At some point HTC sees its devices becoming a gaming platform.

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Android 4.0.3 on a Samsung device is subtly different to Android 4.0.3 on an HTC device, but the main Android platform is stable enough that developers can now drop support for earlier handsets running Donut and Eclair (2.4% of the distribution between them), without worrying about losing significant numbers of potential downloads.

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"As a key Android partner and smartphone brand, HTC continues to bring new innovation to the platform, " said Andy Rubin, VP engineering at Google.

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Each has struggled recently, Sony breaking up from the SonyEricsson partnership, Blackberry (ex RIM) with its failed tablet launch and delays to its BB10 OS platform, LG with the disastrous flirtation with Windows OS, and HTC.

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For their phones, LG and HTC are lobbying game developers to create 3-D software for Google's Android smartphone platform.

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"We've been inspired by Windows Phone 8 to create new smartphones that give the platform the iconic design and personality it deserves, " said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation.

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