High Tech Computer Corp (HTC,
Thirty-four companies, including Google, HTC and handset chipmaker Qualcomm Inc, formed the Open Handset Alliance, which aims to develop technologies that will significantly lower the cost of developing and distributing mobile devices and services, the companies said in a joint statement.
The commonly shared platform -- called Android -- is the first step in this direction, they said. HTC said it expects to launch the first mobile phones running on the Android system in the second half of next year.
"We believe the Gphone will be one of the products using the new platform," said Jonathan Liao (
HTC is in intensive talks with Google about supplying phones featuring Google's services, such as Google Map and Internet browsing, by the end of next year, Liao said.
The Taoyuan-based company could get an order of 1 million units a year from Google, Liao said.
"Our participation in the Open Handset Alliance and adoption of the Android platform in the second half of 2008 will enable us to expand our device portfolio into a new category," HTC chief executive Peter Chou (
HTC mainly manufactures mobile phones operating on Microsoft's system. Sales of handsets running on the new Android platform will help the company expand into a new area -- phones operating on the Linux system.
The news, announced before the opening of the local stock market yesterday, failed to lift HTC's stock yesterday. Shares of the handset maker slid 1.27 percent to NT$622, compared with the benchmark index's 0.17 percent loss.
"Investors have factored in the potential order from Google. And we do not think the order will contribute significantly to [HTC's bottom line] as the gross margin may be much lower than that of its existing products," Liao said.
Investors were also concerned about earnings erosion with the implementation of the new employee bonus rule next year, Liao said.
The additional spending could take 20 percent off HTC's net profit next year, which will significantly cap its growth outlook or even result in flat earnings next year, he said.
HTC told investors last week that it would not finalize the outlay until the first quarter of next year, but that spending was likely to be capped at 25 percent of its earnings.
HTC yesterday also reported record-high revenues last month. Revenues grew more than 24 percent to NT$13.1 billion (US$405 million) last month from NT$10.5 billion in September, which also beat consensus expectations of NT$12 billion.
WEAKER ACTIVITY: The sharpest deterioration was seen in the electronics and optical components sector, with the production index falling 13.2 points to 44.5 Taiwan’s manufacturing sector last month contracted for a second consecutive month, with the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) slipping to 48, reflecting ongoing caution over trade uncertainties, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The decline reflects growing caution among companies amid uncertainty surrounding US tariffs, semiconductor duties and automotive import levies, and it is also likely linked to fading front-loading activity, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said. “Some clients have started shifting orders to Southeast Asian countries where tariff regimes are already clear,” Lien told a news conference. Firms across the supply chain are also lowering stock levels to mitigate
Six Taiwanese companies, including contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), made the 2025 Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s largest firms by revenue. In a report published by New York-based Fortune magazine on Tuesday, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), ranked highest among Taiwanese firms, placing 28th with revenue of US$213.69 billion. Up 60 spots from last year, TSMC rose to No. 126 with US$90.16 billion in revenue, followed by Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) at 348th, Pegatron Corp (和碩) at 461st, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) at 494th and Wistron Corp (緯創) at
NEGOTIATIONS: Semiconductors play an outsized role in Taiwan’s industrial and economic development and are a major driver of the Taiwan-US trade imbalance With US President Donald Trump threatening to impose tariffs on semiconductors, Taiwan is expected to face a significant challenge, as information and communications technology (ICT) products account for more than 70 percent of its exports to the US, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said on Friday. Compared with other countries, semiconductors play a disproportionately large role in Taiwan’s industrial and economic development, Lien said. As the sixth-largest contributor to the US trade deficit, Taiwan recorded a US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US last year — up from US$47.8 billion in 2023 — driven by strong
ASE Technology Holding Co (ASE, 日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip assembly and testing service provider, yesterday said it would boost equipment capital expenditure by up to 16 percent for this year to cope with strong customer demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Aside from AI, a growing demand for semiconductors used in the automotive and industrial sectors is to drive ASE’s capacity next year, the Kaohsiung-based company said. “We do see the disparity between AI and other general sectors, and that pretty much aligns the scenario in the first half of this year,” ASE chief operating officer Tien Wu (吳田玉) told an
RSS