Microsoft said Wednesday that it has reached an agreement that will give HTC Corp., a Taiwanese company that is a major maker of Android phones, the rights to use technology covered by Microsoft’s patents in those phone. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The deal comes a month after Apple sued HTC and accused the company of violating patents related to the iPhone.

HTC, which has said it will defend itself against Apple’s claims, is a key partner for Google in its expansion into mobile services. Android has intensified the competition between Google and companies such as Apple and Microsoft.

But Apple and Microsoft are dealing with HTC, not Google, because the device maker, not the maker of software that runs on it, historically has been the focus for settling intellectual-property disputes.

HTC started out as a maker of phones based on Microsoft’s Windows Mobile software, but as that operating system has lost favor among buyers, it’s focused more efforts on Android.

Microsoft did not say what technology is covered in the licensing agreement with HTC. Technology analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group said it is unlikely there’s any overlap with the patents Apple is suing over. Microsoft and Apple have licensed each other’s patents, and Enderle said if there were any question of overlapping patents around “multitouch” or other smart phone technologies, it would have been hashed out already.

That means the deal between Microsoft and HTC for Android phones wouldn’t likely give HTC any extra protection against the lawsuit Apple filed. But HTC is also expected to produce phones for Microsoft’s next mobile system, Windows Phone 7, which is set to reach consumers before the holidays. Wednesday’s licensing deal with Microsoft would protect HTC against another Apple lawsuit over a Windows phone, Enderle said.

Both the Apple lawsuit and HTC’s deal with Microsoft may make Android less attractive to other device makers. Part of Android’s appeal to companies such as Motorola Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. was its price: free. Enderle called the legal battle and the licensing fees “hidden costs” to choosing to make Android phones.

“The Apple suit was the first wake-up call,” Enderle said.

Apple’s lawsuit claims HTC infringes on 20 iPhone patents. It’s not clear whether Apple approached HTC with a licensing offer before filing its lawsuit. Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said he had no further details.

Resource:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100428/ap_on_hi_te/us_microsoft_htc_patents

The new devices, based on a Microsoft development project code-named “Pink,” will be available later this month in the U.S. through a partnership with Verizon Wireless, the carrier owned by Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC., one of these people said.

Microsoft’s new phones are the latest sign the software maker is getting more deeply involved in the hardware side of the mobile-phone business in a bid to create products that provide smoother experiences for consumers.

Microsoft designed the software, online services and hardware for the Pink mobile phones, while Sharp Corp. of Japan is manufacturing the devices, people familiar with the project said.

The approach is modeled on one used to develop a device called the Sidekick that was sold by wireless provider T-Mobile and designed by Danger Inc., a start-up Microsoft acquired in 2008, and which later worked on the Pink devices.

Still, Microsoft has stopped short of getting as directly involved in mobile phones as Google Inc. did earlier this year in introducing a smartphone of its own design called Nexus One, which is manufactured by HTC Corp. and sold directly to consumers through Google’s Web site.

Instead, Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Wash., decided to work more closely with wireless carriers to bring the Pink phones to consumers.

On Monday, Microsoft invited the media to an event April 12 in San Francisco with the slogan, “It’s time to share.” Though the company declined to disclose the event’s purpose, people familiar with the matter said it would be to introduce the new phones. Spokeswomen for Microsoft and Verizon Wireless declined to comment.

Microsoft needs a boost for its mobile business, which has suffered in recent years as its operating system for smartphones was eclipsed by technologies like Apple Inc.’s iPhone and devices that run Google’s Android operating system.

On Monday, research firm comScore Inc. reported that the share of U.S. smartphone subscribers running devices that use Microsoft’s software fell to 15.1% in February from 19.1% in November. Devices that run on Google Android, meanwhile, increased to 9% from 3.8% while the share of Apple’s iPhone slipped to 25.4% from 25.5%, comScore said.

Microsoft is betting bigger improvement in its position will come in the fall, when the first devices based on a new mobile-phone operating system, called Windows Phone 7, will become available.

