HTC looking for an Android presence in China

Seeing as HTC is based out of Taiwan, it's only practical for it to try and increase its presence in mainland China, where it currently enjoys figures of around 800,000 sales per year.

It's now teaming up with the country's largest mobile provide, China Mobile, to bring the Android platform to the world's largest wireless market, according to MocoNews.

A customised version of the HTC Magic - to be branded rather suspiciously as the OPhone - is to be positioned as a high-end device, costing an estimated 5000 yuen (a staggering £455, which is a huge outlay for the Chinese mobile user) to China Mobile's equally staggering 500 million customers.

The iPhone has yet to make an official entry into the Chinese territory, so if the Android system can beat Apple to the smartphone punch, even an expensive device like this could find a strng foothold in this valuable market.