HTC confirmed on Tuesday that they are testing promotional ads on its own display app BlinkFeed and started to roll out in select markets such as US, UK, Germany, Taiwan, and China.
On its official blog site, HTC has described the new feature on BlinkFeed.
"If you're a BlinkFeed user located in one of the markets named above, you'll begin to see a limited number of native, relevant promotions of sponsored apps from AdNetworks partners such as Yahoo, Twitter, and Appia, as well as HTC auto promotions for new accessories or devices," according to HTC's Official Blog,
The post went on that users may to opt out of seeing adverts in BlinkFeed, and this feature is only a pilot for 'testing and analyzing the effectiveness of this particular native format implementation.'
The Verge added that this could be another move from HTC to monetize money through its BlinkFeed app as it plans to open up BlinkFeed to Android.
Though the company has been struggling over the past few months amid tough competition with Apple and Samsung, HTC has denied rumors about acquisition or possible merger with HTC.
"We strongly deny the news. We didn't contact Asusteck and will not consider the acquisition. As an international brand, HTC will continue to design world-class innovative smart devices through its pursuit of brilliance brand promise," HTC said in a statement. ( via Tech Crunch)
On the other hand, Jack Tung, President of HTC North Asia, recently talked about doubling the sales of HTC Desire phones in his territory to save the shrinking revenue of the company.
"HTC's ambition is to sell another million of the Desire family in the next six month (by the end of the year), which would imply that the business is expecting to double shipments of the smartphones," Android Healdines wrote.
