The mobile OS is said to align closely with Chinese apps such as the Twitter-like microblogging platform Sina Weibo, and is scheduled to launch before the end of this year. Certain smartphones running the OS are reportedly being tested now, with some prototypes already sent to the Chinese government.

HTC Chairwoman Cher Wang is said to be in talks with Chinese government officials, which plays well into a wider government policy encouraging the development of a local software ecosystem, as China’s technology ministry seeks to reduce its dependence on Western companies — in particular Google, as the Android operating system has dominated China’s mobile market.

The WSJ report says it isn’t clear whether the mobile OS will be entirely proprietary or built on top of Android — as just like Acer, HTC is part of Google’s Open Handset Alliance, and that means it needs to abide by certain rules laid down by Google.

The ambitious reported move by HTC comes as it has been struggling financially. CEO Peter Chou said in the company’s recent second-quarter earnings call that HTC is expecting Q3 revenue to decline as much as 29.3 percent from the amount of revenue it posted in Q2.

The company has also noted that in China, competition at the mid-tier sector of the smartphone market intensified despite improved sales of its high-end models, which could be adding a sense of urgency for HTC to diversify its product range — and the development of a mobile OS is clearly an attempt to boost its overall strategy.

Mobile statistics are specifically impressive in the BRICs — Brazil, Russia, India, China. China is poised to overtake the United States as the world’s largest smartphone market, and new Chinese app data suggest it has already done so.

In a recent report, BI Intelligence interviews a half-dozen mobile industry leaders and entrepreneurs on opportunities in the BRICs, breaks down how mobile-focused companies can pursue those opportunities, analyzes key mobile statistics (smartphones, app downloads, app revenue) from the BRIC countries, isolates and analyzes the four lessons that are essential to any mobile project in these markets, and looks at a case study of a successful music streaming service focused on Indian and Bollywood music.

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Here’s an overview of the 4 essentials to mobile projects in BRIC countries:

• Don’t ignore the feature phone: Market-leading apps are still keeping one foot in the feature phone market, and for an important reason: That’s where the numbers are. Smartphone penetration among Chinese mobile subscribers won’t end the year higher than 20%, according to BI Intelligence estimates.
• Work with carriers: Emerging market carriers hold the keys to two important aspects of the mobile business — network effects and billing. Billing is a challenge in emerging markets. Credit card penetration is low. Only carriers have the reach, systems, and technologies to draw payments from prepaid and postpaid mobile consumers.
• Follow the rollout of low-cost smartphones and tablets: Since many devices in these markets are purchased for prepaid plans without the help of carrier subsidies, price cuts instantly make tablets and smartphones more accessible to consumers. Smartphone prices in India have fallen 30 to 35 percent in the last three years.
• Understand Android’s dominance and its limitations: Android is the leading mobile platform in all the BRICs. Android dominance presents a challenge for app developers and publishers since the Google Play store, the main Android app store, has not proved an easy route to monetization in emerging markets. In China, there is very limited support for Google Play. Worse, app store fragmentation on Android is an even more serious problem than it is elsewhere.

• Breaks down some mobile statistics (smartphones, app downloads, app revenue) from the BRIC countries.
• Isolates and analyzes the four lessons that are essential to any mobile project in these countries.
• Looks at a case study of a successful music streaming service focused on Indian and Bollywood music.

For full access to the report on Mobile In The BRICs sign up for a free trial subscription today.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/mobile-in-china-india-and-emerging-markets-2013-8#ixzz2bIYEm4iU