Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC reported a 30 percent drop in first quarter earnings on Monday, but today CEO Peter Chou said he sees signs of a global smartphone recovery, according to the WSJ. Chou said in an interview on Tuesday: “The market is picking up again, and we think it should perform well.” HTC blamed the lower than expected revenues on a delay in product shipments, which were pushed forward to April. Despite this, Chou said HTC still expects to achieve double-digit revenue growth for the year. It has new smartphone models coming out this quarter, and plans to ship 15 new models of this year.
Separately, a report claimed that HTC is looking at developing its first feature phones, which typically have fewer capabilities but cost less so they can target a bigger chunk of the market. In this case, the phone would be based on Qualcomm’s BREW Mobile Platform and have access to the Internet and come with a range of Flash applications. The phone may be ready as soon as the fourth quarter, reports the Chinese-language Commercial Times report (via digitimes).
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