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Kaylene Hong
Kaylene Hong was Asia Reporter for The Next Web between 2013 and 2014, based in Singapore. She is bilingual in English and Mandarin. Stay in Kaylene Hong was Asia Reporter for The Next Web between 2013 and 2014, based in Singapore. She is bilingual in English and Mandarin. Stay in touch via Twitter or Google+.
Struggling Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC is seeking ways to expand its business — as CEO Peter Chou and chairwoman Cher Wang hint in a Financial Times interview at plans for a tablet and a wearable device.
Chou says that HTC worked with Microsoft on a smartwatch several years ago — though which smartwatch this refers to isn’t clear at all. Microsoft previously made a smartwatch in 2004 that it eventually pulled the plug on in 2008.
Chou is evasive on when HTC might try to make a smartwatch again, though he tells the FT that the wearable technology market — though “a critical segment” for HTC — is still in its early stages and it may be premature for the company to make inroads into the market.
On the subject of a tablet, Wang promises it will be “nice and disruptive” when it makes its appearance.
Read: HTC’s CEO is increasing his focus on innovation, as he looks to turn the troubled company around
➤ HTC hints at life beyond smartphones [Financial Times]
Headline image via Mandy Cheng/AFP/Getty Images
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