Reports suggest that Taiwanese mobile phone maker HTC looks likely to launch a new touchscreen handset to rival the iPhone and the new Palm Pre.
HTC has already established itself as a major player in the touchscreen mobile phone market, thanks to the popular Touch HD and Touch Diamond, both of which operate on Windows Mobile. However, its pivotal role in creating the G1 handset - the first to run the new Google Android operating system - with T-Mobile has raised expectations of the company from industry insiders.
An exclusive report from lifestyle technology guide Smarthouse claims that executives from telephone service firm Telstra said that HTC's upcoming device was "better and more functional" than the Palm Pre, which was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week. According to the site, the Telstra executives said: "We have seen both and we believe that the new HTC phone will be a real competitor to the iPhone and the Pre which at this stage looks nice but is still not delivered to the market."
The Palm Pre received widespread plaudits at CES, in particular for its expedient user interface, sophisticated operating system (WebOS) and slick touschscreen design. It also sports a QWERTY keyboard and desktop-like browser. Some commentators are speculating that that the HTC handset could be the long expected G2 - the second phone to run on Google Android. However, other players have already laid claim to releasing Android-based mobile phones in the second quarter of the year.
Last month, for example, a spokesperson for Samsung claimed that the company would be accelerating the development of its Google phone for release in Q2 this year. HTC has refused to comment on the news, but its upcoming release is expected in Q2 2009.
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