Hasta La Gadget!

HTC’s Hail Mary play might not take the form of another new smartphone: The Taiwanese company is reportedly working with Chinese government officials to build a mobile OS that includes “deep integration” with China-specific services like Weibo, aimed specifically at the Chinese market. The project could see the new mobile OS launch before year’s end, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news.

The report said it wasn’t clear whether HTC’s China OS would be forked from or based upon Android in some way, and a source speaking to the paper said that in fact the company has changed plans throughout the year regarding whether it would be something completely new, or just a new user interface based atop Google’s mobile OS. Already HTC has some devices using the OS in active testing, and prototypes are in the hands of Chinese government officials.

Attempting to partner with a company to build a partially homegrown OS solution isn’t a new move for China. The Chinese government recently partnered with UK-based Canonical, the makers of Ubuntu, to build a China-specific version of its own OS that likewise favored integrations with China-made apps and services. In general, the Chinese government has been actively trying to lessen reliance on foreign-made software. A white paper from China’s tech ministry released in March criticized its country’s over-reliance on the Google-made Android OS.

A strategic alliance with the Chinese government could help HTC secure some good lasting power even as it faces challenges in terms of worldwide market share and sales of its Android-based smartphones. It’s unlikely that its own China-specific OS will pose any major threat to the dominance of Android and iOS, especially in the short-term, but if China’s government is serious about putting lasting investment in home-grown alternatives that favor Chinese software and services, building significant market share early might not be a necessary component of its survival.

In other words, making yourself integral to a long-term China government plan for technological independence is probably a wise move for HTC in uncertain times, which isn’t to say it wouldn’t be better served by also improving its fortunes elsewhere in the world, too.

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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This summer, Sprint’s lineup of Windows Phone 8 devices increased from zero to two. The first to show up in stores was the HTC 8XT ($100 on contract), a modified version of the 8X designed for Sprint customers upgrading from old Windows Phones. Though in many ways it’s a chip off the ol’ block, there are enough differences in the hardware (and to a lesser extent, the software) that it has a personality all its own. So what exactly makes this particular handset sit apart from last year’s flagship? And does it enhance or take away from the original 8X user experience? Keep reading to find out.%Gallery-slideshow73406%

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Microsoft, HTC, Sprint

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Data compiled by Strategy Analytics reveals that HTC is continuing to lose its ground in the LTE segment of the smartphone market. Its market share has considerably dropped over the last couple of years, the company now stands behind Samsung, Apple, Sony and LG in this particular segment of the smartphone market. Digitimes claims in a new report that industry sources believe chances are slim for HTC to regain the market share it has gradually lost over the years.

HTC once had a pretty strong position in this segment. In the first quarter of 2011, HTC was the top LTE smartphone vendor with 80 percent market share. As per the latest data compiled by Strategy Analytics, Samsung is now the top LTE smartphone vendor with 47 percent share. Apple trails in second with 23.5 percent of the market, followed by Sony with 6.5 percent and LG with 4 percent. Then comes HTC, whose smartphones now account for 3 percent of the entire LTE segment. Sources predict that competition in this segment is going to get tough over the coming months. They believe that vendors based in China, such as ZTE, Coolpad, Huawei etc are likely to flood the markets with cheap LTE smartphones using chipset solutions from Qualcomm as well as Marvell Technology and HiSilicon Technologies.

HTC Reportedly Lagging Behind In LTE Market original content from Ubergizmo.

Press renders? Pah. Now we’ve seen snaps of the forthcoming blue HTC One in some of its metallic glory. The shell, which was reportedly snapped by a worker who works for a factory contracted to make parts for HTC’s smartphones, seems to confirm that the company is cooking up an azure edition of its flagship handset. While we’re not sure if this will single-handedly restore HTC’s fortunes, at least there’s a built-in market for fans of Eiffel 65, ELO and the bad guys from Firefly.

Update: Yet another HTC One in blue has been spotted out in the wild and the folks over at Mobile01 have got the pictures. We’ve tucked one after the break for you to take a look at, too.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC

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Via: ePrice, TechKiddy

Source: Sina Weibo, Mobile 01