The Good the Bad the Ugly and the Bitch

by Elias Shams
Thanks to Apple for their iPhone phenomena which has transformed the old fashion mobile phones to our mini computing devices in four years which explains why everyone is after them – from the software giant, Microsoft to the search engine giant, Google to the mobile handset vendor giant, HTC. The War is getting bad, ugly, and bitchy

Apple has filed a massive lawsuit against phone-maker HTC alleging that HTC is infringing on over 20 of its iPhone patents. While HTC makes phones for a number of partners, it’s pretty clear that Apple is trying to protect their intellectual properties against google. Whether apple succeed in this mission, that’s going to be a tough one.

With the endless bank account, strong lobbyist and lawyers all these companies have in our Awesome Washington, DC, I have very little apple will succeed on this.

And now Google may have just found an unlikely ally in this fight: Microsoft.

The software giant, which makes the rival Windows Mobile and Windows Phone 7 phone software has announced a deal with HTC that allows them to license their patented technology.

On the face of it, this deal may make some sense since HTC which literally has been everyone’s bitch also makes Windows Mobile phones.  I wonder if any of these companies could have made an exclusive deal with HTC like how AT&T did with Apple.

Check this out though – According to the Microsoft’s statement in their press release, “Microsoft Corp. and HTC Corp. have signed a patent agreement that provides broad coverage under Microsoft’s patent portfolio for HTC’s mobile phones running the Android mobile platform”. This is just classic Microsoft 101

This means that Microsoft lending its large arsenal of patents to help HTC and Google combat Apple. Whether they succeed on this, it remains to be a big question also.

While Microsoft undoubtedly gets some pleasure out of using HTC and Google as their proxy war against their rival Apple, Apple seems much more at odds with Google. Of course, this makes sense economically for Microsoft — they’ll receive royalties from HTC for each handset sold, Android handsets. The release also notes that the “agreement expands HTC’s long-standing business relationship with Microsoft.”

So, it looks like it wasn’t actually the vagina effect that made HTC to drop their bid for Plam. It looks like the negotiation of this deal made that much easier to do.

The game is getting even uglier. According to a report from CNET , Microsoft is now claiming that Android is infringing on its patents.. It looks like this deal may have more to do with HTC covering itself if Microsoft decides to go after Google.

It will be interesting to see who ends up being the dead one in this battle Any prediction?

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