Smartphone maker HTC Corp (宏達電) yesterday launched its first 4G entry-level smartphone in the domestic market, with an eye to seizing 25 percent of the low-price market segment this year.
HTC has previously resisted entering this market, and its market share has dwindled as more affordable models prevailed over premium ones.
The firm had never launched a 4G smartphone priced at about NT$5,000 (US$158.42) in Taiwan before, HTC North Asia president Jack Tong (董俊良) said, but it is hopeful that the new handset can help it reach its goal of selling more than 375,000 4G and 3G entry-level smartphones in the nation this year.
Photo: Wu Pei-hua, Taipei Times
That translates into about a quarter of the nation’s low-price smartphone market of 1.5 million units this year, Tong said.
“Following our success in selling the mid-range smartphone Desire 816 and partnerships with local telecom operators and retailers, we believe that our new entry-level 4G model has a chance to help us achieve our sales goal,” Tong told reporters on the sidelines of the HTC Desire 626 product launch.
Tong said the 5-inch Desire 626, priced at NT$5,990, has a 13-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front camera that should attract budget-conscious young users who like to take selfies.
While the company on Friday told an investors’ conference call that revenues this quarter are expected to fall by between 6.05 percent and 13.36 percent sequentially due to a slow season, Tong said that in its home market, HTC should be able to maintain double-digit percentage growth.
“The first-quarter performance in Taiwan will be very impressive, driven by our full range of smartphones and revenues from direct stores,” Tong said, adding that robust sales of HTC’s action camera RE should also boost revenues this quarter.
He said the company would evaluate the sales performance and popularity of the HTC RE in Taiwan before making a decision on launching another new non-smartphone product.
In related news, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co yesterday also launched new mid-tier smartphones in Taiwan.
Andy Tu (杜偉昱), general manager of Samsung Electronics Taiwan’s information technology and mobile communication team, said the latest Galaxy E7 is the company’s first mid-tier model to feature a 5.5-inch display and priced at NT$9,990 in Taiwan.
“As smartphones priced under NT$10,000 accounted for 52 percent of the market share last year, we expect the market share of mid-end smartphones to continue to grow this year,” Tu told reporters at the product launch.
The company also launched two other lower-end smartphones — the Galaxy E5 and the Galaxy Grand Max — in Taiwan.
The 5.25-inch display Galaxy Grand Max is priced at NT$7,790, while the price of the 5-inch Galaxy E5 will be announced at a later date, Samsung said.
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