HTC to Open Japan Branch Office

Taiwan’s High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC) will soon set up a branch office in Japan, paving the way for the company to promote their newly announced “hTc Z” brand cell phones. The branch office that will be set up in Japan will be HTC’s newest overseas foothold. The company has already set up branches in Europe, the U.S., and Hong Kong. HTC is the world’s largest manufacturer of cell phones that run on Microsoft’s Windows operating system.

The hTc Z cell phone is derived from the design of personal digital assistant products developed by HTC. Similar in appearance to the CHT9000 cell phones distributed by Chunghwa Telecom Co. and those offered by Europe’s Vodafone, the hTc Z cellphone presents a distinctive software platform. A foreign institutional investor predicted that the new phones would be able to contribute 10 percent up to 15 percent to HTC’s annual sales next year. Continue>>

[Tipsters tell us that HTC will be holding a presser at the New Otani tomorrow afternoon — Eds]