HTC to Become Top Three Smartphone Maker by 2013

Taiwan-based mobile phone maker HTC Corporation aims big on the smartphone market, it seems. Following the huge success the company has registered on the Android area of the market, HTC Chief Executive Peter Chou stated that the vendor planned on becoming one of the top three smartphone makers in the world by 2013.

“Smartphones will account for 50% of handset sales by 2013,” Chou claimed. “We are currently among the top five smartphone companies. By 2013, we will be in the top three.” According to him, last year was a beneficial one for the company, and the following years are expected to be the same, offering HTC the possibility to compete better against Nokia, RIM and Apple, which are the top three smartphone makers at the moment.

The Taiwanese company will continue to focus on the Android segment, but it won't abandon other operating systems, such as Microsoft's Windows Mobile platform. “We will be releasing a whole portfolio of amazing Windows 7 phones later this year,” he promised. The smartphone market is expected to see an overall growth in the following years, and HTC plans on benefiting a lot from that, it seems. At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last week, the handset vendor launched three new devices, the Windows Mobile-based HD mini, and the Android-powered Desire and Legend.

During the second quarter of the ongoing year, HTC's revenues are expected to receive a boost from the launch of the aforementioned three devices, which will arrive in Europe in April via various carriers, including Vodafone, T-Mobile and Orange, a recent post on DigiTimes notes. Moreover, the extended availability of existing devices, such as HTC HD2, which will arrive at T-Mobile USA in the near future, is also expected to help the company increase its revenues.

All three new handsets come with appealing features and unique capabilities on the market, including HTC's new Sense experience. The HD mini comes as HD2's little brother, HTC Desire boasts a 3.7-inch AMOLED WVGA display and the same hardware as the Nexus One, while HTC Legend features a 3.2- inch AMOLED HVGA display, coupled with a body made out of a single piece of metal.