Taiwan’s HTC unveils new rival to iPhone 5

Models are photographed with the new HTC J Butterfly smartphone, featuring a 5-inch Super LCD 3 display with 1920×1080 resolution, at a launch party in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. AP/WALLY SANTANA

TAIPEI—Taiwan’s HTC on Tuesday unveiled a new smartphone boasting a higher resolution display that Apple’s iPhone 5 just days before its rival’s latest handset goes on sale on the island.

The HTC Butterfly features a 5-inch screen with a pixel density of 440 ppi (pixels per inch) and full 1080P HD resolution, compared to the iPhone 5’s 4-inch screen at 326 ppi at a lower resolution.

“We are confident that HTC Butterfly will set a new example for high-end smartphones,” chief executive Peter Chou said at the launch in Taipei.

HTC sells its own smartphones and also makes handsets for a number of leading US companies, including Google’s Nexus One.

The company recently unveiled a new series of smartphones as it faces intense competition from Apple and South Korea’s Samsung and seen its third-quarter profit tumble 79.1 percent year on year.

HTC and Apple were locked in more than 20 patent lawsuits worldwide until the two firms reached a global patent settlement last month. The world’s leading technology firms have routinely pounded each other with patent suits.