HTC Corp (宏達電) is set to release several new devices in the second half of this year, including a new “selfie phone,” codenamed “Eye.”
The handest is set to be launched in the US in the fourth quarter, said a report published on Friday on technology news Web site eprice.com.
The HTC Butterfly 2, an Android-based, fourth-generation long-term evolution-capable smartphone designed and developed by the company, has already been certified in Japan.
The international version of the Butterfly 2 has received certification from Visa for contactless near-field communication payments, which enable mobile payments at point of sale, indicating that the device will be launched soon, the report said.
In addition, although a new variant of its flagship model, the HTC One (M8) has been available in China since the first half of the year, the official version of the device is soon to make its China debut after it received certification by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
According to market speculation, HTC plans to launch its first handset compatible with the Windows Phone 8S operating system, the HTC W8, in the third quarter of this year.
Shipments of Taoyuan-based HTC’s smartphones doubled last quarter, as it has been gearing up to put out new models on the market, ranging from high-end to mid-range devices, researcher Digitimes Research said on Friday.
Overall shipments of Taiwanese phones in the quarter ended June 30 grew by about 30 percent from both a year earlier and a quarter earlier, driven by local brands’ intensive efforts to launch new models, the researcher said.
Taiwan shipped 21.06 million units during the April-to-June period, up 29.8 percent from the previous quarter and 30.2 percent from the same period a year ago, the researcher said.
Taipei-based Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) also saw strong shipments during the three-month period due to high sales of its low-cost Zenfone series, it added.
As for contract phone makers, both Chi Mei Communication Systems Inc (奇美通訊) and Compal Communications Inc (華寶) saw rising shipments on the back of orders for Sony smartphones and Nokia feature phones.
However, declining shipments from Arima Communications Corp (華冠通訊), which is another contract manufacturer, offset the overall growth among contract makers.
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