Apple vs. HTC Lawsuit a Warning Shot to Disrupt Competitors?
Fortune quotes Oppenheimer’s Yair Reiner, who thinks Apple’s patent infringement suit against Google Android and Microsoft Windows Phone manufacturer HTC was a warning shot meant to disrupt competitors’ roadmaps:
“Starting in January, Apple launched a series of C-Level discussions with tier-1 handset makers to underscore its growing displeasure at seeing its iPhone-related IP [intellectual property] infringed. The lawsuit filed against HTC thus appears to be Apple’s way of putting a public, lawyered-up exclamation point on a series of blunt conversations that have been occurring behind closed doors.
“Our checks also suggest that these warning shots are meaningfully disrupting the development roadmaps for would-be iPhone killers. Rival software and hardware teams are going back to the drawing board to look for work-arounds. Lawyers are redoubling efforts to gauge potential defensive and offensive responses. And strategy teams are working to chart OS strategies that are better hedged.”
What changed?
“Top-tier handset makers continued to avoid implementing multi-touch, but Apple could safely assume that they were hanging back to gauge Apple’s response to Motorola and HTC. If there wasn’t one, the OEMs would likely read the silence as a green light, especially after Google also moved to enable multi-touch on its Nexus One phone.
It was likely in order to counter that perception that Apple began reaching out to handset OEMs in January and explaining in no uncertain terms that it was now ready to do battle–and not just on multi-touch. It was ready to press its case along a number of axes that had made the iPhone experience unique, from the interpretation of touch gestures, to object-oriented OS design, to the nuts and bolts of how hardware elements were built and configured.”
He believes it’s working, and might end up driving people away from Android and… towards Windows Phone.
Nice.
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Well, that’s actually the best theory I’ve read so far. But it leaves unresolved how Apple thinks it’s suit against HTC is actually going to be resolved. Will they withdraw it? That would defeat the purpose. Will they lose in court? One of twenty patents is bound to win. Do they actually want to prevent HTC from shipping to the US? The PR fallout from that would lose (not gain) sales for Apple. So I’m still convinced the best endgame here is Apple buys HTC.
Hehehe.
If the intent is to move the market away from Android and towards Windows then Apple may want to reconsider this move. While Google is beloved by many in tech one thing that they still don’t get is leadership. Sure, they have great technical skills and products but the early days of Android are confusing and frustrating for a customer. Each 1.X iteration seems to be held out for the next product launch from some sainted partner only to have the next 1.X release go to someone else with more bells and whistles. Folks who purchased the previous next great Android device see a new one come out that eclipses their feature set and angers the customers, manufacturer and possible carrier.
Microsoft may be old school but one thing that they never do is place one Windows partner above all others. They are treated as more or less equals so they will all get the next version of Windows on the same date and all upgrades will be offered at the same time to all partners. Devices will all work more or less the same way whether the device contains a keyboard or touch screen which is something that can’t be said for Android. Finally, Microsoft has a history of backward compatibility, which is a blessing and a curse, so all developers know where they stand moving forward. With Android, who knows.
IMHO, Google may have all of the buzz and technical wizardry – especially on the web. But when it come to leadership of a platform and set of channel partners they leave a lot to be desired. Circling back to Apple, Windows and Microsoft may in the end be more of a difficult opponent than Google and Android.
ok so why didn’t apple go at palm? Apple is a bunch a pussies..
Those patents only aply to USA, perhaps one move is sell some phones in USA and the exact same phones like they are now in the rest of the world.
I’m glad I live in a place where software patents doesn’t exist
In other words .. they are scared Sh*tless of Android ..
@ladykaede .. if Apple buys HTC to dispose of them .. they would def take a PR hit .. they pretty much giving in saying HTC make better products t .. therefore they have to dispose of them ..
Apple will loose few non-techy sales over this law suit. Most people could care less and all these companies are suing to such a large degree that it is not a priority to most consumers as to these business dealings.
Bottom line if there are less apply type products on the market and New consumers are looking for that line of products they only have a few options–Apple wins even if consumers loose.
JoBlow .. you might be right.. it might still be a good move.. it will be a PR hit .. because the people covering it will be TECHIES and they’d be the one explaining to the public what’s going on..
The question is will that be enough for people to look elsewhere for gagdgets…
and the question for Apple is that IS HTC this much of a threat to you for you to spend money to buy them just to dispose of it .. and in addition taking a PR hit however minor it might be..
@JoBlow- Yeah, good point.
