Report: HTC Android Phone Delayed Until 2009

August 8, 2008 11:18 a.m. EST

New York, NY (AHN) - High Tech Computer, the announced maker of a handset based on Google's open-source Android software toolkit, may not be available until the first quarter of 2009, an analyst says. The delay, if true, comes just a week after Tiawan-based HTC announced it was on schedule for later this year.

According to Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdry, the HTC is experiencing "structural problems" including features in the Android cell phone Internet giant Google is requiring, The analyst, citing unnamed "contacts," said HTC is asking for a guaranteed revenue cut because the hardware maker is unsure of enough demand for the handset.

Additionally, the Android may encounter trouble attracting enough developers for the Android platform not already working on similar phone toolkits from Microsoft, Apple, Nokia or Research in Motion, according to the analyst.

HTC Aug. 1 said it expects to start shipping Android phones in the fourth quarter of 2008.