HTC to launch "more than 3" Android phones in 2009
updated 09:40 am EDT, Tue March 17, 2009
Four Android phones coming
Taiwan-based cell phone maker HTC on Friday said it would launch more than three new Android-powered phones this year, reports the Wall Street Journal. One of the new handsets and the first one to ship is the Magic, or a close cousin to the original G1, and as such the Magic may be known as the G2 in North America. The Magic will be released in the spring at UK's Vodafone.
Despite the news, there is no other information on the specs of the other three or so handsets HTC is planning on releasing, though some of them may be made for specific markets, including China.
In its first year of sales in 2008, the G1 sold more than the projected 1 million units, HTC said.
In addition to its Android efforts, HTC plans to launch 20 new smartphones not running on Android but likely Microsoft's Windows Mobile OS, as HTC is the largest maker of phones with the Windows software.
In 2009, the company will focus on the Chinese market. "This is an important year for our entry into China, especially with China's release of [third-generation mobile phone] licenses," said HTC Chief Executive Peter Chou. HTC hopes this year to double phone sales in China, which accounts for 5 percent of the company's total revenue, but no specific numbers were given.
