HTC CEO Peter Chou has given a few hints about his company's plans for future devices. A dual-booting Android and Windows tablet sounds like a possibility.
A recent report claimed that Microsoft was in talks with HTC about getting the company to release smartphones that would allow consumers to choose between which operating system they wanted their phone to boot into, Android or Windows Phone. In exchange, Microsoft would cut any licensing fees HTC currently pays the company on both its Android and Windows Phone handsets. HTC is trying to regain itself as a major player in the smartphone world again. It's a plan it's already working on.
The company is returning to its roots and is believed to be building smartphones for Amazon. HTC started out as a very innovative OEM, building popular and iconic devices for other tech companies before setting out to build devices under its own name. The company's CEO, Peter Chou recently spoke to the Financial Times about its future tablet and its plans in the wearable tech world of smartwatches.
Mr. Chou revealed that his company previously worked on a smartwatch with Microsoft, but those plans were eventually scrapped. In a dig at rival Samsung, the CEO describes current devices as "version one" and "gimmicks" that lack any kind of real style. He then turns his attention to tablets, which were expected to be a pair of 7-inch tablets - one running Android and the other Windows RT. Chou now refers to HTC's re-entry into the tablet market (after exiting in 2011) as a single device. He says that when HTC gets back into the tablet business it will be "something nice and disruptive."
The "nice and disruptive" could be a hint that HTC will allow consumers to choose between booting up into Android or Windows on a single device, which would be considered a "nice" move by the company for consumers. The "disruptive" piece would be that HTC, unlike its rivals, would be able to deliver a dual-OS tablet in a single device. If done right, it could indeed be very disruptive, but also great for HTC.
We'll have to wait and see how this all plays out, but HTC is certainly keeping things interesting.
