SEOUL, KOREA - Taiwan's smartphone maker HTC released a low-priced smartphone model available at 190,000 won. Apple is also set to release a budget smartphone within the third quarter of this year, triggering fierce competition in the low-priced smartphone market.
According to Taiwan's CNA, HTC released "Desire 200" smartphone and launched official sales in Taiwan from June 19. The model is selling at a price of $167 (about 189,000 won), the cheapest smartphone among those produced by HTC.
"Desire 200" features a 3.5-inch screen, Qualcomm's 1-GHz processor, and a 5-megapixel camera.
The Taiwanese smartphone industry expects the share of low-cost Android smartphones with prices of less than $200 to rise to 29 percent in 2016 from last year's 2 percent.
