Taiwanese handset vendor has predicted that phones based on Google’s Android operating system will account for as much as 50 percent of its devices portfolio in 2010. According to sources at Taiwan’s Digitimes, the rise in Android phones suggests the vendor will be focusing less on Microsoft’s Windows Mobile platform. The report adds that HTC is planning another high-profile handset in September or October of this year based on Qualcomm’s BREW Mobile Platform (BMP). The deployment of BMP-based models and the enforcement of Android-powered handsets will help further enhance HTC’s competitiveness, the sources said.

HTC was the first handset vendor to launch devices based on Google’s Android platform, launching the HTC Dream via T-Mobile (branded as the T-Mobile G1) last Autumn, and later the HTC Magic, which is being offered by operators such as T-Mobile, Vodafone and Rogers Wireless, and HTC Hero. The only other Android-based phone launched to date is the Samsung i7500, which launched last month, though most major handset vendors are planning to launch Android phones by year-end.