HTC Corp (宏達電) yesterday unveiled the first made-in-Taiwan 5G smartphone and is to begin taking preorders on July 1.
The company last year released two mid-range smartphones — the HTC U19e and HTC Desire 19+ — as well as a second-generation blockchain mobile phone — the HTC Exodus 1S — which failed to help prop up its flagging sales.
The new HTC U20 5G, powered by Qualcomm Inc’s Snapdragon 765G processor and equipped with five camera lenses, is priced at NT$18,990.
Photo: CNA
While not the cheapest option on the market, the company’s new offering is still aimed at entry to mid-range consumers “who would like to try out 5G technology without breaking the bank,” HTC Taiwan president Darren Chen (陳柏諭) told a news conference at the company’s headquarters in New Taipei City.
The smartphone, which was assembled at HTC’s Taoyuan plant, is the “first made-in-Taiwan 5G smartphone in the world,” he added.
The handset is outfitted with a 6.8-inch full high-definition display and comes in two colors: green and white.
Photo: Wang Yi-hung, Taipei Times
It is expected to be ready to ship by August, Chen said, adding that certain certificates for the device are still awaited.
Seeking to first test the local market, HTC has yet to announce a release a date for the device in overseas markets.
“We are waiting to see how Taiwanese consumers react before expanding to a larger user base,” HTC chief executive officer Yves Maitre said, while hinting that he is looking to negotiate with some “familiar” European mobile phone carriers.
Prior to taking up his position at HTC late last year, Maitre served at French telecom Orange SA as executive vice president of consumer equipment and partnerships.
Maitre refrained from providing a sales target for the HTC U20 5G.
HTC also released an update to its Desire smartphone series, which was launched in 2010.
Priced at NT$8,990, the new HTC Desire 20 Pro is a more affordable option than the HTC U20 5G.
Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 665 processor, the HTC Desire 20 Pro is equipped with a 6.5-inch full high-definition screen and is also outfitted with five camera lenses.
The smartphone, which is not assembled in Taiwan, would be ready to ship tomorrow, the company said.
UNSTABLE? Downplaying geopolitical concerns, Mark Liu said that Taiwan can help usher in a bright, new era for the chip industry with its tech and manufacturing skills There are probably not many people who believe that Taiwan is unstable because of geopolitical factors, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) said yesterday in Taipei in response to comments by Intel’s top executive. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger on Wednesday told the Fortune Brainstorm Tech summit in California that the US government should support a sustainable semiconductor supply chain in the US, in part because “Taiwan is not a stable place.” With China sending 27 military warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone on Sunday, Gelsinger asked: Does that “make you more comfortable or less if you’re now
Toyota Motor Corp is to launch an all-electric small sedan in China late next year, having turned to local partner BYD Co (比亞迪) for key technology to finally make an affordable yet roomy runaround, four sources said. Two of the four people with knowledge of the matter described the car as an electric holy grail for Toyota, which has struggled for years to come up with a small electric vehicle (EV) that is competitive on cost in China and does not compromise on comfort. The sources said the breakthrough was chiefly down to BYD’s less bulky lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) Blade batteries and its
Danish wind turbine maker Vestas A/S yesterday said it has invested NT$1 billion (US$36.07 million) in its local supply chain to supply components for its 9.5 megawatt (MW) V174 turbine. The project has helped created 1,500 jobs, including 150 jobs by Vestas itself, Vestas country manager Alex Robertson said. The turbine is to be used in four offshore wind farm projects for a total of 123 wind turbine generators, or 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of total capacity, he said. “This is localization like I’ve never seen before,” Robertson told a media briefing in Taipei. Vestas highlighted 10 Taiwanese supply chain partners that are
Contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and integrated circuit designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) are optimistic about the “metaverse” concept, expecting it to create major opportunities for the semiconductor industry. At a tech forum last week to commemorate former finance minister K.T. Lee (李國鼎), who has been dubbed the father of Taiwan’s economic miracle and who helped build Taiwan’s semiconductor sector in the second half of the 20th century, TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) said he expects the metaverse to grow quickly in the next decade. Over the next 10 years, data computing power and transmission speeds are forecast to increase
RSS