HTC not content with simply making phones
The Taiwanese handset maker has slowly been evolving beyond smartphones. Today's announcements confirms its ambitions.
For a company with a "quietly brilliant" tagline, HTC makes a lot of noise in the wireless industry. Indeed, the guys behind some of the most notable Android handsets including the Nexus One, Evo 4G, and upcoming G2 are busy stretching out into other spaces.
Today's announcement of the Desire HD and Desire Z signals to me that the handset maker has its sights set on a bigger future, beyond just making powerful Android phones. As any wise company would, HTC understands that it is becoming a recognizable and trusted brand and it's expanded to providing a complete experience.
The unveiling of an updated Sense user interface and brand-new HTCSense.com are two components that will go a long way in keeping customers happy and returning to HTC when it's time to buy a new phone. Ideally, a Sense user will get so enamored with the services offered that they won't want to have to learn a new system or take their data to another cloud service.
We saw the first step in HTC's "branching out" earlier this year when it announced the Smart device runs a Sense UI in a watered down, not-so-smart phone. HTC wants to make it so that all users of all platforms, including Android, Windows Mobile, or Qualcomm's BREW, will have a uniform experience that offers similar functionality and beauty.
Although they didn't talk much about it today, HTC will be offering a Media Link wireless DLNA streaming adapter later this year. Scheduled for the fourth quarter, the box looks to feature a mini HDMI port and a Micro-USB port. The purpose of the unit will be to allow handsets to stream media to TVs that lack integrated DLNA support. It's nothing revolutionary, but it's still a nice touch, and another opportunity to make an impression.
We've learned over the last two years that Android and HTC both benefit from having each other around. The hardware maker has been able to step out of the shadows and take ownership of some great phones, while Android thrives from HTC's expanding portfolio. After starting out slowly, Android has become synonymous with fantastic hardware and promising devices. Being that HTC is responsible for many of today's top handsets, I'm only happy to see them diversifying into other fields.