HTC Corp (宏達電) plans to unveil a flagship smartphone in March with improved camera and audio features, and its first smartwatch, according to a person familiar with the matter, as the company tries to stem three years of falling sales.
Code-named M9, the phone features a 20-megapixel rear camera and an HTC UltraPixel front camera, the person said, asking not to be identified because the details have not been made public. The smartwatch is set to link with Under Armour Inc’s fitness service, building on a partnership announced earlier this month, the person said.
HTC is set to release the products near the time of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where the world’s biggest smartphone makers, including Samsung Electronics Co and Huawei Technologies Co (華為), will showcase their models. The smartwatch represents HTC’s latest effort to move beyond the slowing smartphone market after last year’s introduction of the HTC RE action camera series.
HTC does not comment on unreleased products, it said in an e-mail to reporters yesterday.
HTC shares climbed 5.4 percent to NT$155.5 at the close of trading in Taipei, the highest since May 30 last year. The benchmark TAIEX rose 0.39 percent.
Its new smartphone resembles last year’s M8 in size and design, with gold, gray and silver options, and features Qualcomm Inc’s octacore Snapdragon 810 processor, which has advanced video capabilities, the person said. The device includes Dolby Laboratories Inc’s Dolby 5.1 audio technology and HTC’s latest Sense 7 user interface with improved location-based services.
The UltraPixel sensor developed by HTC features fewer, larger pixels designed to obtain clearer images in poor light.
British bank Barclays PLC yesterday upgraded its stock rating on HTC for the first time since November 2011, citing the Taiwanese smartphone maker’s change of strategy.
Barclays analyst Dale Gai (蓋欣山) said that after about four years, HTC has shifted its focus from the high-end market, which is now dominated by Apple Inc.
“We believe HTC’s strategy changes, including material cost structure improvement and a refocusing on the mid-level market, are finally likely to bear fruit as volume growth leads to a surprise earnings recovery for HTC,” Gai said in a research note.
In addition, HTC’s intrinsic values, including strong cash reserves, a strengthened intellectual property portfolio and solid partnerships with telecoms, have been overlooked in the past few years, the analyst said.
He upgraded HTC’s stock rating from “underweight” to “overweight” and raised his price target for HTC shares from NT$100 to NT$200, adding that HTC is well placed to compete in future tech trends such as wearables and the Internet of Things.
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