HTC’s chief executive has dismissed rumours that his company will release an Android version of its HD2 smartphone, though he admits Windows Mobile still needs work.
The HD2 features a 4.3in touchscreen and blisteringly fast 1GHz Snapdragon processor. However, the phone remains powered by Windows Mobile 6.5, which was described as “simply not good enough” in our recent review.
HTC’s flirtation with Android on the Magic and Hero smartphones led to speculation the company may switch to the open-source operating system for the widely anticipated HD2, but chief executive Peter Chou denied this was the case.
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“Technically, we could make the HD2 an Android phone, but I have to take care of Windows Mobile,” Chou told Forbes. “Windows Mobile innovation has been a little slow and interest in Windows Mobile phones has been declining.
“We’re working hard on these kinds of products to get excitement about Windows Mobile back,” says Chou.
The HTC chief executive refused to elaborate on what sort of financial agreements tied the company to Microsoft, however he claimed the company’s loyalty to the OS stemmed from their long partnership – one he hoped to replicate with Google.
“We’ve worked with Microsoft for 13 years. I also believe we can work with Google for a long time,” he adds, before admitting that Google’s desire to “do things differently from the rest of the industry” was often “destructive.”
TomTom and Garmin would probably agree, following Google’s newly-announced entry into turn-by-turn satnav.
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