Skip to main content

Tech

Google To Buy Part Of Taiwan Smartphone Maker HTC For $1.1bn

 

Taiwan’s struggling smartphone maker HTC said on Thursday it would sell part of its smartphone business to Google for $1.1 billion as the US giant looks to take greater control of its hardware business.

Google will take on half of HTC’s research staff — about 2,000 people — many of whom have already been working on the Silicon Valley firm’s Pixel handset, as well as intellectual property (IP) licensing.
HTC said in a statement the deal is expected to be completed early next year, pending regulatory approval.
“For Google, this agreement further reinforces its commitment to smartphones and overall investment in its emerging hardware business,” HTC spokesman Peter Shen told a press conference in Taipei.
“In addition to the talented and experienced team of professionals, Google will continue to have access to HTC’s IP to support the Pixel smartphone family. This agreement also represents a significant investment by Google in Taiwan as a key innovation and technology hub.”
He declined to give further details but stressed that HTC would continue to develop and sell smartphones under its own brand. Shares in HTC were suspended before the announcement but had fallen more than 12 percent since the start of January.
The Taiwanese firm is currently working on its new flagship phone and will also continue to invest in areas such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence and internet of things, Shen added.
“The agreement is a testament to the decade-long strategic relationship between HTC and Google around the development of premium smartphones,” Google said in a joint statement with HTC.
The agreement will give Google more control of its mobile handset hardware as it seeks to bolster its presence in a market dominated by Apple and Samsung.
The tie-up will give Google a greater ability to integrate smartphone hardware and its Android operating software in the same manner as Apple, a feature that is seen as helping the iPhone.
“It’s still early days for Google’s hardware business. We’re focused on building our core capabilities,” Rick Osterloh, senior vice president of hardware, said in a blog post, according to Bloomberg News.
“A team of HTC talent will join Google as part of the hardware organization. These future fellow Googlers are amazing folks we’ve already been working with closely on the Pixel smartphone line, and we’re excited to see what we can do together as one team.”
It would not be the first foray into hardware for Google, which in 2012 acquired handset maker Motorola for $12.5 billion, only to sell it two years later for less than $3 billion.
HTC, once a star of the intensely competitive smartphone sector, has been struggling in the face of stiff competition from Apple and Samsung as well as strong Chinese brands like Huawei.
The firm’s revenue fell to a 13-year low of Tw$3 billion ($100 million) in August and it suffered a ninth consecutive quarterly loss of Tw$1.95 billion in April-June
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

News

The Bayelsa government on Saturday loaned its help to the progressing military preparing operation and its group relations segment by the Nigerian Army in the Niger Delta. Gov. Seriake Dickson encouraged the general population of the state to disapprove the gossip that the activity, dedicated 'Operation Crocodile Smile II', which incorporates free therapeutic care, would imperil the wellbeing and security of the general population. In an announcement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Francis Agbo in Yenagoa , Dickson decided while accepting a letter of tribute from the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai. Dickson, who depicted the gossip as unwarranted, encouraged Nigerians not to freeze, rather collaborate with the military in releasing its medicinal effort and group bolster activities. Emphasizing his organization's dedication toward maintaining the predominant peace, security and solidness in the state, Dickson guaranteed the Nigerian Army and other security of...
Post a Comment
Read more

Steps and Instructions to Check, Accept JAMB Admission Status on Caps Portal for 2017/2018 UTME Candidates - Education

Step by step instructions to Check, Accept JAMB Admission Status on Caps Portal for 2017/2018 UTME Candidates. Check Jamb affirmation status on Jamb Caps entrance here. Acknowledge or Reject affirmation on the new JAMB Caps entry (Link – caps.jamb.gov.ng) propelled by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.The new online affirmation status checking methodology empowers all UTME and Direct Entry possibility to affirm their confirmation status in advance on the new Jamb affirmation status checker site. Typically, Tertiary organizations across the nation submits to JAMB their complete confirmation list for check. Pillar confirms and transfers the rundown of affirmed/fruitful possibility to the JAMB site before restoring the endorsed rundown to schools who will thus transfer to their separate sites or glue same inside the school grounds. Just those JAMB affirmed competitors will have the capacity to get Jamb Admission Letter.   The most effective method to...
Post a Comment
Read more

Court Expels Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke Application To Return To Nigeria - News

A Federal High Court Sitting in Lagos has rejected an application by a previous Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke encouraging it to force the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, to take her back to Nigeria. Diezani had brought the application under the steady gaze of the court making a request to be taken back to Nigeria to shield a criminal allegation verging on asserted washing of N450 million. Equity Rilwan Aikawa in a decision on the issue concurred with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that the application is confounded and sums to "an abuse of the court procedure". The court likewise held that having not been recorded as a respondent in the charge, there is no offense yet being made against the Former Minister and she is "only falsely sounding the alarm where there is none". As per Justice Aikawa, Mrs Alison-Madueke did not likewise preclude the cases from securing the EFCC that she is as of n...
Post a Comment
Read more