14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that the mobile phone market in Asia-Pacific has recovered after the recession, given the fact that various wireless carriers in the area placed strong orders and anticipate higher sales for the second quarter of the ongoing year, Jack Tong, vice president of Asia business at HTC, stated recently, according to DigiTimes.
The Taiwanese mobile phone maker High Tech Computer expects to see its Asia-Pacific revenues improve significantly in the second quarter of the year, at least when compared to the company's performance in the first quarter, says Tong, while also adding that the Windows Mobile- and Android-powered models the manufacturer offers should boost sales a lot.
Sources from the company are reported to have stated that only 20 percent of HTC's revenues came from the Asia-Pacific markets, being placed behind Europe, which accounted for 39 percent of the revenues, or North America, with 36 percent.
According to Tong, the HTC Touch Diamond2 is expected to be the growth driver for the company's sales in Asia-Pacific in the second quarter of 2009. HTC announced the Touch Diamond2 for the Taiwan market on April 9 with a suggested retail price of NT$21,900 (US$646). The mobile phone maker also stated that the handset was expected to become available for purchase before the end of the month.
In addition, HTC is also expected to release in Taiwan its second mobile phone powered by the Google Android operating system, the HTC Magic, which should come to Chunghwa Telecom (CHT)'s offering at the end of this month or the beginning of May. Market sources also pointed towards the fact that the HTC Touch Pro2 handset would become available in the second quarter of the year.
The company also intends to expand its market share globally during the ongoing year, and it should be able to do so, given the number of handsets that have been announced for release in 2009. Only a few days ago, HTC was reported to plan the launch of an Internet-enabled high-end feature phone. The device, which should reach the market in the fourth quarter of the year, is expected to be based on Qualcomm's BREW Mobile Platform (BREW MP), while also including a great deal of flash applications for multimedia services.