Smartphone maker HTC Corp will boost its patent portfolio after competitor Apple Inc flexed its muscles to block HTC products in the US market, chairwoman Cher Wang (王雪紅) said yesterday.
“Apple is a company with a lot of muscle,” Wang said on the sidelines of a ceremony to celebrate the company’s 15th anniversary.
“This is our challenge,” Wang said. “HTC is not afraid of the challenge and will persevere through continuous innovation.”
The chairwoman’s comments came as the company opened its new global headquarters in Sindian Distict (新店), New Taipei City (新北市), yesterday. Wang said the new headquarters demonstrated the Taiwanese brand’s determination.
The new 17-story headquarters will employ 2,000 people, including 1,000 research and development staff, who will use more than half of the building’s space. The new building also achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certification by incorporating a number of sustainable energy design elements.
HTC had first dreamed of transforming the cellphone market 15 years ago, Wang said, and that dream became a reality when it made the world’s first smartphone 10 years ago. Now, HTC is working on 4G LTE technology, Wang added.
“HTC will keep dreaming,” she said, adding that the high rate of consumers replacing smartphones means HTC is in the right market.
Qualcomm chairman and CEO Paul Jacobs, who also attended the ceremony, said that HTC and Qualcomm began cooperating in 2008 on the HTC G1 3G Android mobile phone, adding that they began working on Windows phones in 2010.
“Now we are working together on 4G LTE, so we have worked together from 3G to 4G,” Jacobs said.
The relationship with Taiwan is very important to Qualcomm because of companies like HTC and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and events like Computex, he said, adding that Qualcomm has been getting most of its 28-nanometer chips from TSMC for its smartphone and tablet customers.
AT&T senior vice president of devices Jeff Bradley said his company is impressed by HTC’s products and honored to be the sole carrier of HTC One X in the US market.
The two companies have been working together for more than a decade, he added.
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