HTC seeks to invest in local Jordanian talent

AMMAN — Taiwanese smartphone and tablet manufacturer HTC said it is interested harnessing the talents of Jordanians in the field of digital games and Arabic content to provide mobile owners with a wide variety of apps and localised content.

“The Jordanian market is home to a large pool of talent when it comes to Arabic content industry, digital gaming and applications, and we are always interested in looking into potential cooperation,” Daniel Khayat, product manager at HTC for the Middle East and Africa, told The Jordan Times on Monday. 

“We believe that there is a huge potential for partnerships in Jordan, and the Jordanian market is one of the fastest growing in terms of adoption of technologies,” Khayat added during a press conference to announce the launch of HTC ONE M9, an Android-based phone that features a 20.7 megapixels camera.

“Jordan plays a leading role in Arabic content creation and is a main supplier to the rest of the region. Jordan is a very important market for us and we are interested in expanding in the market,” he said.

Jordanian users are “tech savvy” and HTC predicts that smartphone adoption in the Kingdom will rise sharply during the upcoming period, the executive added. 

HTC ONE M9, which supports fourth generation services, will be launched in Jordan by the end of March, he noted.

According to the Arab Advisors Group, smartphone penetration in Jordan stands currently at more than 60 per cent and the figure is expected to rise as prices of such devices are dropping.

Android is currently the leading operating system for smartphones in Jordan, Jawad Abbassi, founder and general manager of the Arab Advisors Group, told The Jordan Times recently.

Of the total smartphones in Jordan, about 77 per cent have Android operating systems, according to Abbassi.

Mobile penetration in Jordan reached 147 per cent at the end of September last year with some 11 million mobile subscriptions, according to official figures.