HTC Corp (宏達電) yesterday invited reporters to its upcoming domestic launch of a new Nexus tablet and two new Desire smartphones.
The launch, scheduled for Tuesday next week, is to present the Nexus 9 tablet, developed in partnership with Google Inc, the HTC Desire Eye selfie-focused smartphone and the HTC Desire 820 mini that features a 64-bit, octa-core chip, the Taoyuan-based company said.
Unveiled on Oct. 15 in the US, the Nexus 9 is the first tablet running Google’s latest Android 5.0 operating system — dubbed “Lollipop.” The device, with an 8.9-inch LCD display, marks HTC’s return to the tablet market after an absence of three years.
Photo: Bloomberg
The Nexus 9 is powered by a 2.3GHz dual-core 64-bit processor from Nvidia, also known as a Tegra K1, has a 2K screen with a resolution of 2,048x1,536 pixels, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 1.6-megapixel front camera and HTC’s signature “BoomSound” dual front-facing speakers.
Separately, the National Communications Commission has approved another model in HTC’s mid-tier Desire series for sale, further bolstering a lineup that HTC hopes can help it retain its edge in the domestic market.
The commission’s notice of approval published on Monday shows that the HTC Desire 620 has a dual-SIM card slot and is compatible with the 900 megahertz and 1,800 megahertz frequency bands of the nation’s 4G long-term evolution (LTE) network.
The notice indicates that the Desire 620 could hit the nation’s stores in the next few weeks. It is the third Desire handset that has been certified by the commission this month, following the HTC Desire 820 on Oct. 17 and the HTC Desire Eye on Tuesday last week.
HTC seems to be expanding its range of mid-tier phones to help it take on the challenge posed by Apple Inc’s larger-screen iPhones, dealers said.
According to statistics released by industry sources, HTC was still the nation’s leading smartphone vendor last month, with a 20.8 percent market share by sales volume, ahead of Samsung’s 14.2 percent, Asustek Computer Inc’s (華碩電腦) 12.7 percent and Apple’s 11.8 percent.
In terms of sales value, however, Apple replaced HTC in the top position with a 29.9 percent market share, followed by HTC with 20.5 percent, Samsung Electronics Co with 13.2 percent and Sony with 12.5 percent, the data showed.
HTC is scheduled to host an earnings conference call on Friday to brief investors on its latest quarterly results and give its sales forecast for this quarter.
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