“High Tech Computer (HTC) will begin to ship its first Android-based handsets to ODM clients in the fourth quarter of this year as scheduled, according to company CFO Hui-ming Cheng.HTC revenues are expected to grow 10% sequentially and 30% on year in the third quarter, buoyed by the planned launch of CDMA, GSM and sliding form-factor HTC Touch Diamond handsets, Cheng indicated.HTC has shipped Touch Diamond handsets to 50 telecom operators in more than 30 countries so far, Cheng noted.However, Cheng said that HTC’s gross margin will be reduced by one percentage point in the third quarter as compared to the second quarter due to the rising ratio of ODM handsets.Market sources in Taiwan indicated that HTC is expected to start shipping Xperia X1 handsets to Sony Ericsson in the third quarter, pushing up the ratio of ODM handsets.The ratio of ODM handsets will continue to rise marginally in the fourth quarter of 2008 but it is unlikely to surpass 10% through the whole year of 2009, Cheng noted.” via digitimes.com