PeterChou -- Engadget Mobile

PeterChou posts

HTC CEO says he could but won't make HD2 an Android phone, has to take care of Windows Mobile

by Paul Miller posted Oct 29th 2009 @ 11:41AM

In an interview given to Forbes, HTC CEO Peter Chou spoke pretty candidly about the widespread desire for an Android version of the HD2, and says the phone won't be finagled thusly. "Technically, we could make the HD2 an Android phone, but I have to take care of Windows Mobile," said Chou, after which we imagine popped in a stick of Juicy Fruit and didn't offer to share any with the rest of the class. Of course, this doesn't rule out a handset with similar specifications to the HD2, like the Dragon, matching DROID's push toward Android 2.0 and modern hardware, but it seems to imply that at least it won't be called "HD2," and probably won't look much like it either. Chou did admit that Windows Mobile innovation has been "a little slow" and that interest is declining, and says HTC is "working hard on these kinds of products to get excitement about Windows Mobile back." He didn't hold back on Google, however, saying that some of its actions can be "destructive" but that "we've worked with Microsoft for 13 years ... I also believe we can work with Google for a long time."

[Via SlashGear]

HTC HD2 to arrive Stateside in early 2010 -- huzzah!

by Nilay Patel posted Oct 6th 2009 @ 1:24PM

Snap, looks like that painful feeling in our gut was just from that late-night Mickey's sesh after all. HTC's Peter Chou told SlashGear today that the monstrous, amazing HTC HD2 will be coming to the United States of America sometime in Q1 of 2010. That's not too far off, but let's be honest -- it's gonna be a long wait.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

HTC has high hopes, expects double-digit growth in '09

by Sean Cooper posted Jan 19th 2009 @ 8:20PM

HTC had a comfortable year in 2008, thanks to a pretty solid lineup of sets, and, of course, the T-Mobile G1 launch in October. While competitors like Sony Ericsson struggle, Peter Chou, HTC's president predicts that while things will be a bit tough in the short term, he's still confident of double-digit growth this year. With whispers of some more HTC "Android-ness" at Mobile World Congress this year, we expect they're bound to be getting a lot of press, and a lot more interest from people looking for a Windows Mobile alternative. HTC's revenues were up 28.65 percent this year, and with hints of what's to come, if we were betting types, we'd side with Peter.

HTC buyout of Dopod in final stages: i-mate, O2, HP wail

by Thomas Ricker posted Sep 19th 2006 @ 8:35AM

Continuing their skyrocket beyond ODM-dom, HTC's buyout bid for Taiwanese Dopod has moved into the final stages. Having signed a memorandum of understanding, the only thing left in the estimated $150 million deal is approval from the Taiwanese government. Assuming HTC chairwoman and Dopod controlling shareholder Cher Wang, daughter of petrochemicals billionaire Y.C. Wang and wife of HTC boss-man Peter Chou, has enough influence to push this through (read: she does), then HTC is about to find themselves in direct competition with their own customers O2, i-mate and HP. HTC already confirmed their decision to self-brand phones in Europe, now the Dopod deal could result in HTC designs being sold exclusively under the Dopod branding outside of Europe. In fact, HTC has already cut ties with both O2 and i-mate in Australia, New Zealand, and India. So if Dopod's claim that HTC manufactures 80 percent of Windows Mobile phones is true, well, O2, i-mate, and HP best be looking for fresh design and manufacturing blood on the quick.

[Thanks, Ash]

HTC: Music - yay! Infrared - nay. Symbian - maybe.

by Ryan Block posted Sep 4th 2006 @ 7:45PM

In a not-so shocking development, handset trendsetter HTC is, according to president / CEO Peter Chou, considering making their devices more music friendly by increasing internal flash memory at the same time as cutting some fat, namely IR. (And really, how often do you use IR on a phone with USB and Bluetooth?) Most interesting, however, was Chou's statement that if an operator or reseller were to make it worth their while, HTC wouldn't have a problem getting in the Symbian device business: "We're not limited. We're not Microsoft, we can do anything." Unfortunately that hasn't yet come to pass, but it's not like an ODM like HTC shouldn't have a price when it comes to developing hardware for other platforms. We'd absolutely welcome some variety to the hardware running world's most prolific phone OS, and who knows, maybe sometime soon we'll see an HTC e61 killer.

[Via the::unwired]

HTC profiled in BusinessWeek

by Evan Blass posted Apr 16th 2006 @ 3:00PM

It's only rather recently that smartphone manufacturer High Tech Computer Corp. became more than just another obscure OEM making reference devices, and BusinessWeek has an inside look at the factors that propelled HTC from unknown to Microsoft's go-to-guy. HTC was founded in 1997 by a group of refugee engineers from Digital Equipment Corp's Taiwanese subsidiary, and they immediately began to focus their efforts on handheld devices -- more specifically those that run one of the flavors of portable Windows. This early dedication to Microsoft operating systems (HTC was responsible for designing the first iPaqs), along with CEO Peter Chou's renowned attention to detail (he sent the Star Trek back three times before he was satisfied with its features) and the creative rein given to employees (whose titles include "Wizard" of this or "Magician" of that) made the company one of Redmond's favorite hardware partners. And even if HTC isn't yet a household name, investors have most definitely taken notice of its performance: the company's consistent double-digit growth (last year's $356 million in profits were triple the previous year's) have caused its stock to skyrocket more than 1000% since 2003.

[Thanks, Dave Z.]