In the wake of its announcement to form a strategic alliance with US telecom operator T-Mobile to launch a Smartphone based on Google's open source Android platform in the United States, Taiwanese mobile phone HTC announced on December 3 the acquisition of US-based design house One & Company Design, in a bid to strengthen its design capability as well as technology to produce high-end Smartphones, according to a press release by HTC. The value of the deal was not yet disclosed though. According to the same source, the design house will retain its name and R&D team, which will later consolidate with HTC's R&D team.