Its been a busy week for HTC.
 Click to enlarge |
First they purchased Saffron Digital and its mobile platform and now they have placed a $40 million stake in the games market.
The investment in Palo Alto based OnLive will “strengthen its gaming capabilities and help HTC tap into increasing demand for games on Smartphones,” according to Maggie Chen of HTC.
HTC is in good company – other OnLive investors include Warner Brothers, AutoDesk, British Telecom and Belgian Telco, Belgacom.
OnLive games which are cloud-based can be accessed via set-top box, Windows or Mac devices and no high-end graphics cards is necessary.
The South Koreans will be hoping this latest investment will pay dividends as it strives to make further gains in the Smartphone Android and now tablet market.
Earlier today we reported how HTC recorded a phenomenal rise in Smartphone sales last – over 256 percent growth to be precise, placing it as number five spot in the Smartphone top makers chart globally.
The purchase of Saffron for a $48 million price tag, a company which “has developed an incredible expertise in mobile multimedia delivery,”), it said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Monday.
The direction the South Korean makers are looking to go is clear: content – all the way.
The phone maker are seeking to become content kings and
enter spheres of expertise previously charted by entertainment giants like Paramount
Digital Entertainment, who previously collaborated with London based
Saffron Digital.
“This ability to deliver optimized content in the future will be a key asset as content becomes more and more complex and localized, “said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation.
“We are excited to be working with Saffron to increase our global service delivery capabilities and expertise.”
Saffron has already worked with other Smartphone big names including Samsung, LG, Sony and Nokia and also has partnerships with Microsoft and Widevine on video content.
