Though the company is known for making the first ever Android smartphone, it seems HTC wants to branch out with its own smartphone operating system. The Wall Street Journal cites people familiar with the project who say HTC is working on its own smartphone operating system for the Chinese market.
WSJ's sources say HTC Chairwoman Cher Wang is overseeing the development of the OS, and HTC apparently hopes to introduce it before the end of the year. Though details about the operating system are thin, there will supposedly be tight integration with popular Chinese apps, including Weibo.
Though the news is surprising, it's not totally out of left field. The company said in April of 2010 that it was considering its own smartphone software. Speaking to Bloomberg at the time, HTC CFO Cheng Hui-ming said that there were many factors to consider when it came to own-brand smartphone software. If the WSJ is to be believed, they've considered all the factors and are going full-steam ahead with an OS.
With the Sense UI, HTC has already shown that it likes to put its own flavor on smartphones. Is a full-fledged HTC next?
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