Google’s bid to dominate the mobile phone operating software market got a boost on Tuesday when Taiwanese handset maker HTC (宏達電) unveiled the third phone based on the US Internet giant’s technology.
The touch-screen HTC Magic is to be sold by British network operator Vodafone and its subsidiaries in Britain, France, Germany and Italy, the companies said at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Rival developers are battling to create the dominant operating system for mobile phones, with Google and its Android system competing with Microsoft, Nokia, an open-source Linux-based project and Blackberry.
“We are very excited to be introducing our first Android-powered smartphone in the spring,” said Patrick Chomet, global director of terminals for Vodafone.
On Monday, Chinese manufacturer Huawei (華為) had revealed its first mobile phone that will run Android, meaning there are at least three “Google” phones now developed. LG and Samsung have promised their versions this year.
The first phone to use the Google software was launched by HTC last October in partnership with German network operator T-Mobile.
“For a new platform with open source, I am impressed with the momentum growing behind Android,” said Gavin Byrne, an analyst at telecom research group Informa.
Android is “open-source,” meaning that the basic code is free for phone manufacturers and is available to other software developers who are encouraged to build applications to add on.
Byrne said he still expected the system by Nokia, called Symbian, to remain dominant in the next five years, but that Android would establish itself as an alternative.
Google is hoping to establish its operating system as an industry standard, which would help drive users to its services, which include Internet search, maps and chat.
HTC chief executive Peter Chou (周永明) stressed that people would increasingly access the Internet from their mobile devices rather than in an office or at home — particularly in the developing world.
Google has recognized this, which is the reason it is so keen to establish itself and its applications in the mobile industry, analysts say.
“There is a generation of people from various parts of the world who have never experienced Internet on a PC yet, but they will experience Internet on these mobile devices,” Chou said.
Andy Rubin, head of Android at Google, said the project had gone from concepts and prototypes to realization in the last 12 months.
The first prototypes for Android were put on display at the World Mobile Congress last year, creating a buzz among the crowds.
“Last year there was a lot of promises and expectations. We delivered on those promises,” Rubin said.
He said that Android could reduce the manufacturing cost of a handset by 20 percent because the operating system is free.
“Sometimes we don’t even know it when they [manufacturers) announce phones with Android. They don’t need to sign a contract with us,” he said, adding that he did not judge success “by the number of handsets.”
The HTC Magic is a slim, tablet-shaped device with touch-screen control that, like other high-end phones launched at the Mobile World Congress, has a resemblance to the top-selling Apple iPhone.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
Industrial production expanded 22.31 percent annually last month to 107.51, as increases in demand for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications drove demand for locally-made chips and components. The manufacturing production index climbed 23.68 percent year-on-year to 108.37, marking the 14th consecutive month of increase, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. In the first four months of this year, industrial and manufacturing production indices expanded 14.31 percent and 15.22 percent year-on-year, ministry data showed. The growth momentum is to extend into this month, with the manufacturing production index expected to rise between 11 percent and 15.1 percent annually, Department of Statistics
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
RSS