HTC: No low-cost smartphones, we don’t want to make “low-quality products”

With reports that Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC was seeking to introduce sub-$100 smartphones, the company has moved quick to rubbish rumours, delivering a clear message that it would not launch low-priced smartphones because it doesn’t “want to make low-quality products”.

Expecting lower revenue and shipments in the fourth quarter than in its third, HTC’s Chief Financial Officer Winston Yung told investors on a conference call that the company sees huge growth from featurephone owners looking to upgrade to smartphones.

With higher powered devices capable of running its value-added services and user interfaces, Yung said that HTC would “seize the opportunity in the process while insisting on product premium, and we will not compromise user experience with our HTC Sense software.”

The response comes after Taiwanese newspaper reports cited HTC Chairwoman Cher Wang as saying that the company would introduce low-cost smartphones to expand its market share. Yung said that instead, HTC would price its mass-consumer devices between $200 and $250, looking to LTE to help drive sales in its first quarter.

HTC has expanded its Chinese retail presence in the past two quarters – opening 1,000 new stores in the country. To boost production capacity, the company will also complete the construction of its new manufacturing plant by early next year, increasing its device output to more than 40 million smartphones a year.