HTC’s Peter Chou: ‘Working hard to get excitement about Windows Mobile back’ so no Android HTC HD2
In an interview with Alibaba news HTC’s Peter Chou spoke about HTC, Android and Windows Mobile.
He expressed some frustration regarding Windows Mobile. "Windows Mobile innovation has been a little slow and interest in Windows Mobile phones has been declining,"
However Windows Mobile remains an important part of their business, meaning they had a strong interest themselves in seeing it succeed.
Talking about the amazing and highly anticipated HTC HD2, he noted "We’re working hard on these kinds of products to get excitement about Windows Mobile back,"
For this reason he also said the handset will remain exclusively Windows Mobile. "Technically, we could make the HD2 an Android phone, but I have to take care of Windows Mobile," says Chou.
While a next generation Android smartphone from HTC, the Dragon, has been rumoured, the device appears to have a much smaller screen with much more pedestrian looks.
Chou also said HTC plans to concentrate on selling less models but more of them, a bit like the Apple model. "In the past, we perhaps made too many phone models," says Chou. "Now we’re putting more effort into seeing how we can sell more volume per model."
They are not just relying on making great devices, they also plan to roll out a marketing program over 20 countries over the next few weeks, based on the YOU tag line.
"Whether we can compete with [companies like Nokia] on scale is a different subject, but our profile needs to be viewed as first tier," says Chou. "It’s very hard to use a second-tier brand to compete with these companies."
Peter Chou also said HTC will continue to concentrate on cellphones, saying it would stay out of the netbook, ereaders and tablet computers.
"There is a lot of pressure to do these things, but we are a relatively small company and need to be very picky," he says.
Read the full interview here.
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Read that Microsoft, better not disappoint your partner. Yeah, we know winmo7 will be late, but how hard it is to beautify winmo6.5? replace all include apps with better looks and finger friendly and keep the function the same, just change the cosmetics !! its should be easy to do and do it fast !
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Heh, HTC Dragon anyone? Sure, it's technically not an HD2, so Chou's statement will probably still stand, but…
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So what, no HTC Dragon with Android? Rumor is dead? Damn, i was waiting for that one. And Acer Liquid is not an option for me because of their overall quality. What are the alternatives about a good Android phone (Snapdragon, 800×480 screen, etc…)?
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Lennard Reply:
October 29th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
this is a windows mobile place, not trying to get you upset but please have a little respect even for that little fact. and also, I think you're in the wrong place looking for an android phone. they should have andriod boards and websites around, do a bing or google for some. but next time please stick to windows mobile dealings. thank yo.
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Wesley Reply:
October 29th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
There will be the Sony Ericsson Rachel (X3 or X10) Rumours are that it will have an OLED screen, 32GB onboard storage and a HD video camera, but wel will see on Nov 3 when it is announced officially.
Maybe the Acer Liquid will be better quality than the Neo F1 cause it has a capacitive screen and they probably won't mess with the OS + price should be good too.
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This is probably the single most incredibly stupid thing HTC could do. Why should they care about WM when Microsost themselves dont? With al the hype about droid and android 2.0 why wouldnt they want to get in on that, especially when they themselves say interest in WM is declining? It seems nothing can get MS out of the slumber they are in, HTC should give them a wake up call (ie swift kick in the butt) by being honest like Motorola and publicy say they will focus on android till MS gets a decent OS together. That should get those morons working overtime on something copetitive. This just seems like a very stupid thing to decide to do and thier shareholders cant be happy.
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Jake Reply:
October 29th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
I wouldn't recommend that my worst enemy follow Motorola's lead.
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Lennard Reply:
October 29th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
that is really your opinion actually, but windows mobile is a powerful OS, it might look clunky to some but to other's it's an OS is they can hardly do without. the fact that HTC has given Windows Phone an great exclusive is a nice touch. if you want an android phone then go somewhere else and get it. this site is dedicated to windows mobile…I don't think that's so hard to follow. you think it's a stupid move but I don't.
