HTC announced Tuesday that it’s launching its own name brand of smartphones in China, with four phones set to take the stage this year.
Although the mobile phone maker already holds a presence in the Chinese market, its phones there have previously been sold under the Dopod brand. These will be the first phones in China to carry the HTC name.
“We are proud to introduce the HTC brand in China and look forward to bringing a fresh customer-centric smartphone experience to consumers in China,” Cher Wang, chairman of HTC, said in a statement.
The phones will all sport the company’s HTC Sense user interface and will operate using TD-SCDMA technology, China’s own version of 3G. The lineup includes the already-known Android-based HTC Desire and HTC Wildfire, both of which will be carried by China Unicom.
Two new phones–the HTC Tianxi and the HTC Tianyi–will also be making the trip. Though details on the new phones are sparse, The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) says they’re touch-screen models designed exclusively for China Mobile. The Tianxi will run Microsoft’s Windows Mobile, while the Tianyi will be powered by Android.
The two new models will be available by the end of August or early September, according to HTC, and will be carried by China Mobile, the country’s largest mobile carrier. GOME Electrical Appliances Holding, China’s biggest electronics distributor, will sell the phones for HTC.