High Tech Computer Corp (HTC, 宏達電), the world’s biggest maker of handsets that run Microsoft Corp’s system, yesterday said it was breaking into the South Korean market by supplying handsets to ST Telecom.
The move follows HTC’s successful foray into the Japanese market three years ago.
“HTC is excited to be entering the Korea market with the HTC Touch Dual. We want to tap into Korea’s high level of consumer sophistication by bringing in a portfolio of innovative phones that set new benchmarks for touch usage,” said Jack Tong (董俊良), a vice president of HTC’s Asia branch.
The handset maker is supplying a third-generation (3G) handset, HTC Touch Dual, to ST Telecom. The handset is available only at SK Telecom’s stores and priced at 500,000 won (US$475). SK Telecom subscribers can obtain the phone at a lower price by subscribing to the telecom operator’s packages.
ST Telecom is the second-largest mobile telecom operator in South Korea, with 22.37 million subscribers as of this year’s first quarter.
HTC plans to launch more handsets in South Korea in the second half of this year.
As part of a bigger ambition to build a better foothold in the South Korean market, HTC said it planned to set up a South Korean branch later this year.
In the Asia-Pacific region, HTC has set a sales target of 2 million phones this year, compared with 1 million last year.
HTC said the Asian-Pacific region was its fastest-growing market, but European and US markets are still the company’s biggest markets, accounting for 80 percent of the firm’s total revenues.
HTC shares jumped 2.94 percent to NT$700 yesterday, defying the broader market’s decline of 1.54 percent.
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