HTC- Apple deal to open a bag of worms for the phone industry?
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HTC resolved it patents dispute with Apple this week, which will force the One XL maker to fork out $6- $8 for every Android device sold, a Forbes report indicate.
However, other industry sources suggest HTC -Apple agreement may involve the Taiwanese maker forking out as much as $20 for the privilege of using Apple patents on every Google based device sold over a 10 year agreement.
So will the price of HTC phones rise as a result of the settlement?
Not so, says IDC analyst Aman Bajaj, who is based in New Zealand.
“To the best of my knowledge the licensing agreement included patents held by both companies,” Bajaj told SmartHouse.
“I do not expect HTC to increase the prices of their devices as a result of this agreement.”
However, another European based analyst believes “per-device licensing payments may put a floor under the prices of Android smartphones in the west,” Benedict Evans, from Enders Analysis told The Guardian.
HTC’s CEO, Peter Chou, said “HTC is pleased to have resolved its dispute with Apple, so HTC can focus on innovation instead of litigation.” Neither party revealed the exact terms of the settlement.
But patents guru Florian Mueller reckons the latest settlement between the warring OS’s, spells trouble for Google Android.
Mueller believes there will be plenty more Android OS affiliates being forced to pay out to Apple after HTC agreed to pay out.
The iPhone maker begun pursuing Android vendors in 2010, inclusing HTC, Samsung (still ongoing) and Motorola, accusing them of infringing on their mobile intellectual patents and basically cloning the iPhone’s technology.
“There certainly will be lots of Android patent license deals in 2013,” says Mueller on his blog.
“At some point, even Google’s Motorola Mobility will end up paying.”
“If HTC had believed that Google could solve Android’s patent problems with Motorola’s patents, it wouldn’t have done a separate deal with Apple but would have waited for a global settlement between Apple and the entire Google-led Android ecosystem.”
Read: Apple Throw In The Towel In Their Fight With HTC
