HTC mum on reports it will make Google Nexus tablet

Taipei, Feb. 5 (CNA) HTC Corp. declined to comment Wednesday on a local media report that the struggling Taiwanese phone maker is set to return to the tablet computer market by partnering with Google Inc. to manufacture a new Nexus device.

HTC is said to have won orders for a high-end model of the Google Nexus tablet line that will begin shipping in the third quarter of 2014, the Commercial Times reported earlier in the day, without citing any sources.

HTC, which manufactured Google's first Nexus smartphone in 2010, said in an e-mailed reply to CNA that it does not comment on market rumors or speculation.

U.S.-based Google has partnered with Taiwan's Asustek Computer Inc. since June 2012 to launch the first and second generations of the 7-inch Nexus tablet series that is sold on the back of its affordable starting price of US$199 and its premium hardware specifications.

By contrast, the only two tablets made by HTC have never been hits among consumers due to their relatively higher costs. The HTC Flyer was unveiled in April 2011, priced at US$499, while the 4G LTE-enabled HTC Jetstream was launched in September of that same year, with a US$849 price tag.

HTC shares plunged 5.15 percent Wednesday to close at NT$129 (US$4.26) in Taipei.

(By Jeffrey Wu)ENDITEM/J