Interviews, buzz, rants, serious articles and questionable opinions

Apple sues HTC over phones with Google software

Wednesday 03 March 2010 7 Comments

Google Nexus One phoneAccording to reports from news source Reuters, Apple has sued Taiwan’s HTC Corp over allegations of infringing 20 hardware and software patents for its touchscreen smartphones using Google software.

Despite not using the name Google Inc as a defendant this court appearance is being taken, by industry analysts, as being an indirect lawsuit towards Google, merely using the HTC as a proxy.

Specifically, Google’s Nexus One and other HTC smartphones including the Hero, Dream and MyTouch – which all run on Google’s Android mobile operating system – were placed under the spotlight after Apple accused them of infringing patents.

In response to the suit a Google commented: “We are not a party to this lawsuit. However, we stand behind our Android operating system and the partners who have helped us to develop it.” So far HTC hasn’t commented on the suit, stating it hadn't had the opportunity to investigate the claims.

Attempting to make sense of the move, MKM Partners analyst Tero Kuittinen explained to news site Reuters it was far easier to make HTC a target than Google: “HTC is an optimal target for Apple – it’s a relatively small vendor with a weak brand. It may be easier to push around than Samsung (which also makes Android smartphones). One question here is whether Apple can intimidate operators to back away from new HTC products by flashing the possibility of litigation trouble.”

Despite not making an official statement, Apple’s Chief Executive Steve Jobs commented in a news release: “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”

 

Comments

  • unhappy

    by Simon at 16:28 on 3 Mar 2010Report abuse

    Go apple, so this is what you do when you escape from microsofts monopoly and get your own. Great story, like a mountaineer getting to the top and stamping on everybody else's fingers. Oh and was it worth patenting the use of more than one finger on a touch screen at a time. You guys really are the only ones who could have come up with that, hope a judge see it that way, unlike when it was done on the computers in the matrix 2 and 3.
  • unhappy

    by shaun at 20:56 on 3 Mar 2010Report abuse

    I say screw apple just because the iphone couldn't live up to what they said it was and the android os blows it out of the water no doubts because I have owned both phones the iphone first and it sucked so I switched to verizon and the moto droid being I wanted the keyboard. As I said screw apple.
  • unhappy

    by Joe at 23:41 on 3 Mar 2010Report abuse

    So where did you get you touch technology from apple. Hundreds of devices had it before you. How can you even try to put a copyright on that. Sad pathetic and anti competitive


  • neutral

    by John at 03:10 on 4 Mar 2010Report abuse

    Steve Jobs, please go away. Nobody cares about your desperate attempts to monopolize the market. Apple's just getting scared at the massive growth of the Android platform.
  • unhappy

    by John at 11:58 on 4 Mar 2010Report abuse

    Apple does not know how to compete. They sue everyone or help get anti trust cases against their competitors. They can not beat Microsoft in the OS war, now they are targeting Google indirectly via HTC as the Android platform will surely pass the iphone eventually. Just like the article states...they will likely not go after a company like Samsung, lol. Completely pathetic on apples part, then again...what do you expect from a sub par company like them. There is a special place in hades for crApple and its followers!
  • happy

    by John P at 19:33 on 4 Mar 2010Report abuse

    If you've never seen the movie Pirates of Silicon Valley then you must. It will make this whole situation a lot funnier. Steve Jobs, you're an idiot.
  • neutral

    by Ben A. at 06:07 on 24 Mar 2010Report abuse

    On the contrary, Apple does know how to compete: they set the standard by which the industry defines all of its user experience paradigms. As some of you have so eloquently put, Windows is derivative of Macintosh. Likewise, modern laptop designs are all derivative of the first powerbook. Most modern MP3 players mimic the iPod. Seven years before Palm even released it's first PDA, Apple had the Newton, and even coined the term "PDA." And now smartphones, despite some of your complaints about life without a physical keyboard, are all going the way of the full-touch interface because of Apple.

    For years pocket computers and smartphones attempted to simply miniaturize the desktop user interface. Even Palm's OS integrally required menus for navigation.

    So why sue, then? Perhaps if Apple flexes its industry-defining muscles a bit, someone else might actually bother to come up with something that truly competes — rather than mimics.

    But why do I say anything when the folks at Penny-Arcade are so much more eloquent: http://www.penny-arcade.com/2010/1/22/.

Add your comment now

Post a reply to this thread

 

 

Please describe your emotions in making this comment:


Powered by reCAPTCHA

Unless you are a verified user, comments will be moderated before they appear. Comments submitted entirely in capital letters, containing advertising or excessive swearing will be rejected; please try to be polite. The best comments are relevant, factual and balanced; think about all aspects of the package, such as speed, connection quality and customer service. We reserve the right to edit comments.