HTC phones stopped at border are beginning to enter the States
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That the phones are being released at all might have something to do with the clever move by HTC to replace the infringing software on those units headed for the States with software that most likely is clear of any patent violations. Apple's victory in court led to a ruling that blocked the import of certain HTC devices into the U.S. starting last month. The ITC started blocking the phone's entry into the States this past week. Since then, shipments of the HTC Amaze 4G have been placed on hold although it is unclear whether this has anything to do with the patent issue. HTC says it is confident that this matter will be resolved shortly. The HTC One X for AT&T has already been released although the carrier's website shows that it is currently sold out, which might have something to do with the ban. The HTC EVO 4G LTE was set to launch on May 18th via Sprint, but obviously that will have to be changed. An earlier May 23rd date mentioned by Best Buy in an email as the device's new launch date was later rescinded.
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One of the currently banned phones, the HTC EVO 4G LTE |
If this is the next step in the patent wars between manufacturers, we are looking at some big mess and if certain models get taken off the market due to the ITC, prices are going to rise as demand for banned models outstrips supply. Let's hope cooler heads prevail and we don't get to that point. Hope starts tomorrow when Samsung and Apple meet at the CEO-level on Monday and Tuesday in an attempt to work out an agreement on all of the litigation between the two rivals.
Press Release source: HTC via Engadget
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31 Comments
1. Mark.J.Linskiy posted on 20 May 2012, 21:16 8 2
And all of this could of been avoided if Apple actually did what they say they do, "innovate" instead of ruining everything and causing a mess with it's patents.. Microsoft should chill out as well before they make it way worse..
9. anywherehome posted on 21 May 2012, 02:11 2 1
Id always thought that Apple started a new era with touch phones (not because of being unique but popular) and I welcomed that....but now I HATE Apple
Just look for another sins of Apple, Apple has become very very hated company and they deserve it:
https://sites.google.com/site/corpsins/
2. toaster posted on 20 May 2012, 21:54 2 1
I chuckled at MS's laundry list of phones that they want banned. Apart from the Droid X2 and Atrix (even these are debatable), all of those phones have either been discontinued or their presence in the market is redundant at this point.
That aside, this really shows how far the patent wars have gone. We are edging closer and closer to a market that is controlled by one or two companies. I used to respect MS's method of merely collecting royalties, but this is clearly a large shift into Apple-like tactics. It's sad, really, that these companies think it's easier and more beneficial in the long run to get wrapped up in legal red tape to ban the sale of competitor's phones than to push the innovation boat and actually create devices that will make the public forget about almost everything else that's out there. Kind of like the OG iPhone...
3. abhishek48 posted on 20 May 2012, 21:59 7 2
Apple and Microsoft are trying to secure US market, Perhaps microsoft's claims are legitimate for some software on the phone.
BUT APPLE IS ASSHOLE, THEY PUT CLAIMS ON SAMSUNG FOR ROUND CORNERS .. REGTANGULAR SHAPE..... WTF, ARE OEM SUPPOSED TO MAKE OCTOGON BCOZ APPLE MADE A PHONE WITH ROUND CORNERS OF ROUGHLY SAME SIZE...
THIS TIME THEY ARE SUING HTC FOR HAVING A FUNCTIONALITY OF CONVERTING A TELEPHONE NUMBER TO LINK IF IT COMES IN WEBPAGE OR TEXT....
WTF.. ITS NOT THEIR IDEA.... NOR IS HTC USING THEIR CODE... ON GOOGLE CHROME IS U HAVE INSTALLED IN PC.. IF U SKYPE INSTALLED... ALL PHONE NUMBER WILL BECOME A LINK TO OPEN IN SKYPE
20. jmoita2 posted on 21 May 2012, 11:56 3 0
Thank God Apple didn't invent the automobile. Imagine that??? We would have ONE car to choose from.
4. Sniggly posted on 20 May 2012, 22:28 4 1
Don't tell me they have to clear every single damn individual phone. That would be ludicrous.
6. Droid_X_Doug posted on 20 May 2012, 23:25 2 1
Sounds like Customs is learning as they go on this one. Before too long (and not finding any handsets that violate the import ban), expect Customs to go to sampling a shipment. If the samples pass, the shipment is released.
And Apple gets to suck a rotten egg. Cause all they accomplished was to piss off some customers who weren't going to buy Apple iPhones even if the iPhone was the only handset for sale.
Way to go Apple.
19. gallitoking posted on 21 May 2012, 11:53 0 4
the only ones mad are non Apple consumers so Apple should be ok..
25. tedkord posted on 21 May 2012, 13:00 0 0
Not necessarily. My family's plan renews this summer, and my daughter wanted an iPhone. I was going to get her one (conditional on her grades and putting iTunes on her laptop, not my pc). But now I've told her I will not but any more apple products until apple stops acting like infantile bullies.
It's only one phone, but maybe there are more like me.
27. gallitoking posted on 21 May 2012, 14:36 0 2
thats good but there are tons of companies worse than Apple . Walmart , fast food and so forth..you are judging Apple for their actions when you are acting the same way with your daughter as you are depriving her
28. tedkord posted on 21 May 2012, 14:44 1 0
I'm not depriving her, I'm saving her from a mistake. She is the prime demographic for the iPhone - completely technologically ignorant, form over function, gotta have the status symbol. But, I'm paying for the device and the plan, so I get the final word on what is bought.
