Peter Chou, CEO HTC

Taiwanese handset vendor HTC has been positioned by CEO Chou to play exclusively in the smartphone space. Starting out with Windows Mobile-based products that were re-badged by operators, the firm has more recently staked its claim in the Android arena, bringing to market the first three handsets based on the Google-owned operating system. At the June launch of the latest of these products—the Hero—Chou outlined his desire to strengthen HTC as a consumer brand, saying the firm’s strategy is now to “differentiate ourselves and build a closer relationship with people.”

The smartphone sector is bucking the economic trend, and showing strong growth, a fact which has given Chou a good deal of confidence in HTC’s potential. “This is an amazing time for HTC to be forging a new frontier,” he said in June. “We have cultivated a culture of innovation, fostered an identity of humility and we’re driven by a strong tradition of consumer delight.”

In June the firm also unveiled its own user interface solution—three years in the making—which represents a further step towards the consumer.

Chou has built what he claims to be the largest team of Windows Mobile and Android software engineers outside of Microsoft and Google and is clearly focused on growing his firm’s share in the market for these two operating systems. He will not have the Android space to himself for much longer, though, and whether or not he chooses to restrict the firm to these two platforms remains one of the key strategic decisions he has to make.

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