HTC plans three Android handsets this year

Peter Chou, chief executive and cofounder of HTC, told delegates at the Merrill Lynch Technology Conference in Taipei that his company was planning to release at least three new handsets using Android, with one of them described as a second generation smartphone.

HTC has already the Magic smartphone at Mobile World Congress this year, and the new handsets are widely expected to become available towards the end of this year, in time for the lucrative last quarter.

Chou also said that the company would produce a total of ten new smartphones before the year’s end.

Overall HTC has had a good year he said, with revenues expected to be up 10-20 per cent on the year. Some analysts have questioned this as optimistic, since the company saw sales drop 10 per cent in the first two months of the year.

The company will also be targeting the Chinese market, with new headsets aimed at boosting the company’s market share in the region.

"The Chinese market didn't do as well as expected previously because their 3G network wasn't up yet," Chou told Reuters.

"When the network is up, sales should climb from then."