday it was launching "Mogul by HTC," the first CDMA device in the US running on Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 and the provider's first handset supporting EV-DO Rev.A data speeds.

Building on the strength of its predecessor, the Sprint PCS Vision Smart Device PPC-6700, Mogul offers the same innovative design, with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a large touch screen and a five-way navigation button.

The new phone highlights the HTC brandname, which is a marketing boost for the Taiwanese maker, as Sprint's earlier phone PPC-6700, also made by HTC, did not display the maker's name.

HTC chief executive Peter Chou (周永明) told reporters on June 12 that the company would formally make its entrance into the US market "sometime late this year or early next year."

It launched its first own-brand phone in Asia, the HTC Touch, a touch-screen handset dubbed the iPhone killer, at the same event.

Meanwhile, HTC announced on Tuesday it would fork out 71.6 million yuan (US$9.4 million) to buy land at Shanghai Kangqiao Industrial Zone (上海康橋工業區), paving the way for new production facilities.

Kueishan plant

Most of its phones are churned out at the company's main plant at Kueishan Township (龜山), Taoyuan County, while small volumes come from Suzhou in China.

HTC said that Taiwan would remain its research and development base, and the Shanghai plant would come in handy if Taiwanese production failed to meet increasing demand.