HTC CEO: 600K G1s sold by end of the year

HTC CEO Peter Chou said the company hopes to ship up to 600,000 G1 devices by the end of the year. However, he did not give projections into 2009. The G1 is the first device to run on Google's Android platform.

In an interview with Mercury News, Chou said the partnership with Google has allowed HTC to make a "tremendous contribution" and presents a lot of growth opportunities.

"Of course, we are not de-prioritizing Windows Mobile by any means," he said. "However, with Android we can do more. We should be doing good numbers, but I can't disclose the details. It will be more than what we originally planned. I'm saying we will ship more than 600,000."

He also said that while he thinks Apple and the iPhone 3G have opened up the smartphone market to a wider audience, HTC has to differentiate itself. "HTC products are very pragmatic and productive. We have spent a tremendous effort to make our product better... It may not be as sexy as others," he said. "But it's very nice, very mature and a very good experience. It has a very good quality keyboard, which makes it thicker... It's very good for text messaging or email. Americans are very keyboard-oriented."

Chou said he did not have a problem with the phone being branded as the T-Mobile G1.

"The T-Mobile brand in the U.S. is very high," he said. "And T-Mobile is committed to promoting its brand. So it's OK."

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