30. Sniggly posted on 21 May 2012, 14:56 1 0
"You're depriving her of her iPhone!"
I didn't know that an iPhone was something kids were entitled to these days.
5. dreign91 posted on 20 May 2012, 22:53 2 2
this is silly. if apple was as popular, innovative, and "amazing" as they think they are what's the point of trying to ban your competition. capitalism requires competition. apple is so un-american
10. anywherehome posted on 21 May 2012, 02:14 1 0
I'm sorry but USA is plutocracy, not democracy or competition :(
If you have money you have everything
7. wendygarett (limited) 4 days ago posted on 21 May 2012, 00:40 1 0
many customer will complain because the device has stayed too long at iCustom... and the device eventually damaged by half...
Thanks to apple for that :(
11. taco50 (banned) posted on 21 May 2012, 02:41 1 6
True android devices drop in value daily. Usually they're on clearance a month after launch so htc can't afford to have them in customs very long.
Maybe android phones should start coming with expiration dates like milk.
Ha ha
12. PhoneArenaUser posted on 21 May 2012, 03:11 5 1
"Maybe android phones should start coming with expiration dates like milk."
At last Androids "milk" is fresh, while Apple change only expiration date on the pack, but "milk" inside is always the same old and sour...
Ha ha
13. tedkord posted on 21 May 2012, 06:35 1 0
The reason for that is Android phones are constantly coming out with better specs and features. Last weeks phone still does everything you want (and more than an iPhone), but this weeks does it faster, with added things.
In contrast, the iPhone is released with outdated specs and features, and is guaranteed to be the only choice for a year to eighteen months, at which time a new model is released with the barest improvements. Why would the iPhone 4 value drop when its virtually indistinguishable from the 4s? (Not to mention the fact that some Apple fans, like you, would pay hundreds for a dog turd if it had an Apple logo stamped in it)
21. gallitoking posted on 21 May 2012, 11:57 0 4
really 5 mp cameras dual cores, 1 gig of ram.. Ginger bread OS... this been going on for a year now.. so .. tell me about innovation again
31. tedkord posted on 21 May 2012, 20:54 0 0
Quad cores, NFC, LTE, wireless N. Nearly every new tech that comes along for smartphones shows up on Android phones long before the iPhone.
15. Sniggly posted on 21 May 2012, 07:20 2 1
Har har. No, Taco, you're wrong. The concept, which you are horribly exaggerating, by the way, is that Android devices are susceptible to MARKET FORCES. In other words, people don't have to pay the exact same price for a f**king year and a half old device as they would have, just DAYS before the launch of the new device.
Only an iFan can take an advantage of Android and try to spin it as a weakness.
22. jmoita2 posted on 21 May 2012, 12:03 1 0
Well said. Apple could price the next iTurd for $999.00, and their zombie followers would gladly pay it.
24. gallitoking posted on 21 May 2012, 12:38 0 2
just like the over priced HTC Flyer and the Xoom some fandroids pay the high prices for those tablets... it happens in all OS dont act like you are innocent
8. skymitch89 posted on 21 May 2012, 01:50 0 0
Are they testing each and every device, or are they just testing one of each? I think that it would be more time efficient to take one Evo 4G LTE and put it through its paces to make sure that it doesn't have any conflicts, then let the rest of them through once it has got the "all clear". I really think that Apple is stupid for trying to get devices banned for something that is done in the OS and not by the manufacturer. Apple needs to accept the fact that they have competition and re-think their competitive ways.
14. tedkord posted on 21 May 2012, 06:49 1 0
Apple knows, from experience, that their closed approach by definition will advance much slower than an open approach. They've lived through this before, with OSX vs. Windows. Microsoft made a product that anyone could license, worked with any hardware. Apple kept their software on theur own hardware. By the time Apple switched from PowerPC to x86, their boxes were getting creamed by PCs in every bench, had a small percentage of the number of programs and was a niche product.
Why? Choice. Consumers don't want a one size fits all product. Different people have different needs/desires.
16. Fuego84 posted on 21 May 2012, 10:06 1 0
I bet doing this is being a drag for the customs officers that have to do it plus don't they have better things to do.
29. tedkord posted on 21 May 2012, 14:45 0 0
Playing around with new tech? Sounds like fun to me.
17. BREvenson posted on 21 May 2012, 10:48 0 0
Apple may have won the patent battle last year, but they just took another big hit in the battle against competitors. Did they really think HTC would be stupid enough to violate the patent again and risk losing the ability to sell one (two, counting the One X) of the biggest phones of the year? Those who didn't cancel their orders or settle for less will soon be united with some fine technology...hopefully soon, if they go through every single phone, they'll be there the rest of the year. :p
It's just another big win against Apple, keep showing them that bullying and using the government to TRY and suppress the competition does not work.
18. rockstarlive posted on 21 May 2012, 11:44 0 0
I wonder if At&t or Sprint can do anything? Since both have the ONE x
23. Droid_X_Doug posted on 21 May 2012, 12:25 1 0
Courtesy of the Apple-engineered waste of time (for Customs officers), there is about $3.6 million worth of square grouper floating in the ocean off of Dana Point in SoCal.
Way to go Apple!
