"HTC Chief Executive Peter Chou says his company has what it takes to stand up to its challengers, especially the one from America. 'The iPhone definitely has the most hype and the most talk,' he says. While 'we are not as famous as Apple,' he adds, all the attention that the iPhone has generated 'is a hugely positive impact to HTC".

"And why is that? Chou says the popularity of the iPhone's touch screen will lead people to pay more attention to the same sort of innovation that HTC launched in its most high-end model, the HTC Touch.The new screen, which eliminates the need for a stylus, 'makes the whole navigation experience so much simpler, so much more intuitive,' he says."

Einhorn reports, "While the technology is similar, Chou believes that HTC ultimately will have an edge in its fight against the iPhone because of its experience working with telecom operators over the past 10 years. Apple may call its device a phone but Chou doesn't think that, as a handset, it's up to HTC standards. 'The iPhone design is very beautiful,' he concedes. 'However, the phone design is quite weak; it's very, very basic.' HTC, in contrast, understands the different needs of cellular operators and so can tweak its handsets as necessary.