By Paolo Del Nibletto
One of the reasons I came to Taiwan was I was interested in meeting HTC (High Tech Computer Corp.) CEO Peter Chou.
HTC makes a finger-touch smart phone that is similar to the Apple iPhone. The HTC is available in Canada while the iPhone isn’t, although Rogers Communications has announced it will finally bring the iPhone to Canada later on this year. In the mean time, many of those users that want a finger touch smart phone and don’t want to wait for Apple and Rogers to get their collective acts together have purchased an HTC unit.
One Italian reporter has told me that the same thing is happening in her country. I am glad to know that Canada isn’t the only country Apple ignores.
But alas, there was no HTC meeting today. We learned from the Taiwanese Trade Council that the scheduled meeting had to be canceled, and no reason was given.
Later on, I learned that possibly Sony Ericsson was interested in acquiring HTC. Now this is highly speculative and unconfirmed. However, it is understandable that if you’re planning on getting acquired by a larger company the last thing you want to do is face the International press.
Sony Ericsson is the joint venture between Sony and Ericsson forged back in 2001 to make mobile phones. This joint venture has been overshadowed in the past few years by RIM, Apple and even Nokia and Motorola. A takeover of HTC could give it a fighting chance against the market leaders.
We shall see if it comes to fruition.
