HTC Corp (宏達電) is set to release several new devices in the second half of this year, including a new “selfie phone,” codenamed “Eye.”
The handest is set to be launched in the US in the fourth quarter, said a report published on Friday on technology news Web site eprice.com.
The HTC Butterfly 2, an Android-based, fourth-generation long-term evolution-capable smartphone designed and developed by the company, has already been certified in Japan.
The international version of the Butterfly 2 has received certification from Visa for contactless near-field communication payments, which enable mobile payments at point of sale, indicating that the device will be launched soon, the report said.
In addition, although a new variant of its flagship model, the HTC One (M8) has been available in China since the first half of the year, the official version of the device is soon to make its China debut after it received certification by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
According to market speculation, HTC plans to launch its first handset compatible with the Windows Phone 8S operating system, the HTC W8, in the third quarter of this year.
Shipments of Taoyuan-based HTC’s smartphones doubled last quarter, as it has been gearing up to put out new models on the market, ranging from high-end to mid-range devices, researcher Digitimes Research said on Friday.
Overall shipments of Taiwanese phones in the quarter ended June 30 grew by about 30 percent from both a year earlier and a quarter earlier, driven by local brands’ intensive efforts to launch new models, the researcher said.
Taiwan shipped 21.06 million units during the April-to-June period, up 29.8 percent from the previous quarter and 30.2 percent from the same period a year ago, the researcher said.
Taipei-based Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) also saw strong shipments during the three-month period due to high sales of its low-cost Zenfone series, it added.
As for contract phone makers, both Chi Mei Communication Systems Inc (奇美通訊) and Compal Communications Inc (華寶) saw rising shipments on the back of orders for Sony smartphones and Nokia feature phones.
However, declining shipments from Arima Communications Corp (華冠通訊), which is another contract manufacturer, offset the overall growth among contract makers.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
Catastrophic computer outages caused by a software update from one company have once again exposed the dangers of global technological dependence on a handful of players, experts said on Friday. A flawed update sent out by the little-known security firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc brought airlines, TV stations and myriad other aspects of daily life to a standstill. The outages affected companies or individuals that use CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Inc’s Windows platform. When they applied the update, the incompatible software crashed computers into a frozen state known as the “blue screen of death.” “Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in