HTC chief: We're the largest Android developer, after Google
HTC is the "top supplier" of Android phones worldwide, the company says at Qualcomm's Uplinq confab, but it remains committed to Windows Phone 7.
HTC Chief Executive Peter Chou took the stage at Qualcomm's Uplinq conference in Sad Diego today to talk about Android and Windows Phone 7, but not before tooting HTC's own horn.
The Taiwanese phone-maker shipped 25 million smartphones in 2010, Chou said, and continues its growth in the opening quarter of 2011 with 9.7 million smartphones. On the strength of these numbers, HTC claims its spot as one of the top five smartphone brands worldwide, ranking No. 2 or 3 in some markets.
What's more, according to a Canalys report HTC is the top global supplier of Android phones. Chou went on to claim that his company is the largest Android developer behind Google, which creates and releases source code for the Android operating system.
Despite HTC's clear success as an Android supplier, Chou confirmed HTC's commitment to also produce Windows phones, reminding conference attendees that the company has a long history of handling hardware for several Windows Mobile operating systems. As for Windows Phone 7, HTC has already shipped six smartphones running on Microsoft's newest OS.
Departing from stats and proclamations, the company also unveiled a new software developer kit, or SDK, that will let developers create software for phones that emulates the look and feel of the HTC Sense interface. Called HTC OpenSense, the program will also give software authors access to 3D on HTC devices, as well as to the HTC Flyer's scribing-pen accessory. The SDK and accompanying Web site htcdev.com will launch in the coming weeks.