With that software, Microsoft is working with a much broader set of handset makers than it is on the Pink devices, though it is still getting more involved in hardware design with those partners than it has in the past.

People familiar with the matter said the software on the new Pink phones resembles elements of the Windows Phone 7 software, but devices that run on the two technologies aren’t expected to be able to run the same applications.

Resource:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304017404575166180423089338.html

A wi-fi connection offers better indoor reception, faster download speeds and quality streaming compared with a normal phone network. And it allows users to preserve their network minutes.

Wi-fi has been popular with notebook computers, but the technology is still at a nascent stage with mobile phones.

The feature is gradually being made available on more handsets and customers have started to ask for it while making purchases.

“Before, it used to be a neat, add-on feature. Now it’s an absolute must-have,” ABI Research analyst Michael Morgan said. “You have to bring this to the table if you want to have a successful smartphone device.”

It is only recently that carriers have started to trust wi-fi, Morgan said. Initially they viewed it as a competition to their cellular networks, he added.

The wi-fi feature was available on about 55 percent of smartphones shipped in 2009, and that is expected to increase to 65 percent to 70 percent in 2010, Morgan said.

Wi-fi capable smartphones, which received a shot in the arm with the launch of the Apple iPhone, are offered by Nokia, Research in Motion, Motorola, HTC Corp and Samsung Electronics.

Nokia is the leading market-share vendor for dual-mode wi-fi handsets, according to market researcher In-Stat.

While about 12 percent of all mobile handsets had wi-fi capability in 2009, it could be a feature on nearly a third of mobile phones four years from now, figures from In-Stat show.

“We are forecasting about 183 million phones with wi-fi in 2010,” In-Stat analyst Allen Nogee said. The total phone market is expected to be about 1.2 billion for the year.

With the growing market for smartphones, consumption of data on mobile devices is growing significantly, creating a lot of pressure on carrier networks.

Wi-fi in phones is seen as an alternative to core carrier networks, not just helping carriers offload traffic but offering consumers with a cheaper and faster option over third generation or the next generation networks like long term evolution.

“Operators are putting wi-fi in phones to offload some of the traffic from their 3G networks because they are finding that many of the 3G networks are being overloaded with data usage,” analyst Nogee said.

Service providers are also using wi-fi to expand their touchpoints with customers.

“Major service providers provide free wi-fi for their customers at places like McDonald’s and Starbucks,” Dell’Oro Group analyst Loren Shalinsky said.

Apart from accessing the Internet, wi-fi is used to make long distance calls via voice over Internet protocol at lower prices. But 90 percent of wi-fi use on phones is still for data, ABI’s Morgan said.

“Wi-fi offload is certainly an effective strategy for carriers to help manage the capacity demands on their network and it is one of the tools that carriers and handset makers will take advantage of,” Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin said.

“But it’s not the silver bullet to solve the problem. It’s just one of a number of pieces of the overall solution.”

The market for wi-fi in phones includes not only handset manufacturers and the carrier providers, but also chipmakers and network equipment makers.

Chipmakers like Broadcom, Atheros Communications Inc, Qualcomm Inc and Marvell Technology Group are expected to be among the prime beneficiaries as demand for the technology grows.

Companies like Aruba Networks and NetGear Inc, which sell the access points, will indirectly benefit as more devices that are connected to wi-fi will create more demand for bandwidth carried by the wireless networks. Despite the growth ahead, wi-fi has its drawbacks: integration between cellular and wi-fi networks, poor power efficiency and low awareness that such a feature exists. There are also issues in getting quality signals.

“I think people will use wi-fi in certain situations such as at their homes or in places where wi-fi is available. But wi-fi is not available in many places and probably never will be,” Nogee said.

Resource:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62O4CR20100325

LAS VEGAS—Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse announced a 4G-capable smartphone, the HTC Evo 4G, during a high-profile presentation at the CTIA Wireless 2010 conference on March 23. Boasting that it would take multimedia to “a whole new level,” Hesse demonstrated the device, which boasts a 4.3-inch capacitive touch-screen and the Google Android 2.1 operating system, for media and analysts.

