HTC Overview

overview

Microsoft and HTC enter a licensing deal, leaving everyone wondering what will happen next.

Klausner Technologies added to HTC’s legal burden by filing suit against HTC for infringement of its Visual Voicemail patents.

Bloggers were surprised to hear that HP would purchase Palm after mourning the loss of their hope that HTC would acquire Palm.

A mystery handset made by HTC showed up at the FCC.

Verizon decides it doesn’t need the Nexus One when it has the DROID Incredible by HTC.

The showdown between Android and Apple continues to intensify as the Android Marketplace continues to grow and Android 2.2 is coming…with Flash.

Impressive Dell handsets leak out. Say hello to BlackBerry 6.0 and some BlackBerry handsets as well.

The iPhone 4G saga continues.

key trends

 

HTC

Microsoft announced early this week that they have entered into a licensing deal with HTC. Details have not been disclosed regarding either the cost for HTC or the patents cited, leaving everyone scratching their heads as to what this means for both HTC and Android, what the underlying causes may be, and if anyone may be next.

Ina Fried at CNET wrote an oft-mentioned article relaying a statement by Microsoft deputy counsel Horatio Gutierrez that Microsoft believes Android is infringing on Microsoft’s patents. Engadget was not alone in describing the move as part of Microsoft’s perceived “crusade to assert patent claims over Linux.” The general conclusion was that:

Android may be Open, but evidently it’s not quite “free.”

Some wonder how this will impact other manufacturers’ platform decisions and Android’s future and how legal aspects of the wars between the mobile platforms will continue to play out over the next year. Michael Gartenberg said on his blog:

By creating uncertainty in the market regarding patent issues, both Apple and Microsoft have now created some degree of uncertainty for potential Android licensees. Expect this situation to grow even more complex throughout the year. The real question is what steps Google will take to protect members of the open handset alliance from patent litigation.

As this suggests, the fact that HTC faced legal wrangling with both giants over its use of Android is expected to give other manufacturers pause in working with Google’s platform, regardless of whether this helps HTC in the battle with Apple or not. This is particularly true since Google hasn’t done more than pay lip service to supporting HTC in the Apple case. In the words of James Kendrick at jkOnTheRun:

This may turn the semi-open platform into one as full of potential holes as Swiss cheese.

Speaking of patent cases, HTC was hit with another lawsuit this week as Klausner Technologies filed suit against HTC for patent infringement under its Visual Voicemail patents. Bloggers were generally sympathetic and somewhat resigned to the possibility of a costly outcome for HTC. As SlashGear put it:

Apparently it’s that time of the year where everyone has to sue everyone else. They must all have the itch or something. This time around, it’s HTC being sued by Judah Klausner, which is actually just him adding HTC to a growing list of big phone makers infringing on patents of technology that relate to visual voicemail.

The suit cites the T-Mobile myTouch 3G by HTC and adds HTC to a suit filed against Motorola and RIM filed in November 2009. Other HTC handsets are protected by licensing agreements between carriers and Klausner Technologies. How did carriers come to have these licensing agreements you may ask? Oh, because Klausner Technologies sued them too, not to mention last week’s settlement of a similar suit with Ribbit. As IntoMobile summarized:

Klausner is no stranger to intellectual property lawsuits. If you’ll recall, the patent holding firm fired out court summons after court summons to the likes of Apple, AT&T, Verizon, LG, Sprint, and Google. What’s more, Klausner managed to settle every single one of those lawsuits with Visual Voicemail licensing deals. That sets a precedent that will likely work against HTC’s case in this matter – a fact that the plaintiff mentions in their complaint against HTC.

Don’t expect updates from the dark side as the case unfolds to appear on Klausner Technology’s website either. It appears only to exist to remind visitors that the group exists to hold Visual Voicemail patents and to provide access to an email address to which one may direct licensing inquiries.

