HTC CEO Peter Chou on Windows Phone 7

As Windows Phone 7 launch date rumours are flying high,people are pretty much excited about the launch. I think Microsoft has done its job well. Its almost the same situation which happened last year for Windows 7 launch,where people waited for software rather than any specific hardware. Now,a year later I can find people commenting on news and blog sites that they need a Windows Phone 7 device rather than HTC or LG or Samsung device. That’s the power of software.It creates Magic. The Seattle times had an interview with HTC CEO Peter Chou not just about WP7 alone but also on the future of smartphones.Here is the interview edited excerpts.

Question: What do you think about Windows Phone 7? Do people in the industry think Microsoft has a chance to come back in the mobile business?

Answer: I do. This is a significant milestone for Microsoft in the mobile space. They put tremendous focus, effort on this design. I’m very excited about this brand-new experience. I think it will get positive acceptance from the industry and the market.

Q: You built a nice HTC software layer to differentiate your phones. That looks tougher with Windows Phone since the interface is pretty specific. What kind of "special sauce" can HTC bring to its WP7 devices?

A: Innovation doesn’t need to always be the same. We are able to innovate on top of that, but the first time, just like our first Android phone, we ended up not putting in too much the first time. Over time, we believe we can innovate on top of that.

Q: Are there international markets where Windows Phone will be especially strong?

A: In China the Windows phones are very popular, the acceptance is very high. They have a lot of legacy Windows users.

Peter said he usually carries all their smartphones they are currently developing to test them.He had 4 devices in his pocket during the interview.He also commented on Apple’s antenna gate issue of holding iPhone in wrong way,this is what he said,

No. I can’t blame consumers, how they use them.