The HTC Evo 4G will apparently make its debut during the summer. “It’s a fast device with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor,” Hesse told the audience. “It’s a terrific smartphone, even in 3G markets.” The device incorporates two cameras: an 8-megapixel module with auto-focus and an HD-capable camcorder, and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera.

Hesse then introduced Peter Chou, CEO of HTC, who explained that HTC and Sprint had been working on the project hand-in-hand with Google since May 2008 to deliver what he described as “the world’s first fully integrated 4G consumer handset.”

Chou continued: “I think the Evo 4G gives a clear indicator of how mobile broadband experience is starting to move beyond the fixed-line broadband experience by what it offers in terms of local and personal relevance.” The HTC Evo 4G plays into that as a “holistic video and multimedia experience. As you know, the mobile video experience hasn’t been really embraced yet due to network speed limitations.”

As with other smartphones making their debut at CTIA, including the Samsung Galaxy S, the HTC Evo 4G will include a substantial social-networking element, aggregating content from a variety of services such as Twitter, Facebook and Flickr into a continually updated “flow.” Unlike some smartphones being shown at the conference, including Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 Series devices, the HTC Evo 4G will apparently provide Adobe Flash support.

Sprint made a limited number of HTC Evo 4G devices available to analysts and members of the press following the executive presentations. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the smartphones feel and operate very much like the Nexus One and HTC Droid Eris.

Sprint 4G capability is currently available in 27 markets, with plans to expand into Houston, Boston, Washington, D.C., New York City and San Francisco by the end of 2010.

Sprint has been working to ease its subscriber loss over the past few quarters, an effort helped by its recent acquisition of Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile USA. On Feb. 10, the company reported that it had lost a net 148,000 subscribers during the fourth quarter of 2009, better than the 545,000 who apparently left the network during the third quarter.

At the same time, the company has also been working to narrow its financial losses, which totaled $980 million for the fourth quarter—an improvement, nonetheless, over the $1.6 billion that had been lost during the same quarter a year earlier.

With that sort of financial pressure bearing down, Sprint has been gambling that users will be drawn to the prospect of a 4G network, with plans to invest an addition $1 billion into Clearwire’s WiMax 4G technology. Intel, Comcast, Time Warner and Bright House Networks have plans to contribute another $500 million to that effort.

Resource:
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Sprint-Announces-HTC-Evo-4G-Emphasizing-Multimedia-735848/

The company has recently launched the LG InTouch Max, and coming freshly released is the Samsung Galaxy Portal.

The InTouch Max has a 3.2 inch touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera, 3G, wi-fi, GPS, and a slide-out Qwerty keyboard. The phone comes for free on a £22 per month plan.

As for the Galaxy Portal, that comes equipped with a 3.2 inch touchscreen, a 3.2 megapixel camera, a 1GB memory card, assisted GPS, 3G and wi-fi. It also boasts a fancy navigation app called Layar. Again, you can get the handset free on a £22 per month deal.

Two more Android phones are due at some stage next month, the first being the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, with its 4 inch WVGA screen, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 8 megapixel camera, wi-fi, 3G and GPS.

The other is the HTC Desire, which is very much like Google’s Nexus One. The smartphone sports a 3.7 inch AMOLED touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera, and a 1GHz processor.

Pricing details on these last two phones have not yet been made available.

Resource:
http://www.techwatch.co.uk/2010/03/18/virgin-media-introduces-android-line-up/

After Apple slammed 20 patent infringement lawsuit on HTC, the smartphone maker barely got back to Apple. Now, HTC has decided to defend itself against Apple’s accusations and has issued an official statement to show its disagreement to Apple’s actions. Plus, HTC is planning to fight the battle legally.

"We strongly disagree with Apple’s (AAPL – news – people) actions and plan to use all the legal tools available to defend ourselves," said Jason Mackenzie, vice president of sales and marketing of HTC America, to Forbes. He, in an official statement, said, "HTC has always taken a partnership-oriented, collaborative approach to business. This has led to long-standing strategic partnerships with the top software, Internet and wireless technology companies in the industry as well as the top U.S., European and Asian mobile operators"

This hints at the fact that HTC will make the best out of the support Google has shown to it against Apple’s accusation.

