Microsoft wants to be able to sell Windows Phone devices in China as soon as possible and now it looks like the first such device is now technically on sale in that country. Engadget reports that HTC has opened up its first retail store in Beijing on Saturday. In the store it is taking pre-orders for the Windows Phone-powered HTC Triumph, their name for the previously launched 4.7 inch HTC Titan smartphone.
The phone itself is priced at $700 without a contract in China and the report claims that when the HTC Triumph/Titan is in fact released in that country it will come with the upcoming Windows Phone Tango software update. It will also have integrated support for a number of Chinese social networking services such as Sina Weibo and Tencent Weixin.
This will only be the first of many Windows Phone devices that will be showing up in China in the very near future. Nokia, LG, Lenovo and ZTE are all expected to offer Windows Phone products in that country, again with the Tango update. Microsoft should also have the Windows Phone Marketplace up and running at the same time for developers to submit apps to sell for the Chinese market.