Following in the footsteps of Apple Inc, HTC Corp (宏達電) said yesterday that it would begin selling selected models through handset retailers rather than partnering exclusively with telecoms carriers.
The HD mini is set to be the first model from HTC, the leading maker of smartphones for both Windows Mobile and Android operating systems, to be sold by handset retailers, HTC Asia-Pacific region vice president Jack Tong (董俊良) said.
The company wants to enhance its brand image by continuing to work with the nation’s three major telecoms carriers — Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), FarEasTone Telecommunications Co Ltd (遠傳電信) and Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大) — as well as with retailing channels, such as Senao International Co (神腦國際) and Synnex Technology International Corp (聯強國際), Tong said.
Chunghwa Telecom’s two-year exclusive right to sell iPhones in Taiwan came to an end last weekend, when FarEasTone and Taiwan Mobile announced their own monthly subscription packages for the iPhone.
Tong said he was not worried that HTC sales would be compromised, as the telecoms carriers promote the iPhone by offering subsidy packages.
“Shipments of HTC phones to our telecoms partners will rise over time,” he said, adding that operators would have to work out a feasible business model and offer a complete product portfolio to consumers when bundling smartphones into their subscription plans.
HTC will collaborate with more retail partners and these retailers, who will set up display counters, kiosks and logos in their stores to give HTC brand a big push, Tong said.
HTC yesterday unveiled the HD mini, one of three flagship phones it debuted at last month’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The HD mini is a smaller version of the HD2, which has been a hit thanks to its 4.3-inch screen and computing power, the company said. HD mini has a smaller 3.2-inch screen.
“The market in smartphones is dynamic. It will not be dominated by only one single phone,” Microsoft Taiwan general manager Davis Tsai (蔡恩全) said at the product launch yesterday.
As the smart phone user base in Taiwan is still small compared with those in the US and Hong Kong, Microsoft expects more users to seek out a smartphone to begin using the Internet with enhanced applications for better entertainment on the go.
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