Apple’s lawsuit of 20 iPhone related patent infringement against HTC has shaken up many. This action is also looked upon as Apple’s indirect attack to the budding Android-HTC partnership by some.

However, HTC has ensured that the legal battle won’t disrupt that operations and mobile handset business. The consumer’s best interested is being considered here. HTC hasn’t hinted that it will counter-sue Apple but Mackenzie’s approach to the issue indicates that some legal action would sure be taken.

Resource:
http://www.techtree.com/India/News/HTC_to_Fight_Apple_Legally/551-109982-547.html

Even though the suit did not name Google Inc as a defendant, Apple’s move was viewed by many analysts as proxy for an attack on the Internet company, whose Nexus One smartphone is manufactured by HTC.

“I think this is kind of an indirect lawsuit against Google,” said Kaufman Bros analyst Shaw Wu.

Apple’s suit was filed with both the US International Trade Commission and the US District Court in Delaware on Tuesday, and seeks to prohibit HTC from selling, marketing or distributing infringing products in the United States.

The complaint filed with the ITC cited Google’s Nexus One, which was launched in January, and other HTC phones such as the Hero, Dream and myTouch — which run on Google’s Android mobile operating system — as infringing products.

In a statement, a Google spokeswoman said: “We are not a party to this lawsuit. However, we stand behind our Android operating system and the partners who have helped us to develop it.”

HTC said in a statement that it was looking at the filings. “HTC values patent rights and their enforcement but is also committed to defending its own technology innovations,” spokesman Keith Nowak said.

In a statement in Taipei on Wednesday, HTC added that it had not had the opportunity to investigate the suit. “Until we have had this opportunity, we are unable to comment on the validity of the claims being made against HTC.” In a separate statement to the Taiwan stock exchange, HTC said it will not see any impact on its financial outlook for the first quarter from the lawsuit.

By 0250 GMT, HTC shares lost 1.4 per cent in Taipei in a broader market up 0.4 per cent. The stock had fallen as much as 3 per cent in early trade.

“The news is having some impact on HTC’s shares but lawsuits are quite common among tech firms and I would say it is just a threat from Apple this time,” said John Chiu, a fund manager at Taiwan’s Fuh Hwa Securities Investment Trust. “However, HTC is not a good buy in the longer term since its margins will be coming under pressure when competition intensifies.”

FIERCE COMPETITION Apple’s move comes amid fierce competition in the smartphone market, as new players angle for a piece of the fast-growing segment. Mark Simpson, a patent attorney with law firm Saul Ewing in Philadelphia, said HTC made for an easier target than Google. “It’s probably simpler for them to go after the company making the infringing goods, which is HTC. It’s easier to prove at this point,” he said. MKM Partners analyst Tero Kuittinen agreed. “HTC is an optimal target for Apple — it’s a relatively small vendor with a weak brand.

It may be easier to push around than Samsung (which also makes Android smartphones). One question here is whether Apple can intimidate operators to back away from new HTC products by flashing the possibility of litigation trouble.” Apple said HTC “knowingly induce(s) users of accused HTC Android products” to infringe on a number of Apple’s patents, some dating back to the mid-1990s.

They cover user interface processes and other software and hardware components. “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours,” Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in a news release.

An Apple spokesman declined to comment beyond the complaints. The iPhone held a 14.4 per cent smartphone market share in 2009, according to research group Gartner.

Phones running Android comprised only 3.9 per cent of the market, but were growing fast.

Apple lost some share to Android phones in the fourth quarter. “This move could be a sign Apple is getting rattled by Google’s recent momentum in the mobile space — notably the avalanche of Android products unveiled at Mobile World Congress,” said Ben Wood from CCS Insight.

