Taiwan-based smartphone vendor HTC's supply chain has not been influenced by the earthquake in Japan, and March-April shipments are on schedule, according to company CEO Peter Chou speaking at the Taiwan, Technology and Beyond conference in Taipei on March 16.

As HTC will launch new Android smartphones beginning March, there is industry concern about whether the earthquake has impacted HTC's supply chain. Some Japan-based producers of materials for making handset components, including BT resin, rolled copper foil and ACF (anisotropic conductive film), have had problems maintaining shipments, and consequently supply of components including touch panels, quartz crystal devices, flexible PCBs, memory and Li-ion batteries is likely to fall short, sources said.