Taiwan handset maker HTC Corp. (2498.TW) has launched five smartphone models using Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) revamped version of its mobile operating system, demonstrating a strong endorsement of Microsoft's struggling mobile business.

Peter Chou, HTC's chief executive, said earlier the company plans to introduce the HTC 7 Surround, HTC 7 Mozart, HTC 7 Pro, HTC 7 Trophy and HTC HD7 models with different carriers in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

AT&T Inc. (T) will carry HTC 7 Surround; T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG (DTEGY), will sell HTC HD7; and Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) will sell HTC 7 Pro. The models will work on code division multiple access technology.

HTC 7 Mozart and HTC 7 Trophy will be carried mainly by European and Asian operators, the company said. The two models will work on wideband CDMA technology.

Mozart will be carried by Orange Mobile, a unit of France Telecom (FTE), in France, the U.K., Switzerland and Spain, by Deutsche Telekom AG in Germany, and by CSL Ltd. (CSL.AU), Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Ltd. (HTHKY) and China Mobile Hong Kong Co. in Hong Kong. Vodaphone Group PLC (VOD) will carry Trophy in Germany, France, Spain, the U.K., Austria and Switzerland.

HTC has adopted Microsoft's popular gaming software, Xbox Live, on the five models.

HTC declined to provide more details of its marketing strategy or give a forecast for the shipments of the new devices. But UBS analyst Arthur Hsieh said HTC expects to ship 2 million units of the Windows-based models by the end of this year.

HTC is the world's largest producer of mobile phones that use Microsoft's Windows operating system by shipments, but it has gained popularity in the U.S. and Europe for its early adoption of Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android operating system.

The company recently unveiled two new smartphones, HTC Desire HD and HTC Desire Z, that use the Android operating system, and Chou said HTC expects to ship more than 1 million of each model by the end of this year.

He said HTC shipped more than 16 million handsets globally in the nine months ended Sept. 30.

In the past year, smartphones using Microsoft's operating system have met strong competition from Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone and a slew of other devices using the Android mobile software. According to Gartner, Microsoft's share of the smartphone operating system market has nearly halved, falling to 5% in the second quarter from 9.3% a year earlier.

-By Ting-I Tsai, The Wall Street Journal, 8862-2502-2557; ting-i.tsai@wsj.com
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