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HTC has set the pace in Android phones, grabbing a valuable window of almost a year when it has been the only major vendor with a commercial offering, and now set to be the first to take the Google system into China.

Just as Samsung prepares to launch an Android phone to take on HTC's Dream and Magic - with other vendors close behind - the Taiwanese firm has made another strong move to propel itself into the top rank of branded cellphone vendors on the back of Android. It will sell the first Android handset in China from June, according to CEO Peter Chou, offering a variant of the HTC Magic via China Mobile. This will cost about Yuan5,000 ($730), according to leaks, and will initially support only EDGE, not 3G, though HTC clearly has its sights set on Mobile's 3G roll-out, and will release a TD-SCDMA version at an unspecified date, probably before year end.

The Magic had heavy design input from Vodafone, which is launching it in several European countries as an exclusive. No surprise, then, that Vodafone's increasingly close ally, China Mobile, should also look to this handset. HTC has proved its credentials as a creator of strong phones that can be heavily tailored to the carriers' brands and apps - despite the supplier's goal of increasing its own brand strength too. That ambition can certainly take a back seat when the chance of getting an early foot in Chinese 3G is at stake, and the Chinese version of Magic will sell under Mobile's 'Dopod' brand and is likely to be called the 'oPhone' - the name Mobile chose last year for its own implementation of Android.

And as well as potential joint purchasing plans, China Mobile can take advantage of the work Vodafone has already done with HTC on the Magic experience. The Chinese cellco is determined to have full control of the software, apps store and user interface on its smartphones, and has been working on Android-based interfaces and experiences. It is also partnering with Vodafone, Verizon Wireless and Softbank in the Joint Innovation Lab, which is creating a unified widgets-based software platform for the four carriers' networks, and their billion-strong combined user base. However, much of the new phone's user interface was designed by Mobile, and it will come with embedded links to key web services.

Despite all this global cooperation, many still expected China Mobile to get its first Android handsets from a local supplier, over which it could have full control, but increasingly the Chinese consumers want international brands and sleek designs.

HTC has set a goal of doubling sales in China this year from 800,000 units last year, most of these Windows handsets or white label phones. Worldwide, HTC aims to increase shipments this year by more than 10% from last year's 12m units, and to see a 10% full year increase in revenue despite a 3% year-on-year decline in the difficult Q1. Its agreement with China Mobile is non-exclusive so it could offer Android Dream or Magic to China Telecom and China Unicom too. Apple has not yet succeeded in signing a carrier deal for Chinese iPhones.

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