HTC plans to launch a complete lineup of new smartphones in the China market in cooperation with the top-3 local telecom carriers starting the second quarter of 2012, targeting the CNY1,500-2,000 (US$238-317) segment, according to Ren Weiguang, president of HTC China.

While most industry sources and market research firms have predicted demand for smartphones in China to top 100 million units in 2012, Ren estimated volumes are likely to reach 150-170 million units, with the top-3 carriers – China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom – to take up 50% of total projected shipments.

Currently, local handset makers dominate the sub-CNY1,000 smartphone segment in China, while international brand vendors have certain advantages in the over-CNY2,000 segment, Ren noted.

However, the top-3 carriers have begun shifting their focus from entry-level smartphones to mid-range models, and therefore the CNY1,500-2,000 segment will become a major battlefield in China soon, Ren commented.

HTC will launch a new smartphone with each of the top-3 carriers in the second quarter, all priced at CNY1,500-2,000, Ren revealed, adding that all three models will run on a 1GHz single-core CPU set on Android 4.0 and come with a 4-inch display and 5-megapixel camera.