HTC working on mobile operating system for China

HTC is now planning to develop its own operating system for the Chinese market, according to the Wall Street Journal. The software will reportedly come with Chinese social networking apps integrated, and the popular micro-blogging platform Weibo prominently featured on the list.

China's smartphone market has been booming for quite some time now. And this has triggered a considerable shift in the way many smartphone manufacturers are thinking. Apple is planning to roll out a budget iPhone soon, which can be positioned in the Chinese market. The major current players in the Chinese markets are Samsung, Huawei, Lenovo and Xiaomi, according to the report. The report indicates that the Taiwanese company has already sent out some prototype handsets to Chinese officials for examination. The Chinese government is reportedly keen on the development of a local China-specific mobile ecosystem, which should reduce the dependence on Western companies and their services.

China is known for the closed nature it brings to the Internet. Facebook is banned in the country, so is Twitter and the majority of Google’s services. Google has  strained relations with the country ever since it refused to censor search results in China, and the government has openlyasked Chinese phone users to move away from the Android OS.

HTC is reportedly planning to develop a Chinese-based OS (image credit: Nowhereelse.fr)

HTC has had a rocky couple of months. The company initially expanded into both Android and Windows Phone devices, but has since been struggling to keep up with the likes of Sony, Samsung and Nokia. And the company’s performance in the last few months has been just as dismal. The company has been plagued by a mass exodus of many of its top executives as well as a shocking 83 percent year-on-year drop in profits in the second quarter of this year. In addition, there have been reports that many are citing CEO Peter Chou’s style of management and lack of vision as main reasons for the company’s steady downfall.

HTC, however, is not the only company that is trying to break free of Android. Samsung is currently working on its own Linus-based OS called Tizen. Whether these companies will be able to move away from Android is a question that only time can answer.