If there were some tears shed over the suit brought by Klausner, there were some heaving sobs as news spread that HTC would not be making a bid for Palm. For example, Matthew Miller at ZDNet was disappointed but not surprised, Engadget said it “kills our buzz,” and Greg Kumparak from MobileCrunch cried out:

NOOOOOOOOOOO.

There I was, letting myself get excited about possibility of HTC acquiring Palm. I mean, can you imagine webOS on HTC-made hardware? I’d buy one for each hand. Alas, those hopes and dreams have been dashed.

Reports suggest that HTC made the decision based on a closer look at Palm’s financials; sparking speculation that Palm’s situation may be even worse off than it appears to the public.

With this announcement and the recent departures of multiple Palm executives, there were many snarky comments made about statements by Palm’s CEO, Jon Rubenstein, only a day before that Palm is confident that it can survive on its own, though he left the door open for acquisition offers. His confidence appears not to be shared, however, as his longevity was seriously questioned.

Because Huawei had also decided not to make a bid for Palm, Lenovo was the only known player in the running to consider making such an offer…then HP came out of the woodwork and announced they would acquire Palm for $1.2 billion. More on that in the competitor section and in next week’s report.

“Oh, you tease” said Engadget when they leaked a “lovely little tidbit” and about an HTC slider undergoing testing at the FCC. Bets are that the phone, named “PC70110” on the paperwork, is an Android device based on the buttons. It also appears as though the phone may be intended for AT&T. PhoneArena suspects it may be the recipient of the HTC Wildfire moniker that won HTC’s recent Facebook poll.

The Nexus One won’t be coming to Verizon after all. Why? Because Google doesn’t seem to feel the need to compete with the DROID Incredible by HTC, recommending in an announcement on their blog that Verizon customers purchase it if they were holding out for the Nexus One. They also mentioned the Nexus One would soon be coming to Vodafone while bloggers speculated as to when the Nexus One may be available on Sprint’s network.

Most seemed to think that the decision “makes sense” though Engadget said it was “all kinds of silly” that Google strung Verizon customers along until now and then was initially unclear about whether the phone was just delayed before asserting that it wouldn’t come to Verizon at all.

Amidst the ensuing comparisons between the Nexus One and the DROID Incredible by HTC, Phone Arena and Engadget were relieved to discover that the DROID Incredible by HTC uses a new and improved capacitive screen that doesn’t come with the issues that have irked Nexus One owners. There were also unboxings and a few more reviews of the DROID Incredible by HTC this week. PhoneArena performed a side-by-side comparison of the Motorola DROID and the DROID Incredible by HTC and concluded that it will depend on the customer, suggesting that heavy texters consider the Motorola DROID for its QWERTY keyboard while “power-users may prefer the HTC.” Bonnie Cha at CNET gave it an Editor’s Choice Award:

The Droid Incredible's combination of style, user-friendly interface, and blazing speeds were all contributing factors in our decision to give the handset our Editors' Choice Award. It's simply one of the best smartphones on the market today.

But as you know, there are a number of other great smartphones out there, so the buying decision isn't quite that easy. Case in point, many of you have sent in e-mails, still undecided and looking to see how the Droid Incredible compares with some of the other top smartphones, in particular the Motorola Droid, Nexus One, and Apple iPhone 3GS. Anyone else smell a Prizefight brewing?

Some “lucky, smug” Verizon customers didn’t even have to wait for the official shipping date to play with their new toy since Verizon accidentally shipped some of the handsets early. SlashPhone thought it was “interesting” that the box was labeled, “HTC Incredible” instead of the, “DROID Incredible by HTC.” IntoMobile also noticed the outdated naming on the box and, in a separate article, suggested that the “lucky few” check out its video out capabilities.

Not to be lost in the shuffle, the HTC Legend got some attention as news got out that an OTA fix will go out to address a bug related to its camera. The HTC Legend also found its way, in spite of volcanic eruptions, to NOTCOT much to the author’s extreme gratitude:

And beyond the awesome functionality of the phone ~ the internet browsing seems FAR snappier than my iphone and i’m in love with the screen and trackball! Also, every designer i ran into at design week couldn’t help but comment how the phone was nearly more mac than a mac!

