HTC to Launch Its Own App Store

Taiwanese mobile phone maker HTC Corporation is expected to make its first move into the mobile application store area in the near future, in an attempt to offer more content to the owners of its devices.

The move comes in line with a general trend in the industry, as many other mobile phone makers already announced plans to make similar moves in the area.

According to a recent article on Financial Times (via Recombu), HTC's application store would be aimed at the selling of e-books and applications, sources familiar with the company's plans announced.

During the past few years, HTC has become more and more popular on the mobile phone market, as it is the largest maker of Windows phones, and also the first company to have launched an Android-based handset.

To increase the available opportunities for its users, the mobile phone maker is said to plan launching the said portal, while already hiring staff for the launch.

Moreover, the FT article states that the company is hiring content editors for the move (the store should include e-books and magazines, along with mobile applications).

What it still unclear for the time being is whether the content would be aimed only at the company's Android-based devices, or Windows Phone 7 and other handsets from the company would also benefit from the move.

We should also note that HTC is a little late to the app store party, which started a few years ago with the launch of Apple's App Store with applications for the iPhone.

Other mobile phone makers already launched similar solutions, including Nokia, Samsung, or RIM, and the same applies to OS designers like Microsoft or Google.

However, HTC's move in the area follows shortly the launch of another service for its mobile phones, the HTCSense.com portal, which is currently compatible with the company's new Desire HD and Desire Z.

According to Financial Times, HTC said that its was growing fast, and that it was hiring staff for various positions, including marketers, developers, technical writers and many others.

“We are always exploring new areas we can add value to our customers but we can’t comment on our future plans,” the company reportedly stated.