HTC

HTC vows to fill its patent vault to aid its battle with Apple

Oliver Haslam ∙ June 14, 2012

Once was a time when companies would do battle at the tills, but those days are now long gone. Nowadays however, it seems battles in the courtroom are much more commonplace than good old product lines butting heads, fighting it out for the customer's hard earned money.

HTC, in the middle of a legal spat with iPhone maker Apple, is about to take to the patent office in order to gain the upper hand over the company that is also going after the likes of Samsung.

The news that HTC will be fleshing out its patent portfolio comes after chairwoman Cher Wang vowed that the company would file more patents for its technology in order to protect itself from Apple's own legal shenanigans...

HTCLock lends an HTC styled interface to the iPhone’s Lock screen

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

The stock iPhone Lock screen leaves a lot of untapped potential on the table, and for that reason it's no surprise that we see so many jailbreak tweaks that focus on modifying the Lock screen.

HTCLock is the latest tweak to focus on the Lock screen. It allows you to launch apps easily using an HTC-styled interface. Check inside for the full video walkthrough...

HTC alters functionality of US handsets to bypass Apple patents

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 17, 2012

If you ever wondered whether Apple's patent infringement claims against HTC were worth the pain, here's your answer.

Responding to a recent exclusion order by the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) concerning HTC One X and Evo 4G LTE shipments, the Taiwanese handset maker, once the dominant force in the Android camp, is now pre-loading its U.S. phones with an altered build of Android software.

Designed to bypass Apple patents, it changes the expected behavior of these devices. As a result, flagship HTC phones waiting to be imported into the United States now feature notably different functionality compared to HTC devices shipping elsewhere in the world.

The change is also impacting the uniformity of the Android experience, suggesting Apple was right to sue in the first place...

HTC One X and Evo 4G LTE shipments delayed at US Customs due to Apple patents

Cody Lee ∙ May 15, 2012

So this is pretty big news: The Verge is reporting that it has learned that shipments of HTC's One X and Evo 4G LTE handsets have been indefinitely delayed at US Customs due to an import ban order handed down by the ITC last year.

The International Trade Commission ruled last December that HTC was infringing upon an Apple patent regarding the auto-hyperlinking of phone numbers and other data in text, resulting in a country-wide ban of HTC's products...

Facebook reportedly still working on a smartphone with HTC

Cody Lee ∙ April 25, 2012

Late last year, some rumors started circulating that Facebook was working on its very own smartphone. Code-named "Buffy," the handset was to be built by HTC, and feature a forked version of Android with core-level integration of the social network.

Today, DigiTimes is reviving the rumor with a new report regarding the mysterious device. Quoting "industry sources," the site says that Facebook is set to release the smartphone as early as Q3 of this year, shortly after the company goes public...

ITC dismisses HTC complaint, Apple wins again

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Having trouble keeping track of all of Apple's legal entanglements? We don't blame you. The company is currently engaged in courtroom battles around the world with both Samsung and Motorola, and is in an ongoing fight with HTC here in the US.

But it seems as though the latter spat is starting to wind down. The ITC just dismissed HTC's final complaint against Apple, and unless the Taiwanese manufacturer wins an appeal, the two-year old lawsuit could finally be coming to an end...

First Time Smartphone Buyers Prefer Android Over iPhone

Guest Author ∙ February 6, 2012

According to research firm NPD Group, Apple has passed up Samsung and LG to become the #1 selling US handset brand in the fourth quarter of 2011. Between the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, the iPhone accounted for 43% of the US smartphone market, even though Android's market share increased to 48%.

Combined, iOS and Android devices accounted for over 90% of US sales, leaving Blackberry, Windows Phone and other mobile OSs under 10%.

The NPD went on to say that 57% of first time US smartphone buyers go with an Android device, while only 34% of first time buyers purchased iPhones...

HTC Says Sacrificing Size and Battery Life for LTE Was a Big Mistake

Cody Lee ∙ Updated July 10, 2017

Apple has received a lot of criticism for leaving LTE out of its two latest iOS devices. After all, Android manufacturers have been implementing the 4G technology in handsets and tablets for over a year now.

But as Tim Cook noted last Summer, LTE chipsets have been too big and too battery-intensive thus far for Apple to justify using them in its devices. And it looks like HTC had to find that out the hard way...

HTC Profits Drop 26%, Cites Apple’s Heavy Competition

Guest Author ∙ February 6, 2012

Today HTC has reported a 26% drop in its fourth quarter profits. They went onto express the fear of that number growing to 36% by the end of 2012's first quarter.

The company had visions of a brighter future as they will announce new products at Barcelona's upcoming Mobile World Congress later this month, however this appears to not be the case.

CFO Winston Yung told analysts "Our weakness in first-quarter guidance [...] comes from facing competition in the U.S. from iPhone and Samsung." Samsung is currently the number one smartphone manufacturer in the world, but Apple, the 3rd largest, is gaining ground quickly...

HTC Announces It’s Completed Patent Workaround

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Apple received its first big win earlier this week in its ongoing patent war with Android manufacturers. The International Trade Commission ruled in favor of the iPhone-makers in its patent infringement lawsuit against HTC.

The ITC's decision was expected to have major ramifications for the Taiwanese company because it banned several products from the United States. But as it turns out, HTC may not lose much business (if any at all) due to the ruling...

HTC Already Working to Remove Patent-Infringing Apple Feature From Its Devices

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated January 27, 2017

Apple's recent court victory that saw the International Trade Commission ban HTC smartphones from sale in the United States may not be as useful as we originally thought.

HTC's Chief Executive Peter Chou shared today that his company is already hard at work removing or altering the functionality that the ITC deemed as violating one of Apple's patents. The patent was in relation to technology which allows software to recognise data such as phone numbers or addresses and then format them as tappable links.

HTC, for its part, believes that the technology is rarely used in their software, and that its removal will have little impact on the overall experience of using its products...

ITC Rules in Favor of Apple, Bans HTC Products From the US

Cody Lee ∙ December 20, 2011

It's essentially "D-day" for HTC and its Android-flavored devices here in The States. After weeks of postponing, the ITC (International Trade Commission) has finally made a decision in the Apple vs. HTC patent dispute case.

We told you about the lawsuit earlier this month in which Apple is suing the Taiwanese manufacturer for infringing on four of its patents. The outcome could have a huge impact on both companies. So, what did the ITC decide?