HTC Corp’s (宏達電) bigger version of its One M9 is likely go on sale in select European markets as it enjoys better sales than the original One M9, a source familiar with the matter said.
HTC developer LlabTooFeR tweeted on Friday that the One M9+ will be available in Germany, Italy, Russia and “some other Western/Eastern EU countries” in the third quarter of this year, without elaborating.
Launched in April with customized features for the Chinese market, the M9+ is available in only a handful of Asian markets, including Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Singapore, according to a report on Saturday by Japanese Web site Gadget News, which is operated by Tokyo Sangyo Shimbun Inc.
ROBUST DEMAND
However, HTC may consider changing its sales strategy for the Asian-edition flagship device because initial demand for the M9+ in Taiwan had outpaced that of the M9, the report said.
HTC was not immediately available for comment yesterday.
The major enhancements of the M9+ include a 5.2-inch 2K display with a resolution of 1,440 x 2,560 pixels, a MediaTek MT6795T octa-core 2.2GHz mobile processor, a fingerprint scanner built into a home button on the front, a new and improved Duo Camera and support for up to 2TB of microSD external storage.
The M9+ runs on “China Sense” software, designed especially for the Chinese market, which, for example, allows users to make purchases on Chinese e-commerce marketplace Taobao by simply scanning their fingerprints.
The method is similar to Apple Inc’s mobile payment service Apply Pay.
FINANCIAL LOSSES
On June 5, HTC lowered its second-quarter sales forecast and said it expects a net loss of nearly NT$10 per share for the April-June period, a revision from an earlier earnings forecast of NT$0.06 to NT$0.34 per share.
It cited worsening global demand for high-end Android devices and the company’s weak sales in China.
Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp yesterday issued a letter imposing a demerit on HTC for adding a one-off impairment of NT$2.9 billion (US$93.64 million) for idled assets and some prepaid expenses in its revised financial forecast released on June 5.
The Taiwan Stock Exchange said in a statement that the NT$2.9 billion impairment expense was not included in HTC’s previous financial forecast released on April 28, and it deemed the smartphone maker’s assumptions for its original financial forecast were not reasonably evaluated.
HTC said that it would abide by Taiwan Stock Exchange regulations.
Additional reporting by Lauly Li
INVESTOR RESILIENCE? An analyst said that despite near-term pressures, foreign investors tend to view NT dollar strength as a positive signal for valuation multiples Morgan Stanley has flagged a potential 10 percent revenue decline for Taiwan’s tech hardware sector this year, as a sharp appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar begins to dent the earnings power of major exporters. In what appears to be the first such warning from a major foreign brokerage, the US investment bank said the currency’s strength — fueled by foreign capital inflows and expectations of US interest rate cuts — is compressing profit margins for manufacturers with heavy exposure to US dollar-denominated revenues. The local currency has surged about 10 percent against the greenback over the past quarter and yesterday breached
MARKET FACTORS: Navitas Semiconductor Inc said that Powerchip is to take over from TSMC as its supplier of high-voltage gallium nitride chips Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday in a statement said that it would phase out its compound semiconductor gallium nitride (GaN) business over the next two years, citing market dynamics. The decision would not affect its financial targets announced previously, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker said. “We are working closely with our customers to ensure a smooth transition and remain committed to meeting their needs during this period,” it said. “Our focus continues to be on delivering sustained value to our partners and the market.” TSMC’s latest move came unexpectedly, as the chipmaker had said in its annual report that it has
Rick Cassidy, the chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's (TSMC, 台積電) US subsidiary, TSMC Arizona Corp, plans to retire, but the company has yet to name a successor. After Cassidy made his intention to retire known, TSMC Arizona held a special general meeting and approved a resolution that Cassidy would not continue as chairman and would not remain as a director, TSMC said in a statement filed with the Taiwan Stock Exchange last night. The meeting also approved a plan to appoint TSMC Arizona president Rose Castanares as a director, the company said, adding that Cassidy has been named as an advisor
SECURITY WARNING: The company possesses key 3-nanometer technology, and Taiwan should prevent it from being transferred to China, a lawmaker said The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said it would conduct a “strict review” of any proposed acquisition of Taiwanese tech company Source Photonics Co (索爾思光電), following media reports that a Chinese firm was planning to buy the company in the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區). Local media reported that Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing Co (東山精密), China’s largest printed circuit board manufacturer, had announced plans to acquire Source Photonics for 5.9 billion yuan (US$823.1 million). The ministry said it has not received an application from Source Photonics and has formally notified the company that any buyout would constitute a change in its ownership structure. The
RSS