Hasta La Gadget!

In HTC and Nokia’s ongoing patent litigation, one patent infringement claim against HTC was dismissed today by the District Court of Mannheim, Germany. The patent in question — regarding “a communication network terminal for accessing internet” — describes a “terminal” that can access the internet.

As FOSS Patents points out, today’s dismissal was part of an ongoing collaboration between Google and Android phone makers who’ve been targeted by Nokia over claims against the Google Play store. “Nokia had alleged that Android’s app architecture centered around the Google Play store infringes the ‘016 patent because of the way it allows third-party app developers to provide data to the end-user devices on which their programs run via a Google-operated server,” the site notes. In that regard, today’s dismissal marked a victory for Google beyond HTC — though HTC issued a statement this afternoon exclaiming its “delight” over the court’s ruling. Nokia has yet to return our request for comment.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Software, Mobile, HTC, Nokia, Google

Comments

Source: FOSS Patents

Nokia looks like it’s hoping to turn up the volume of its Windows Phone-based Lumia smartphones in the U.S. by signing another carrier to its cause. Bloomberg is reporting that Nokia and Verizon have struck a deal that will see the carrier offer a forthcoming flagship, the Lumia 928, starting from next month. Neither the deal nor the device have been made public by Nokia or Verizon but Bloomberg said two people familiar with the situation have confirmed the impending launch.

Bloomberg’s report follows previous leaks in which the Lumia 928 was spotted in the FCC’s and Verizon’s systems. An apparent image of the handset was also leaked earlier this month. When approached for comment a Nokia spokesman told TechCrunch it does not comment on rumour and speculation.

If the Verizon deal is true, the Lumia 928 will be the first high end Lumia the carrier has ranged (it does already carry the mid-range Nokia Lumia 822). In the U.S. Lumia devices such as the flagship Lumia 920 have been exclusively carried by AT&T to date. Getting another major carrier — Verizon has some 100 million subscribers – on board with a flagship is vital for the once Mighty Finn to try to capture more cachet, as well as marketshare.

According to Bloomberg’s sources, the Lumia device that will launch on Verizon will have a metal body, a 4.5-inch touch screen, an 8-megapixel camera and wireless charging. Earlier rumours have suggested it will have a polycarbonate body, however, while the internals have generally been expected to remain the same as the Lumia 920.

North America has traditionally been a weak market for Nokia — historically, back in the Symbian days, but also since Nokia’s Windows Phone reboot. But in its Q1 results last week, the region was the only market in which Nokia saw a small increase in sales (up by 9%) compared to last year. Nokia reported selling a total of 5.6 million Lumias globally in the quarter.

Kantar stats we covered earlier this month indicate that Windows Phone as a whole — so not just Nokia devices but also HTC, Samsung etc — has moved up into a distant third place in the US smartphone market, behind the two leaders: Android and iOS, suggesting the platform is slowly building some regional momentum. That momentum may have helped convinced Verizon to take a punt on a Lumia flagship.

Nokia’s injunction yesterday has now been made a little more concrete. The Amsterdam district court has handed down a 10-month ban on STMicroelectronics selling its high-amplitude mics to anyone other than the Finnish phone maker. The same dual-membrane microphone is used in both the Lumia 720 and the HTC One, but Nokia (which co-developed and designed the component) had signed a 12-month exclusivity deal with the chipmaker — a deal that STMicroelectronics apparently thought was only six months long.

According to All About Phones NL, the ruling won’t halt sales of One devices already out there, with the court stating that HTC was “blameless” and that it couldn’t have known about the contract between Nokia and STMicroelectronics. In short, you’ll still be able to buy HTC’s flagship in the Netherlands with those dual high-amp mics in tow — at least for now. We’ve reached out to both companies for comment, but it’s shaping up to be another parts supply woe for HTC’s new smartphone.

Update: We’ve just heard from HTC on this, and its response is largely the same as yesterday’s:

“HTC is disappointed in the decision. We are consulting with STM and will decide whether it is necessary to explore alternative solutions in due course. In the meanwhile, we do not expect this decision to have any immediate impact on our handset sales.”

Filed under: Cellphones, HTC, Nokia

Comments

Via: All About Phones NL

Source: Amsterdam District Court filing

Nokia has been granted an injunction by the Amsterdam district court regarding the high-amplitude microphones that HTC’s new flagship smartphone, the HTC One, uses. According to Nokia, the HTC One uses the same microphone that’s used inside of Nokia’s Lumia smartphone line-up. Nokia provides a picture that shows that the microphone inside of the HTC One is the same microphone used in the Nokia Lumia 720.

The only thing that sets the two microphones apart is one digit. The Nokia Lumia 720′s number is 307, while the HTC One is 302. Nokia spoke with Windows Phone Central and stated that the numbers represent the manufacturing date of the microphones, and that the TD V1.4 label refers to Nokia’s exclusive code for the component. Nokia says that this isn’t a a patent issue with HTC, but a violation of the non-disclosure agreement between Nokia and the microphone’s manufacturer, ST Electronics.

Nokia sought an injunction against the HTC One because it says that HTC had no license to use the components. HTC issued an official statement regarding the injunction stating that it was disappointed in the decision and that it is “considering whether it will have any impact on our business” and that it “will explore alternative solutions immediately.” HTC is relying on its HTC One to save it from financial ruin, and this complication with Nokia, among its other complications with Nokia, isn’t making things easy on the company.

Last month, Nokia was granted a patent injunction in Germany against HTC over its power saving technology. The patent was over “Reduction of Power Consumption in a Mobile Station.” Luckily for HTC, the patent only affects 3 of its phones, the HTC Wildfire S, HTC Desire S, and HTC Rhyme, which are no longer imported into Germany. Hopefully HTC and Nokia are able to resolve these issues sooner rather than later. We’ll keep you posted if any new information comes up. Also, be sure to check out our reviews for both the HTC One and Nokia Lumia 720.

[via Engadget]

Nokia begins legal battle with HTC for high-amplitude mic is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Don’t worry, this time it’s not a patent issue. However, it is more bad news for HTC’s already-delayed One. Nokia has been granted an injunction by the Amsterdam district court concerning the technology HTC used in its current flagship. The legal battle involves a pair of high-amplitude mics housed within One’s aluminum body, which are apparently the same dual-membrane components that Nokia’s used in its recent Lumia 720, seen above.

The Finnish company recently applied for a preliminary injunction, pointing the finger at ST Microelectronics, which is responsible for manufacturing the mic for both Nokia and HTC. According to our source, the issue is likely to be a breach of an NDA between Nokia and ST Electronics, as the phone maker asserts that the “microphone components [were] invented by and manufactured exclusively for Nokia.” We’re still hearing new details and will update as we learn more. We’ve also reached out to HTC for comment. For now, you can read up on Nokia’s statement following the court’s decision, embedded after the break.

Update: HTC has offered up an official statement in response to the injunction: “HTC is disappointed in the decision. We are considering whether it will have any impact on our business and we will explore alternative solutions immediately.”

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, HTC, Nokia

Comments