HTC is tossing out its plans for a full-sized Windows RT tablet, citing weak demand for devices running the RT operating system and the overall cost of producing a large tablet.
Bloomberg cited people familiar with the matter who indicated that HTC still plans to release a 7-inch Windows 8 tablet optimized for ARM chipsets later this year.
With its focus on smartphones, HTC has drawn overwhelmingly positive reviews for its newest Android flagship, the One. Google just announced it will be selling a stock-Android version of the handset through its Google Play store.
Despite the response to the HTC One, the Taiwanese company’s sales continue to freefall and its smartphone market share in the U.S. keeps sliding down. In Comscore’s latest numbers, ending in March 2013, HTC controlled 9 percent of America’s smartphone market.
But with IDC recently raising its global tablet shipment predictions for 2013 and predicting the touchscreen computers will surpass laptop shipments this year, the time could be right for HTC to move into tablet manufacturing.
