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HTC and Apple reach landmark settlement over smartphone software patents

November 12th, 2012

Smartphone manufacturer HTC and Apple Inc. announced Saturday a settlement ending the first major battle over software patents between the technology giants.
Along with a global patent settlement, the two companies announced they’d signed a 10-year license agreement that will extend to current and future patents held by one other.

Apple and HTC had battled patents over various smartphone features since March 2010.

The Cupertino-based firm accused HTC phones that run on Google’s Android software of infringing on its patents.
HTC chief executive Peter Chou says ending the litigation will allow his company to focus more on product innovation.

HTC has grown as the first maker of phones running on Android software.
But its sales faltered from the second half of 2011 in a market increasingly divided between Apple and Samsung Electronics Co.
Over the last year a patent war has engulfed smartphone competitors including Samsung and Google’s Motorola.
This August Apple won a $1.05 million victory against Samsung and continues litigation against Motorola.

Most of Apple’s legal success has come in the battle against HTC as far as stymying the entry of products to the U.S. market.
In 2011 the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that HTC infringed on one of four patents Apple had disputed and imposed a sales ban on some of the Taiwanese maker’s phones.

HTC claimed it had devised a technical workaround to Apple’s patents, but then in May the company announced that shipments of its phones were halted by U.S. customs officials.

Competition from Apple and Samsung has badly hurt HTC’s grip on a market it was once a powerhouse player in.
Last month the company forecast a 14.5 percent fall in revenue in the fourth quarter from the third, worse than analyst forecasts and the second straight quarterly decline this year.

Source:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2231154/Tech-titans-HTC-Apple-reach-settlement-agreement-smartphone-software-patents.html

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Posted in Software News

Tags: Apple HTC smartphones Software

HTC to Release 8X and 8S Windows Phone 8 Handsets in November

September 21st, 2012

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HTC announced two Windows Phone devices yesterday which will be released in November together with Windows Phone 8 – the Windows Phone 8X and 8S. These phones will actually include the “Windows Phone” brand name, as per an agreement with Microsoft.

Company officials referred to the handsets as “signature Windows Phone devices.” HTC public relations director Tom Harlin told ABC News that “Signature Windows Phones are born out of a close collaboration with Microsoft and HTC.” He added that that these devices are actually inspired by Windows 8 software and the live tiles feature. “We are really bringing (Windows 8 and live tiles) to life. We hope these are the best Windows Phones out there.”

The Windows Phone 8X will be HTC’s flagship WP8 handset – it will include a 4.3-inch display with Gorilla Glass, plus the usual Beats Audio support that comes with HTC’s Android-powered devices. It will include an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera optimized with the HTC ImageChip and a 1.2-megapixel camera with 88-degree wide angle lens; this latter feature allows a maximum of four people to be included in a video conference call. The 8S will contain most of the above features and specifications, but will come with a smaller screen at 4 inches. And staying true to Windows Phone tradition, both devices will come in a variety of different colors, including red, black, yellow and purple.

It would be these features and specs that should help HTC come up with a totally different offering than the Windows Phone 8 handsets that Samsung and Nokia will soon be releasing. Samsung announced its ATIV S at IFA 2012, while earlier this month, Nokia launched the Lumia 920 and 820; the Lumia 920’s main selling points are its 8.7-megapixel PureView camera and wireless charging system. Pricing for the HTC Windows Phone 8X and 8S wasn’t announced, but should be available near the November release date.

Source:http://tellmenews.com/htc-to-release-8x-and-8s-windows-phone-8-handsets-in-november/173460/valerie-smith

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Posted in Software News

Tags: HTC Software Windows Phone 8

Deutsche Bank neutral on HTC amid Apple’s patent win over Samsung

August 28th, 2012

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Taiwan’s HTC Corp. is likely to solve the patent issues with its software design following Apple Inc.’s victory in a patent suit against Samsung Electronics Co., Deutsche Bank AG said Monday in a report.

A U.S. jury ruled Aug. 24 that Samsung, the world’s largest maker of Android-based phones, had infringed on six of the seven contested patents by Apple, including both utility and design patents.

Two of the patents Apple won against Samsung in the verdict are also included in Apple’s second patent infringement lawsuit filed with the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) against HTC.

The 381 patent refers to a function of “bouncing back when scrolling beyond the edge of a page,” and the ‘915 patent is described as “using a single finger to scroll or two fingers to zoom into content with a reverse-pinch gesture.”

Deutsche Bank maintained a “hold” rating on HTC and a target price of NT$250 (US$8.35), saying that it is relatively easy for HTC to solve the patent issues with respect to software design.

“We cannot predict the USITC verdict but we think the lawsuit will not materially change HTC’s competitive position considering its strong R&D capability,” William Yang, research analyst at Deutsche Bank, wrote in the report.

“We believe HTC could change its software designs to work around the patent issues if Apple wins the case in an initial ruling on Nov. 7,” Yang said.

In addition, as one of the four key smartphone partners in Microsoft Corp.’s Windows 8 system, HTC is expected to introduce a few Windows 8 models in the fourth quarter of 2012, he added.

Yang said Microsoft may potentially subsidize marketing expenses for Windows 8 phones, and that such phones should have fewer patent conflicts with Apple.

Japan’s Nomura Holdings Inc. kept its “reduce” rating on HTC and its target price of NT$200, saying HTC’s lawsuits against Apple remain a cloud over the Taiwanese smartphone maker.

However, as Samsung’s products are at risk of not shipping to the U.S., Nomura said, this could be positive for HTC, which is the third-largest smartphone vendor in the U.S. market and has good relationships with operators there.

Moreover, the likely lawsuit risks and royalty costs for Android vendors would raise the cost of Android smartphones, which may be positive for top-tier makers of Windows 8 phones such as HTC, Samsung, Nokia Oyj and Huawei Technologies Co., the Japanese brokerage said.

HTC shares closed down 3.50 percent at NT$248.5 in Taipei on Tuesday.

Source:http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?Type=aECO&ID=201208280011