Rumours of HTC creating their own operating system has been floating around for a couple years. Back in September of 2011, HTC Co-founder and chairman Cher Wang, stated “We can use any OS we want. We are able to make things different from our rivals on the second or third layer of a platform. Our strength lies in understanding an OS, but it does not mean that we have to produce an OS.”
HTC currently relies heavily on the Android OS, plus puts its unique spin with its Sense UI, but this dependance an US-based Google is rumoured to slow. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, HTC, with the assistance from the Chinese government, will forge ahead and produce their own mobile operating system that’s ‘specifically for Chinese consumers.’ Apparently this initiative is part of a bigger play by the government “to encourage the development of a unique local software ecosystem to reduce reliance on Western companies.”
The WSJ report says it isn’t clear whether the mobile OS will be entirely proprietary or built on top of Android — as just like Acer, HTC is part of Google’s Open Handset Alliance, and that means it needs to abide by certain rules laid down by Google.
Acer last year built a phone for China’s Alibaba but it was squelched at the last minute due Google’s intervention. Google even suggested that Acer wouldn’t be allowed to build future Android phones if it moved forward with the Alibaba phone launch. Given that HTC’s smartphone focus is built on Android — it only makes a few Windows Phonedevices — the company isn’t in a position to anger Google.
The ambitious reported move by HTC comes as it has been struggling financially. CEO Peter Chou said in the company’s recent second-quarter earnings call that HTC is expecting Q3 revenue to decline as much as 29.3 percent from the amount of revenue it posted in Q2.
Tejas Thakker
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