HTC’s comeback story for 2012 might be a little rougher than we originally expected. We have just learned that the International Trade Commission has indefinitely blocked imports of Sprint’s HTC EVO 4G and AT&T’s HTC One X. The import block stems from an ITC ruling in December which found certain HTC devices infringe on Apple patent #5,946,647 which describes a process by which phone numbers and email addresses automatically launch associated applications like the dialer or email application when pressed. ITC issued an exclusion order which can be used to ban the importation of any “personal data and mobile communications devices” manufactured by HTC.
Since US Customs orders are classified, the ITC is not required to issue any update during its investigation process. Based on HTC’s statement after the ITC’s findings in December, we assumed that the Apple patent was not a big issue since HTC would simply remove the feature from current and future handsets. Our own testing with the HTC One S and HTC One X shows that the feature is still present, leading us to wonder why the HTC One S has not been blocked as well.
While imports of the HTC One X have been blocked, customer may still be able to purchase the phone at local AT&T stores. Our calls to local retailers show there are still a few in stock, but inventories might be quickly depleted.
HTC’s 2012 comeback has hit a bump, but we hope this setback isn’t enough to push HTC off a cliff. Do you think the ITC block of the HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE is a big deal or will HTC’s handsets pass inspection and be in store shelves without most customers even noticing the delay?
[quote]The US availability of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed due to a standard U.S. Customs review of shipments that is required after an ITC exclusion order. We believe we are in compliance with the ruling and HTC is working closely with Customs to secure approval. The HTC One X and HTC Evo 4G LTE have been received enthusiastically by customers and we appreciate their patience as we work to get these products into their hands as soon as possible.[/quote]Source: The Verge
This is absurd, I really planned on buying this phone in time. If I never get the chance, I will not be one happy camper. I had some android fan boy anger of Apple but this is some fuel to the pretty fake fire I had. Ridiculous.
Yea, this is absurd. Apple’s just trying to prevent HTC from selling their phones. This has nothing to do with the actual patent.