Foreign brokerages warn of impact from barred HTC phones

Taipei, May 17 (CNA) A delay of HTC Corp.'s new smartphones into the U.S. market might stop the Taiwanese vendor from gaining full momentum in its quarterly sales, foreign brokerages said Thursday.

The U.S. availability of two of its new flagship products, the One X and the EVO 4G LTE, have been delayed by U.S. Customs as the agency is investigating whether the phones infringe on a patent of Apple Inc., HTC said in a statement released a day earlier.

The Taoyuan-based manufacturer said the products are in compliance with a ruling filed by the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) and that the company is working closely with U.S. Customs to secure approval for the devices.

"The U.S. telecom channels still have some existing models and inventory on hand, but this issue might slow down HTC's shipments of new models to the U.S.," Robert Cheng, head of Taiwan research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, wrote in a research note.

"If the new products are detained by U.S. Customs for four weeks, the sales impact on HTC in the second quarter of 2012 will be around 5 to 10 percent," he said.

On April 24, HTC forecast that its revenue will reach NT$105 billion (US$3.55 billion) in the second quarter of this year, up 55 percent from a disappointing first quarter.

The U.S. market accounted for 30 percent of HTC's total shipments in the first quarter, according to research firm Gartner Inc.

In the USITC ruling filed in December last year, HTC was found to be in violation of an Apple patent involving data-detection technology.

The company was given until April 19 to come up with an alternative or face a ban on U.S. sales of its handsets with the function.

Macquarie Securities said that HTC made some shipments of its One X into the U.S. in April, as the country's No. 2 carrier, AT&T Inc., had announced a sales plan for the model, while Sprint Nextel Corp. is taking pre-orders of the EVO 4G LTE.

"If the delay is short, then we might anticipate slower May shipments, but this will be followed by a strong month to fill the channel inventory," said Daniel Chang, director of Macquarie Securities Taiwan research division.  

Android 3.0 to Arrive in January 2011

by Patrick Martin

Android 3.0 the latest software update for the popular mobile operating system owned by Google, is reportedly set to launch in January 2011. Phone and tablets running the operating system have experienced an enormous boom within the past years, leaving consumers and developers’ alike hungry for a new release of the Android operating system.The newest version of the platform, which is code-named “Gingerbread,” is set to upgrade the existing OS in multiple ways, including new video capabilities and rumored features that incorporate Google TV.
The popular operating system is currently being run by mobile phones built by a variety of different companies, including Samsung, Acer, Motorola, and HTC. Furthermore, Android is now one of the most popular operating systems for new tablet devices. Presently, Google has yet to comment on its upcoming Gingerbread release, though the company has confirmed that the release will be occurring within the next few months. Many have speculated that such a release could be announced at the CES 2011 conference, at the beginning of January.
In spite of all the speculation, some of the features of the new version are widely known. One such addition is video chat, which will support the protocols used by Google Talk. Furthermore, the OS will have the ability to receive Google Talk calls over a Wi-Fi connection. Such features directly challenge similar features in the Apple iPhone 4.0, which was released this past summer.
Additional video capabilities in the new generation of devices include the capability to link the mobile phone with Google TV products. The new operating system will reportedly allow users to control such products with their phone, which essentially operates as a remote control. These rich video and chat features are expected to continue the accelerating market share of Android devices.
Beyond the popular features recognized by casual users of Smartphones and tablets running Google’s operating system, the new Android release is expected to incorporate several features that translate into a faster end-user experience. For example, the new software is reported to have enhanced CPU performance, meaning shorter response times for users. In general, the OS is expected to experience a boost in overall speed, and should offer more power in the hardware department.
Regardless of which details of the new operating system ultimately prove to be speculative or true, one thing is certain: Google has effectively built an operating system that is consistently finding new adopters and fans. In fact, since its initial release in 2008, the operating system has found its way into the hands of users across the globe. According to current estimates, Android could potentially be in second place in the race for market share, as early as 2014. Current figures show market share to be constant at just over 16%, though analysts expect that figure to skyrocket more than 50% to 24.6% in the next four years. This surge in market share is attributed to many factors, including the lower price points of devices running on Android, and the presence of the Open Handset Alliance.



HTC Desire
HTC Desire makes first in the list of best Android phones in India. It combines top-end hardware with the latest version of Android and the Sense UI makes it all work incredibly smoothly. HTC Desire enhances the features of Android 2.1 with HTC Sense, and the smart phones features 1 GHz CPU Processing Speed and 5-megapixel camera. In terms of storage, the phone comes with a 4 GB of MicroSD card and the memory can be further extended up to 32 GB. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and 3G are all on board. The device also comes with features like Multi-touch input method, Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate, Proximity sensor for auto turn-off and Optical trackball.
The gadget comes in single color that is Black. The most attracting feature of the device is definitely the sheen and the luster it has.
The price of HTC Desire Android phones are around Rs. 28,599 in India with 2 year warranty.


HTC Legend The HTC Legend Phones simply look stunning. Its unibody-style aluminum casing makes it look a like a cousin of Apple’s Macbook range of laptops – a good thing – and also means it’s rock solid. Gone is the snap off battery cover, and instead the phone opens up at the bottom where the battery slots out. It’s quite an elegant solution. The capacitive touch screen remains 3.2 inches (320×480) but this time it’s AMOLED, which looks stunning indoors and performs OK outside in sunlight. It’s very responsive too, on-par with the best of class i Phones.
Price in India: Approx 24,500 INR.