High Tech Computer (HTC), the world's largest maker of handsets that run on Microsoft Windows Mobile, believes smartphones will become the main Internet device for people in developing countries, trumping laptop computers.

"We believe that going forward, this device will be the main Internet device for the emerging market," HTC CEO Peter Chou said in an interview. His company already has some older smartphone products that include a TV-out function and are being marketed in emerging economies.

Wireless broadband is already in place for many emerging countries, while wireline broadband could take decades to build, he said.

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and chief strategist Craig Mundie talked up the idea of smartphones as an Internet and computing device for the poor during a conference in Jakarta, Indonesia last month.

The idea is that companies could make simple smartphones cheaper than laptop PCs, and that mobile telecommunications networks make wireless Internet connectivity relatively easy around the world. A key feature for smartphones aimed at developing nations will be the ability to hook them to TVs, so people can take advantage of the larger screen while still using the computing and software inside the handset.

Microsoft plans to aim its Windows Mobile OS at such devices, and no company has been a better ally for Microsoft in the smartphone space than HTC. The Taiwanese company made a name for itself by being among the first to develop handsets around the earliest commercial versions of Windows Mobile, and is basking in fame now that the OS has caught on with more people.

Nearly 90 percent of the world's population is covered by a mobile phone network, according to information from the GSM (Global Standard for Mobile communications) Association and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) Development Group.

Companies also may be able to drive down smartphone costs more than laptop makers. There are an estimated 3 billion mobile phone users in the world, and handset makers sold 1.14 billion units last year, according to market researcher IDC. The high volumes make mobile phones among the cheapest electronics products available because manufacturers are able to reduce the price-per-component, and ultimately the cost of each handset.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.