HTC’s Windows Mobile phones got some love this week too. ZDNet UK reviewed the HTC HD mini, finding it “pocket-friendly and a pleasure to use” and expressing appreciation for the HTC Sense experience. Windows Phone Thoughts thinks that “the small form factor is a plus for many” after reading the review by Mobility Minded. Rumor has it that Vodafone will begin stocking the HTC HD mini next week.

There were quite a few giveaways and promotions this week. Engadget believes “Verizon has taken one of our suggestions to heart” in making a “good move” to ship new DROID Incredible by HTC handsets with a 2GB microSD card as part of an introductory offer. AndroidCenral and Boy Genius Report both offered the DROID Incredible by HTC in contests. Android Central received over 4,000 entries when they offered up two DROID Incredible by HTC devices. They ultimately awarded them to a sword swallower and a student.

Platform

There were a number of examples of the intensifying battle between Google’s Android and Apple’s iPhone this week and Andy Rubin, a vice president of engineering at Google, touched on many of them in his interview with Brad Stone from the New York Times.

Rubin promised that Android 2.2, a.k.a. “FroYo,” will come with full Flash support…unlike Apple’s next version of the iPhone OS. Reports from AndroidandMe and photos that appear to show the new version of the platform on a T-Mobile myTouch 3G by HTC suggested that FroYo is in testing will come with features such as automatic updating of applications, a new Linux kernel that will result in more free RAM, fixes for touchscreen issues, FM radio, a JIT complier, and activation of a color trackball.

Some, including PocketLint, pointed out that the fast pace of development only further fragments the OS, however, as the HTC Hero is still running 1.5:

But does this mean that the Nexus One is going to get 2.2 before the HTC Hero rises above 1.5? It's looking that way. At this rate, perhaps Google should just lend HTC some engineers to get the update out of the door...

Bloggers are betting that the official release will be announced on May 19^th, the first day of the Google I/O conference. In light of the announcement that Google I/O attendees will receive either a free Motorola DROID or a Nexus One, there is speculation that both handsets will receive the update.

Meanwhile, an unofficial count by AndroLib claims that there are now over 50,000 applications available for users of the platform, though Google was quoted saying that they would stick to their official count of 38,000 until they perform another count. Additionally, AndroLib’s count could have been inflated if they included skins and other add-ons available in the Android Marketplace that are not true applications. Still, when compared to unofficial counts by AndroLib just a few weeks prior, the unofficial count has been taken as confirmation of Android’s rapid growth. Boy Genius Report chimed in:

True, the Android Market still has a ways to go before it can rival Apple’s App Store in terms of the sheer number of applications offered, but this is some mighty impressive growth nonetheless. Love it or hate it, there is no denying that the little green robot is currently hotter than Hansel.

Adding to a sea of numbers on the OS, AdMob came out a few days later with their March 2010 Mobile Metrics Report. One of the most notable findings was that requests from Android devices surpassed those from iPhone devices in the month of March for the first time ever. Although AdMob should not be considered objective since it is being acquired by Google, Phandroid was pleased to see that it shows Android’s traffic growing 32% a month. MobileCrunch summarized the report:

Android is clearly continuing its assault on the iPhone. The Droid accounted for 4% of web usage in March, compared with 22% from iPhone devices. That’s a significant number, especially considering the Droid is 2.5 years younger than the iPhone.

It’s also important to note that BlackBerry and WinMo/WinPho are nowhere to be seen on this report. I don’t even know if you can call those phones “smart” anymore, given that their users rarely use them to access the internet.

IntoMobile celebrated the milestone but reminded readers that a new iPhone may come out in June, possibly taking back the crown.

