/ 13 May 2010

HTC wants US sales freeze of iPad, iPhone and iPod

The fight between Apple and HTC, maker of mobile phones using Google’s Android platform, is growing increasingly acrimonious with the Taiwanese firm calling for the regulatory authorities to halt the sale of iPhones, iPads and iPods in the United States.

HTC, which makes Googles Nexus one as well as its own-branded HTC Desire, has filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) calling for it to “halt the importation and sale of the iPhone, iPad and iPod in the United States”.

The move comes after Apple sued HTC back in March, alleging that it had infringed 20 patents relating to “the iPhone’s user interface, underlying architecture and hardware”.

Part of the reason for the fight is believed to be the fact that in February HTC released handsets which use “pinch-to-zoom” functionality which resembles that of the iPhone.

Then, last month, Microsoft seemed to weigh in to the fight by signing a patent agreement with HTC that provides “broad coverage” under Microsoft’s patent portfolio for HTC devices running Android mobile platform. Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft receives royalties from HTC, which created the first smartphones that ran its Windows Mobile operating system.

“As the innovator of the original Windows Mobile PocketPC Phone Edition in 2002 and the first Android smartphone in 2008, HTC believes the industry should be driven by healthy competition and innovation that offer consumers the best, most accessible mobile experiences possible,” said Jason Mackenzie, vice president of North America, HTC Corporation. “We are taking this action against Apple to protect our intellectual property, our industry partners, and most importantly our customers that use HTC phones.”

HTC currently sells a dozen smartphones in the US, including the HTC EVO 4G which is sold by Sprint, the DROID Incredible which is being sold by Verizon Wireless and the HTC HD2 which is stocked by T-Mobile. — Guardian News and Media 2010