Two Or Three Android Handsets Coming From HTC In 2008

The Taiwanese mobile handset maker has been on fire lately. Not only has it released some innovative new Windows Mobile-based smartphones in recent months, it also is on track to deliver two or three Android-powered handsets next year.According to Digitimes, which cites the Commercial Times (a Chinese paper), High Tech Computer Corp. has said it will design and engineer two or three handsets for Google's Android mobile platform next year. The information comes from statements at an analyst meeting made by HTC's CEO, Peter Chou. His remarks have led people to believe that HTC will be the first to market with an Android phone. In fact, the comments Chou made during last week's Android announcement implied the same. If this is the case, it isn't too much of a stretch to believe that T-Mobile would be the carrier offering up such a device, as HTC and T-Mobile are pretty tight these days.

Not only did Chou spill the beans about Android phones, he also said HTC is working on a new 3G solution that is not based on Qualcomm's chipsets. Whether it is changing suppliers to STMicro, Texas Instruments, Broadcom, Ericsson, or developing a radio solution of its own is unknown.

HTC also is working on a next-generation touch-based user interface that it says will be better than its own TouchFlo UI, which appears on several of HTC's smartphones.

Lastly, HTC is putting together a dual-mode handset, but not the kind you might think. Rather than marry Wi-Fi and cellular radios, which it has done with more than a few handsets, it is pairing WiMax and TD-WCDMA, which is the home-grown Chinese flavor of WCDMA. This phone would strictly be for Chinese markets.