HTC Corp (宏達電), the world’s largest maker of handsets running on Microsoft Corp’s system, unveiled two new handsets at the World Mobile Congress 2009 yesterday in Barcelona, Spain, featuring the company’s Touch Flo 3D touch-sensitive technology.
“HTC Touch Pro 2 and HTC Touch Diamond 2 will no doubt bring unprecedented user experience in the world of communication,” HTC chief executive officer Peter Chou (周永明) said in a statement yesterday.
The two smartphones both run on the Windows Mobile 6.1 platform and redefined mobile convergence by focusing on a “people-centric approach to mobile communication,” the company said.
HTC is counting on the launch of the phones to help secure a share in this emerging market. Researcher Gartner Inc said global sales of smartphones would continue to rise this year, although at a slower rate because of the global slowdown.
Aimed at business users and technology lovers, the new handsets also boast “Push Internet” technology that speeds up Web loading on pre-set bookmarks, HTC said.
Meanwhile, Nokia was to introduce an online application store as it tries to match the success of Apple Inc.
The Ovi store will start in May and offer applications ranging from games to location-based services, Nokia said yesterday in a presentation at the World Mobile Congress. The company also unveiled four new devices, two aimed at corporate users with e-mail functions and two with navigation.
Nokia has said its services and software unit should have at least 2 billion euros (US$2.55 billion) in sales by 2011. The business will focus on wireless Internet services for maps, music, games, messaging and media under the Ovi brand.
“The Ovi Store is a ‘smart store’ that will change the way our consumers discover and consume content on their mobile devices, ultimately making the experience easier, more fun and most importantly, more relevant,” said Tero Ojanpera executive vice president at Nokia Services.
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