According to a person with knowledge of the matter, HTC Corp. is planning to demonstrate the first of three wearable devices next week in Barcelona. The move is considered to be part of the companys strategy to battle decreasing sales.
The person familiar with the plans, who asked not to be named because HTC has not revealed any details, said that the carriers at the Mobile World Congress trade show will have the opportunity to preview a smartwatch prototype of HTC, which is based on the Toq device of Qualcomm Inc. He also reported that HTC is in process of developing a watch using the Now service of Google Inc., as well as an electronic bracelet that plays music.
The first smartwatch produced by HTC will use the Mirasol display technology of Qualcomm, and will also feature a music player, as well as Bluetooth connectivity. The same person also revealed that the companys second watch, which will be based on Google Inc.s Now service, will probably have an AMOLED screen – an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode.
The electronic bracelet of the company is said to include a thin touch-screen display, as well as some activity-tracking features and a music player. The person familiar with HTCs plans commented that the company is yet to make a final decision whether any of these devices will go into production.
The company, however, refused to make any comments on the rumours in a response sent by e-mail.
Currently, Cher Wang, who is the Chairman of HTC Corp. is betting on new products, as well as more marketing and improved customer service in order to make up for the two straight annual revenue drops and the fierce Chinese competition of companies such as Xiaomi Corp.
HTC, which in the past occupied the second position of smartphone manufacturers by sales in the U.S., is now going to face the rivalry of Samsung Electronics Co. and Sony Corp. on the market for wearable devices, which has the potential to expand as much as three times to 30 billion dollars by 2018.
HTC Corp.s Chairman revealed in an interview this month that the company is preparing to release its first wearable device by Christmas this year. Mrs. Wang also said that HTC has invested its efforts into finding solutions to some problems concerning the battery and the display.
HTC Corp.s shares rose by 1.91% in Taipei to close the session at TWD 133.50, the highest in four weeks, marking a market capitalization of 112.45 billion TWD.
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