HTC Sees Windows Mobile Smartphone Market Share Slump

Taiwan's High Tech Computer (HTC) is reported to have lost its top spot as the world's leading vendor of Windows Mobile based smartphones (excluding touch-screen models). According to internal data from Microsoft seen by DigiTimes, the company has dropped to third place, behind Motorola and Samsung. Motorola is leading the contest with a small margin, the data showed.

Previous data indicated that HTC topped the segment with a market share of over 50% in Microsoft's fiscal 2007 (from July 2006-June 2007).

It is possibly significant that the drop in market share occurred at around the same time that HTC started to sell smartphones under its own brand identity. The company had always previously sold phones under client brand names, typically those of the network operators who ordered its handsets.

The market data did however show that HTC has maintained its number one position in the Windows Mobile based PDA market with nearly half the entire market, followed by Palm and then Samsung.

On the web: DigiTimes

Posted to the site on 29th January 2008