The market leader in Windows smartphones is once again showing its teeth and has taken the initiative to be the leader in Android smartphones as well. It had the foresight and the courage to launch the world’s first Android smartphone in 2008 with the HTC dream provided to T-Mobile which promptly rebranded it as the T-Mobile G1.
It has also demonstrated anew its OEM muscle when it gave search engine giant Google the HTC Passion handset for its first incursion into the mobile phone business with the Nexus One running what else, but its own open source operating system in its latest iteration, the Android 2.1 Éclair.
In between these two, the High Tech Computer Corp founded in 1997 has made its own Android-run smartphones together with its usual handsets running the Windows Mobile OS that had made it the world’s largest smartphone maker after Nokia.
Now, it plans to lead in the Android markets as well but without as yet abandoning the Windows platform as its rivals in the industry have. Acer and Samsung already made their plans clear that they would no longer make Windows handsets in 2010. Motorola has thrown its weight to concentrate on smartphones running Android. Palm, Inc. has likewise made its intentions clear in the same direction.
Platform Mix for 2010
But if the recent Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona in February and the CeBIT held in Hanover the following month were any indication, HTC is adopting a more balanced product mix with both platforms in its stable even trying out the BREW platform on the HTC Smart. It has unveiled the HTC Desire and the HTC Legend with a rumored upcoming HTC Incredible on the Android platform together with the HTC HD Mini, the HTC Touch Pro2 (Tilt2 for AT&T), the HTC Touch Diamond 2 and the rumored HTC Trophy running the Widows Mobile.
To many observers, HTC is not about to let go its partnership with Microsoft and is hopeful that the upcoming Windows Phone 7 can provide an upgrade path to its current and new line-up of Windows smartphones. But Microsoft had already made it clear that the new OS scheduled to be released towards Christmas of 2010 is a clean slate and may not readily be ported to older models running the Windows Mobile OS.
At any rate, HTC is still banking that the remaining 7.9% share of the Windows Mobile market will make room for its new Windows handsets and that the new Android models in its stable will address those planning to switch. Excellent marketing strategy anyway you look at it. A dual OS product strategy seems its best way out of the bind.
An Escape Chute
Computer market analysts at Gartner Research have been tracking Microsoft’s diminishing shares in the smartphone markets since it peaked at 24% in 2004 as the third largest OS after Symbian and BlackBerry.
Since then, the Windows Mobile has been losing ground year after year ending up at 14% in 2008. 2009 was its worst year, loosing half its remaining share to Android to settle at 7.9% and a 5th place worldwide after Android and the iPhone OS taking 3rd and 4th place, respectively. There’s no escaping the inevitability of its demise, especially now with the forthcoming WinPho7 on the horizon. Many smartphone makers have jumped ship and HTC has done the more cautious thing.
Tags: computer corp, google, handsets, high tech computer, incursion, mobile os, mobile phone business, mobile world, open source operating system, palm inc, t mobile, widows, windows phone, windows platform, world congress