Smartphone vendor HTC and Japan-based telecom carrier KDDI jointly announced on February 28 that UQ Communications, a KDDI subsidiary in WiMAX services, will distribute the HTC EVO WiMAX smartphone in Japan.

The HTC EVO WiMAX is a modified version of the EVO 4G introduced via Sprint, and it is the first WiMAX smartphone for the Japan market. UQ Communications in the past has only carried routers and notebooks, and the HTC smartphone is seen as KDDI's latest attempt to battle NTT Docomo's LTE smartphone scheduled for the second quarter.

HTC and KDDI began their partnership in 2008 with CDMA Windows Mobile handsets and has now extended to WiMAX Android-enabled smartphones. The two companies could further work in LTE when KDDI completes its LTE networks in the future.

HTC devices are carried by Japan's four main telecoms, which also include Softbank and eMobile. According to MM Research Institute, HTC was second in Japan's smartphone market in 2009 with a 11.1% market share.

HTC's WiMAX smartphones have already entered the US, Russia and Japan, and its LTE devices are carried by US-based Verizon. HTC is also working with China Mobile in developing TD-LTE technology.