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Seeweekly news
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2005-11-25 |
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HTC's Smart Move Into Europe |
HTC, the global leader in Microsoft(R) Windows mobile based devices, today announced its plans to drive the growth of smart phone technology across Europe. Having pioneered this market through partnerships with Microsoft and key mobile operators since 2002, HTC is strengthening its European handle with a multi-million pound investment to build a senior sales and marketing team based in Slough, Berkshire, UK.
The new operation allows HTC to offer existing key partners, including Orange, T-Mobile, O2, Vodafone and Telefonica, as well as new affiliates, a quicker route to market and a better understanding of local nuances. In addition, the company's business model allows it to work closely with its customers; providing differentiation through form factor, materials, finish, colours, software and applications. As innovators of smart phone technology HTC is also able to help its partners to take advantage of new growth streams such as digital music, photography and portable business applications.
Peter Chou, President of HTC says, "Strengthening our presence in Europe is a key milestone for HTC; it clearly demonstrates our strong commitment to delivering the very best-of-class products to our partners."
The new European leadership team is headed up by Florian Seiche, VP of HTC Europe. His experience in previous roles as Director of Devices for the Orange Group and VP and General Manager for Siemens Communications, North America, allows Seiche to bring customer insight and market knowledge to the mix. Under his direction HTC will offer full partner support; from product design through to sales training, channel support and customer care.
"Smart phones have become the highest growth sector in the handset market place (IDC). The flexibility of the Windows Mobile platform combined with the opportunities of 3G means that they are no longer the preserve of mobile enterprises but have the potential to hit the broader consumer market. Our European operation and commitment to driving product innovation, as well as dedicated partner support, means we're able to fulfil the challenging needs of a changing and exciting market," says Seiche.
HTC is supporting its partners with a full portfolio of smart devices based on the Window Mobile 5.0 platform. This includes the Qtek 8310, a GPRS/EDGE capable smart phone with QVGA screen, mega-pixel camera and optional WiFi and the Qtek 9100, a GPRS/EDGE capable compact messaging PDA with full slide-out keypad and mega-pixel camera. The flagship device, the Qtek 9000, is an executive-style 3G capable PDA with a high resolution twist and fold VGA screen, megapixel camera and WIFI built in.
As well as offering partner support, HTC has also set up key distribution partnerships with Dangaard and Brightpoint to retail its own products through the Qtek brand.
"Our goal for the European operation is to bring HTC closer to its partners, so together we are able to define and deliver industry leading smart phone innovations and offer customer differentiation through new service launches," says Seiche.
"We've already established our market leadership through a proven track record in the wireless industry and a product portfolio that enables mobile multimedia, wireless anywhere and internet-on-the-go. We plan to continue the growth momentum of HTC throughout Europe by partnering with regional and national operators launching smart phones and PDAs, and by embracing exciting retail and consumer opportunities," concludes Seiche. |
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