HTC reaps rewards of Android support

Taiwanese device manufacturer HTC demonstrated the potential of Android as a revenue generator for vendors, turning in second quarter earnings that were better than guidance on the back of strong sales of handsets like the Magic and the G1.

For the second quarter of 2010, total revenues at the vendor reached NT$60.5bn (€1.5bn), up 58.45 per cent year on year, while total net income climbed 33 per cent over the same period to NT$8.64bn.

Last month, HTC announced the acquisition of Parisian software developer Abaxia for €12.5m, further strengthening the firm’s ability to customise handset operating platforms to meet operator requirements. Founded in 2001, Abaxia specialises in custom mobile device software which promotes and monetizes operator and handset manufacturer services on smartphones and would nicely complement HTC’s homegrown user interface known as Sense.

In related news Korean vendor Samsung this week said that consolidated earnings for the second quarter of 2010 would be in the region of Won36-30tn (around €23bn) in terms of sales and between Won4.8-5.2tn (around €3.2bn) in operating profit. This compares to sales of Won32.51tn in the same quarter last year and operating profit of Won2.67tn.