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efjay,
You haven't really been paying attention have you?! HTC knows a lot more than you or I do, in regards to what MS is doing. But if you've be reading anything, you'd know that the fires have already been started, underneath the corporate ass-ets of MS. HTC is not in the business of trying to fail. So perhaps they see something, you're just not getting. Windows Phone 8 is already being worked on as I type and HTC has already got a clear understanding of what Windows Phone 7 is going to be about. The only stupid thing I see, are ignorant comments like yours. MS messed up big time and they are working on the solutions and they will come back to the fight with their game in check.
Fools will talk about the past, all day and night. The smart money pays attention to what’s going on today and what’s about to take place tomorrow. The future is about to happen in which the game changes and people like you, are going to eat your words.
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They lost me at: NO update for TouchHD!
Start caring for your customers HTC!
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I also think that HTC wouldn't have made this move when they would have lost trust in Windows. Microsoft have the capacities to create a functioning OS and they will do so as the mobile market is growing and growing. I think android is much more a hype than that it is a great OS. And with the HD2 HTC has made the right move. Just read through some of the reviews on the HD2 and you'll see what I mean. The Htc HD2 is going to make it!
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You guys are right, HTC probably has the inside scoop on what MS is doing. However the point is that while MS may have something good cooking, its taking too much time to get it out there, competing for mind and marketshare. Right now, blogs and phone forums are talking about android, anytime a WM device (like the HD2) is announced a regular refrain is "i wish it had android", etc. Despite the Palm Pre's hype, where is it now? Not really lighting up the phone world, unlike android. IMO if MS takes too long to show something competitive they could end up in the same situation as the Pre and to a lesser extent the Zune, while it will be regarded as a good product it wont really be seen as competitive or compelling which in turn leads to lack of interest from consumers, developers and ultimately manufacturers.
So yes, HTC may know a thing or two I don’t but lets not pretend MS doesnt need to be working at warp speed, not only on WM 7 but getting the updates to 6.5 out there ASAP. Oh, and Lennard and AdBar, thanks for your adult and constructive responses, nothing better than a discussion without name calling and advice on a site's content, right?
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rico Reply:
October 30th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
There's obviously more to the story than Chou's saying. i do think that given HTC's history working with the platform that they will receive additional help when creating their Windows Phone 7 devices. Nothing he said sounded out of the ordinary, and considering HTC's still a major Android device maker, i'm not worried about Android devices.
Microsoft will not be in Palm's position financially in the forseeable future. In terms of brand awareness, they're probably worse off, but they've got the resources to bring out release after release until they get back in the game. The same can't be said of Palm, unfortunately.
i really don't know why you tossed the Zune in there, with the ZuneHD still being too new to judge properly in terms of developer support. Not only is it one of if not the most recognizable brand of MP3 players/services other than the iPod, but it'll be on all Windows Phone 7 devices when they launch. That's huge. The Zune HD isn't doing iPod numbers, but what is? It's an uphill battle against the iPhone and iPod.
Interest in Windows Mobile is dwindling, but on the other hand the Touch Pro 2 has been selling like hotcakes. They're selling out, and i've seen more of that phone that any other particular model aside from the iPhone. People are buying it in droves, and from those i've talked to, many don't even know it's running Windows Mobile. The keyboard and large screen are selling points, and it's become one of those must-have phones. And i need only mention TouchFlo 3D. With enhancements like that and Sense, the OS almost become irrelavent to the user.
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I like how HTC painted MS as the villian when HTC/Qualcomm have been worst offenders at cheaping out. MS specifically designed WINCE as a basic OS kernel with GUI customization up to the ODM. Their mistakes were not keeping up with hardware advances and believing ODMs were up to snuff on graphical customization. In fact, it’s taken until now (years) for HTC to get up to speed. Forget any other ODM.
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mighty Reply:
October 29th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Your talikng windows CE, however windows mobile is microsoft's solution for phones and it's not something intended for manufacturer enhancements as a default plan
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my MDA was a tough phone, it fell 1 story down and fell on hard concrete and was still functioning well (the screen wasn't even damaged in any way….but there was a big gash on the right side)….yup it was still chugging along with it's 195mhz processor. WinMo scales down and up well depending on the hardware. the ODM's really wasn't doing much for the us, now they're stepping up their game though
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