HTC Corp. teamed up with Chinese social-media company Renren Inc. to launch a handset Tuesday in Beijing with software integrated with the social-networking site, as the Taiwan-based handset maker pushes ahead with high-priced phones in China and bucks a global trend toward low-end phones in emerging markets.

The new phone, known as the Daren and expected to retail for 2,099 yuan ($330), is similar to a phone HTC released earlier this year in cooperation with Sina Corp.'s Weibo microblogging service. HTC also said it would release five products in the Chinese market in November and December, including its Sensation XE and Evo 3D, and a separate phone that features dual-SIM card capability. The price range of the three phones for which it gave prices was 2,099 yuan to 4,880 yuan.

HTC has made increasing noise in recent quarters about growing in the China market, a move analysts say will be key for the company, the world's fourth-largest smartphone maker by shipments, as smartphone demand in developed markets such as the U.S. and Europe cools.

But analysts have argued HTC could face difficulty breaking into the China market due to relatively weak brand recognition and phones that are too expensive for the market. With prices above 2000 yuan, HTC's phones are significantly more expensive than 1,000 yuan offerings from Chinese smartphone makers like Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp.

According to research firm IDC, HTC was ninth in the China market with a 3.3% market share in the second quarter of 2011, though HTC said its third-quarter sales in China grew to more than nine times their year-earlier level in terms of units.

At a media meeting Monday in Taiwan, HTC Chief Executive Peter Chou said he believes there is room for smartphones above 2,000 yuan but that offering cheaper phones into developing markets could erode the company's brand value.

In a statement released by the company Tuesday, Mr. Chou also said the company would continue to invest in research-and-development and marketing in China.

HTC chairwoman, Cher Wang, said in an interview last month that the company would continue to grow in China and that it had a good relationship with all three of China's major service providers.

She also said at the time the company has an advantage in the China markets due to the shared language and culture of China and Taiwan.

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Source:Online.wsj