The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

HTC 'disagrees' with Apple patent theft claim

Response short on denials, righteous indignation

Agentless Backup is Not a Myth

HTC has said it "disagrees" with Apple's claim that it has ripped off the iPhone maker's intellectual property - currently the subject of a legal battle between the two companies.

You wouldn't expect HTC to say anything else, of course, and we'd have been more surprised to see it say it won't "fully defend" itself what it did say, which is that it will do just that.

Curiously, HTC's formal statement on the matter doesn't emphatically deny Apple's accusations, which is usually how this kind of thing is worded. Indeed, it seems surprisingly short on righteous indignation.

It's all a bit 'pipe and slippers', in fact.

HTC Touch, touch-screen mobile phone handset

HTC's Touch: the 'first gesture-based smartphone' reveals the weather

Instead of a vigorous defence, HTC simply stated that it has been in business since 1997 and has been behind some important industry firsts ever since then: first Windows Phone, first Android smartphone, first WiMax smartphone and so on.

The crucial claim, perhaps, is its claim to the "first gesture-based smartphone", which is claims for June 2007. It doesn't say which model it has in mind, but we suspect it means the HTC Touch, was a Windows Mobile 6 device with HTC's own TouchFlo UI on top. We reviewed it here.

iPhone Weather app

How the iPhone has always done it

At the time, TouchFlo was noted for its use of hi-res, anti-aliased, photorealistic graphics, something entirely absent from smartphone user interfaces up until that point. Or, rather, up until Apple introduced - but didn't ship - the first iPhone, in January 2007.

Apple shipped the iPhone later toward the end of June 2007. ®

Customer Success Testimonial: Recovery is Everything

More from The Register

Samsung Galaxy Note 8: Proof the pen is mightier?
Sammy’s iPad Mini killer has a stylus to stab other rivals too
Microsoft lures buy-curious vixens, corduroys with a cheap fondle
Surface slab sales latest: Will no one rid Ballmer of these turbulent tabs?
First look: iOS 7 for iPad
No, Apple hasn't released it yet, but that doesn't stop intrepid devs
 breaking news
Curtain drops on Apple Store ahead of WWDC: What lies behind?
Steve Jobs watching from on high. No pressure, lads
 breaking news
Cold, dead hands of Steve Jobs slip from iPhones: The Cult of Ive is upon us
Billionaire biz baron's death clears way for uber-shiny iOS 7
Airbus imagines suitcases that find themselves
Point your mobe at your smalls to track their every move
Surprise! Intel smartphone trounces ARM in power trials
Tests show equal performance while sipping significantly less juice
Samsung plans LTE Advanced version of Galaxy S4
1Gbps download capability could stiffen drooping S4 sales forecasts
Apple said to be 'exploring' 5.7-inch iPhone
Who's the copycat this time, Mr. Cook?