Competition

As mentioned above, HP announced that it is buying Palm for $1.2 billion. As reported in Engadget’s liveblog of the press conference held Wednesday evening, HP hinted strongly at tablet development, expressed enthusiasm for owning the whole ecosystem, and noted plans to “double-down” on its development.

Caught off-guard, everyone seems to be wondering what if this was a good idea for HP and what this marriage will mean for the rest of the industry. Phandroid has already speculated as to the impact on Android, while Matthew Miller at ZDNet wondered if RIM will be the first victim.

The news has only just broken and there are still many questions to be answered so expect more information in next week’s report.

It almost seems like old news in light of HP’s acquisition of Palm, but last week Engadget leaked a number of “slick” smartphones from Dell along with its new Sparta netbook and two tablets: the Streak (a.k.a. Dell Mini 5) and the Looking Glass. The Dell Lightning, a Windows Phone 7 portrait slider rumored to be coming to T-Mobile and AT&T later this year, drew particular attention.

One of the first Windows Phone 7 handsets to leak, Mobile Mag thought the Lightning “could be a major boon for Microsoft.” MS Mobiles thought it was a fake and MobileCrunch was suspicious, but most just drooled or cheered, often expressing their surprise at Dell’s ability to pull off such an impressive lineup. Speaking specifically about the Lightning, PhoneArena said:

It's truly impressive to see Dell come out really swinging for the fences and this device easily takes the cake from all the other manufacturers so far that are on board with the new platform.

Among the other handsets leaked were the Smoke, Flash, and Thunder, all of which will be running Android. The Smoke drew attention for bringing, “a refreshing look to brighten up Android's offering with its inexpensive taste.” Both the Smoke and Flash are rumored to be coming with Android 2.2. The Looking Glass and Streak tablets will also run on the Android platform. According to the roadmap leaked by Android Central, the Streak should show up as soon as next month.

As if we hadn’t seen enough new stuff this week, there were multiple announcements from RIM this week at their WES conference including the BlackBerry Pearl 3G, The BlackBerry Bold 9650, and the BlackBerry 6 OS. The OS will launch in the third quarter and supports both touchscreens and old school non-touch interfaces. The BlackBerry Bold 9650 adds a higher end BlackBerry to Sprint’s lineup that’s essentially on par with higher end devices on other networks while the BlackBerry Pearl 3G is small but “good enough to get you by until the next incremental CrackBerry update.” CrackBerry posted photos of the BlackBerry Atlas next to the BlackBerry 9670, which drew a good deal of attention among the new handsets for its surprising clamshell design.

In the continuing saga of the missing iPhone prototype Gizmodo editor Jason Chen went out to dinner last week and came home to find police searching his home with a warrant for his computers. Jennifer Granick, civil liberties director for the Electronic Frontiers Foundation told Wired that she believes the warrant is invalid as Chen is a journalist, meaning equipment he uses to communicate with the public is protected from government seizure. She went on to say that California things bloggers are journalists too and the proper procedure would therefore have been for Chen to have been subpoenaed. CNET had a similar conversation with Lucy Dalglsih, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, who also cited the federal Privacy Protection Act.

No matter. As CNET reported Tuesday, a California appeals court decided in Rosato v. Superior Court that the search warrant applied to evidence of criminal activity so the state’s shield law would not apply, sparking a deluge of recaps and opinions. Business Journal reported that Apple’s outside counsel reported a theft late last week and requested a criminal investigation. As a New York Times Media Decoder blog entry suggests, the investigation is likely to continue to grow to include more parties, including the person who sold the phone to Gawker Media.

Want a lighter take on the iPhone prototype saga? Check out the blog post by cartoonist Scott Adams expressing his take on the situation with the likes of Dilbert.

General Mobile Tech

The eighth annual D:All Things Digital conference is shaping up to be quite the show as Steve Jobs was just added to the already impressive lineup of speakers that includes the likes of Director James Cameron, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and HTC CEO Peter Chou