HTC Corp (宏達電) is developing a smartwatch that uses Google Inc’s Android software and can take pictures, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Cost, full functions and sales strategy for the watch are still to be decided before it is released by the second half of next year, said the person, who asked not to be named because the plans are not public.
The smartwatch will join a growing segment of wearable technology that already includes devices from Samsung Electronics Co and Sony Corp.
Retail sales of Internet-
connected wearable devices, including watches and eyeglasses, will reach US$19 billion by 2018, compared with US$1.4 billion this year, Juniper Research said in a report on Tuesday last week.
Samsung’s smartwatch, the US$299 Galaxy Gear, went on sale on Sept. 25, while Apple Inc has a team of designers working on a watch-like device, two people familiar with the matter said in February.
HTC yesterday said in an e-mail that it does not comment on rumors or speculation.
The company’s shares climbed 6.9 percent to close at NT$139.50 after the Financial Times reported that Peter Chou (周永明), the company’s chief executive officer, has transferred some of his duties to chairwoman Cher Wang (王雪紅) to focus on innovation.
Chou, who took over as president in 2004, has struggled to compete with devices from Apple, Samsung and an array of Chinese entrants driving prices down.
Wang yesterday gathered workers at a town-hall style meeting to tell them the Taiwanese smartphone maker needs to improve its customer focus, HTC chief marketing officer Ben Ho (何永生) said in an interview.
Wang, who was joined by Chou, held a 90-minute meeting with workers, including a question-and-answer session, Ho said.
Wang emphasized the importance of after sales service to ensure customer loyalty and repeat business for the company’s handsets, Ho added.
Contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) yesterday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Polar Semiconductor LLC to collaborate on the production of 8-inch wafers in the US. The collaboration aims to strengthen 8-inch wafer manufacturing in the US amid Washington’s efforts to increase onshore manufacturing of semiconductors, contribute to supply chain resilience against shifting geopolitical dynamics, and ensure a secure domestic supply of power semiconductors critical to automotive, electric grids, robotic manufacturing and data centers, the companies said in a joint statement. Under the MOU, Polar and UMC will identify devices for Polar to manufacture at
TARIFF TALKS: The US secretary of commerce is eyeing more than US$300 billion in investments and said Taiwan would train US workers, but Taipei has denied the latter US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said the US is expecting a large investment pledge from Taiwan in trade talks, while President William Lai (賴清德) listed areas that need improvement in order for projects to be completed. “We’re in the midst of discussions,” Lutnick said on Wednesday. “But the fact is, this administration’s goal is to bring semiconductor manufacturing to America.” Lai on Wednesday said Taiwan is supportive of US President Donald Trump’s goal of reindustrializing the US, including efforts to ramp up semiconductor production. Such a goal would require the US to reduce its reliance on Taiwan as a key source
The demise of the coal industry left the US’ Appalachian region in tatters, with lost jobs, spoiled water and countless kilometers of abandoned underground mines. Now entrepreneurs are eyeing the rural region with ambitious visions to rebuild its economy by converting old mines into solar power systems and data centers that could help fuel the increasing power demands of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. One such project is underway by a non-profit team calling itself Energy DELTA (Discovery, Education, Learning and Technology Accelerator) Lab, which is looking to develop energy sources on about 26,305 hectares of old coal land in
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