Apple’s lawsuit is the latest scrape over ownership of the underlying technology for smartphones — handsets that play video and music, take pictures and send e-mail.

Eastman Kodak Co in January filed a complaint with the ITC, saying Apple’s iPhone and Research in Motion Ltd’s BlackBerry camera phones infringe the photography company’s patents.

Nokia, the world’s top mobile phone maker, has also sued Apple over patents. Apple has countersued. That dispute, potentially involving hundreds of millions of dollars in annual royalties, reflects the shifting balance of power in the mobile industry as cellphones morph into handheld computers that can play video games and surf the Web.

In its ITC filing against HTC, Apple noted that some of the patents at issue are at the center of its legal fight with Nokia. Shares of Cupertino, California-based Apple fell 14 cents to close at $208.85 on Nasdaq.

Resource:
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/apple-sues-htc-over-phones-using-google-software/110974-11.html

The MWC 2010 finally ended February 18, 2010. It was a hectic week full of interesting announcements, exciting new devices and almost no sleep. But thanks to Barcelona for such a warm welcome yet another year.

More than 49,000 visitors from 200 countries attended the 2010 GSMA Mobile World Congress. The event welcomed 1,300 exhibiting companies and occupied more than 56,000 net square meters of exhibition and business meeting space.

Unfortunately, Nokia didn’t make a product announcement despite all the rumors. In fact Samsung, of all manufacturers, was the only company to present a ground-breaking mobile phone (a new OS and a new type of display). But even they didn’t show anything interesting alongside it.

Anyway, we still found some interesting topics and devices to cover but we leave this year’s congress with mixed feelings – mainly due to our high initial expectations.

New announcement from Mobile world congress 2010:

• Nokia

  Nokia did not announce any new mobile phones in Mobile World Congress 2010

• Samsung

  Samsung announcement ne mobiles phones in Mobile World Congress 2010

  1. Samsung S8500 Wave
  2. Samsung I8520 Beam
  3. Samsung C3200 Monte Bar
  4. Samsung E2550 Monte Slider
  5. Samsung B3410W Ch@t
  6. Samsung E2370
• Sony Ericson

  Sony Ericson announcement mobile phones in Mobile World Congress 2010

  1. Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro
  2. Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 mini
  3. Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 mini pro
  4. Sony Ericsson Aspen
• MICROSOFT

  MICROSOFT announcement in Mobile World Congress 2010

  1. Microsoft announces the all new Windows Phone 7 Series platform
• LG

  LG announce below mobile phones in Mobile World Congress 2010

  1. LG GD880 Mini
  2. LG GT540
  3. LG GW990 MID
• HTC

  HTC announce below mobile phones in Mobile World Congress 2010

  1. HTC Desire
  2. HTC Legend
  3. HTC HD Mini
  4. HTC Smart
• ACCER

  ACCER announce below mobile phones in Mobile World Congress 2010

  1. Acer beTouch E110
  2. Acer beTouch E400
  3. Acer neoTouch P300
  4. Acer neoTouch P400
  5. Acer Liquid E
• Toshiba

  Toshiba announce below mobile phones in Mobile World Congress 2010

  1. Toshiba TG02
  2. Toshiba K01
• Motorola

  Motorola announce below mobile phones in Mobile World Congress 2010

  1. Motorola QUENCH (CLIQ XT)
• ELSE

  ELSE announce below mobile phones in Mobile World Congress 2010

  1. ELSE Mobile First Else
• HUAWEI

  HUAWEI announce below mobile phones in Mobile World Congress 2010

  1. Huawei U8100
  2. Huawei U8110
  3. Huawei U8300
  4. Huawei U8800
• ALCATEL

  ALCATEL announce below mobile phones in Mobile World Congress 2010

  1. Alcatel OT-606 One Touch CHAT
  2. Alcatel OT-710
  3. Alcatel OT-800
  4. Alcatel OT-806
  5. Alcatel OT-808
  6. Alcatel OT-880 One Touch XTRA
  7. Alcatel OT-909
  8. Alcatel OT-980

Resource: http://www.gsmarena.com