HTC may buy an operating system

PanARMENIAN.Net - Cher Wang, chairwoman of Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp., said the company is considering buying an operating system (OS), but is in no rush, Focustaiwan reported.

After the global PC heavyweight Hewlett-Packard announced on Aug. 18 a plan to spin off its PC business and stop sales of its TouchPad tablet that uses the WebOS operating system, a slew of manufacturers like HTC and Samsung reportedly have been trying to acquire the WebOS platform to expand their mobile market reach.

"We have given it thought and we have discussed it internally, but we will not do it on impulse," Wang said in an interview with the Economic Observer of China.

Wang said HTC's advantages lie in its distinctiveness, which means it can make unique products on different operating systems.

Asked about Google Inc.'s acquisition of Motorola Mobility Inc. (MMI), Wang said it was the "correct" decision by Google because MMI has many significant patents.

Google can take time to think about whether its Android phones will carry the MMI brand and how to manage other MMI products, Wang said.