HTC and it's push to UMPC

Now that Chou's vision of putting wireless into palm-sized devices has become commonplace, HTC has its sights set on the next big thing — filling in the market between phones and laptops.

The team is expected to push the boundaries for creating devices for new networks capable of high broadband speeds. Products could include devices that mimic miniature, long-battery-life laptops that can make phone calls.

The market for them doesn't exist today, but they are tentatively labeled ultramobile PCs and could be sold as early as next year, said Todd Achilles, vice president of sales and marketing with HTC Americas..

Despite its low profile, the company is becoming an industry powerhouse with an increasingly growing impact on the market. It has developed some of the most notable cutting-edge phones and handheld devices this year.

The company, which has its U.S. headquarters in Bellevue, specializes in making devices with powerful operating systems and differs from other manufacturers, which sell phones designed mostly for the mass market.

And because it uses Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system almost exclusively, it has the distinction of being the largest manufacturer of Windows devices in the world.

The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Low-profile HTC is a powerhouse