@Jerry- Apple wouldn’t buy HTC to dispose of them! They would buy them to turn their revenues into Apple’s revenues! No IP problem if you’re the one selling the fruits of your IP! Besides, HTC makes great hardware.
And Taiwanese govern will allow Apple buying HTC?
I can’t understand praising buying competitors to stay ahead in market
I’m not praising anything; I’m merely providing my old geezer’s, semi-professional opinion. Personally, I would rather there were no patent suits in this space (at least since the US Patent Office started granting patents for daydreaming about unicorns). But here we are. This is the most likely scenario I see. As for the laws of Taiwan, I can only assume they are trumped by $40billion in cash.
“As for the laws of Taiwan, I can only assume they are trumped by $40billion in cash.”
Yes, who will not be trumped for an American company with a lot of cash?
And if Taiwanese govern doesn’t allow this hipotetycal transaction, Jobs himself must buy Taiwan.
Gwidion I am curious – what country do you live in? I thought Wales by your name, but I think I am mistaken. It would make a good plot for a science fiction novel for Steve Jobs to buy Taiwan. Have you ever been to Taiwan?
Apple won’t get any revenue from HTC unless they start selling WinMo and Android devices.. I highly doubt Apple would go that route..
I can see them using HTC’s in house manufacturing.. that would make sense.. but selling current HTC products would not make any sense..
Also HTC is based out of Taiwan .. I’m sure there are more obstacles Apple have to overcome in order to purchase HTC .. it’s not a publicly traded company in the US
“Apple won’t get any revenue from HTC unless they start selling WinMo and Android devices.. I highly doubt Apple would go that route..”
Why not? At least in the short run. Having bought HTC, they’d be doing Android/WinMo users a favor, and making a profit.
Apple would not want to confuse their consumer by selling ANdroid and WInMo products .. definitely not the Apple way.. and they are a stubborn bunch ..
Apple will buy HTC when pigs fly over the Taiwan Strait to deliver the acquisition papers
To quote Apple COO Tim Cook from a couple weeks back:
“We’ve always been about making the best product, not having the highest market share or the highest revenue, and so acquiring a company so our revenue gets larger isn’t something that drives us.”"
“It’s saying no to many products that are good ideas, but just not nearly as good as the other ones”
“[and] ensuring that it’s a small list of things to work on and putting all of our wood behind those things, that’s the magic behind us”
Acquiring HTC would go against all of the above, and just would not be Apple’s style. They could, I suppose, if they just wanted HTC’s hardware expertise and manufacturing capacity, throwing out the software sides, but that would be a high price to pay for something they could build or acquire much more cheaply.
Only time will tell.
Apple is scared by android. They say they like compitition but as soon as the comp catches up the want to sue rather than make a better product. Bottom line is iwhatever is over like palm and bberry americans are over it. Apple marketed a good product but its been 3 yrs and were bored with it time for the next gadget(android) wich will last for a few years untill the next gadget comes out. At&t’s bad 3g coverage and being the only provider for apple is what will kill the iphone. Where I live I pay $85 a month for 300 min. Fave 5 unlimited data, 400 texts, insurance, turn by turn nav and visual vicemail plus more with tmobile I would pay around 100 to 150 a month with at&t for that plus I have 3g where I live and at&t dosent. The exclusivly is hurting apple and won’t make me a customer. Besides if apple wants to come and get my g1 I will smash it with a hammer toss it in front yard and tell then foff pick the peices up and ***** jobs won’t make a penny off me and my android phone!!!!!!!!
I like how u can’t call steve jobs an a. Hole on this site
On a business not isn’t nokia suing apple for patent issues with the iphone. Its all a big game the patents are so vague only lawyers know what they mean. The one I don’t get goes something like this: gestures on a lock screen. So they are the onlyones that can unlock a phone w/o a button that’s b.s.
HTC is an easy mark for Apple. Suing anyone else will become a legal mess and a pissing contest of patents. They won’t go after moto because 1. Moto has played nice in the US and 2. Moto invented the cell phone in 1973 and have the patent for the “portable phone” and I doubt Apple is paying any licensing fees to Motorola.
Apple sucks! Every single person I have ever met that owns an Apple product is so full of themselves!
@Lady Kaede I’m from Spain.
And regarding Apple buying HTC, I highly doubt that Apple would spend more than $8,5B in the Taiwanese stock market
@Gwydion – thanks – just curious. Still like Apple buying an island nation as a sci-fi novel premise.