Delay of One X, EVO 4G LTE. HTC-Apple Dispute

The HTC corp will be delayed due to dispute with Apple Inc. A blow to the company as the news knocked its shares down 5 percent.
Apple succeeded a narrow victory over HTC in a patent lawsuit in December over technology in the smartphones, one of many such disputes in the fiercely competitive smartphone market.

HTC said in a statement on Wednesday that "the US availability of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed due to a standard US Customs review of shipments that is required after an ITC ( International Trade Commission) exclusion order".

Under that ruling, HTC phones with the disputed technology would be banned from entering the US from April 19. HTC has said that it has a workaround in its new phones to avoid the technology. The shipments still require inspection however.

Some shipments of the One X model had reached the US before the ban date, enabling the model's launch, but further shipments are being delayed, an HTC official in Taipei said.


US operator AT&T, which has been carrying the One X model in store since May 6, says the smartphone is "out of stock" on its website.

The launch of the EVO 4G LTE by Sprint, originally scheduled for Friday, will be delayed. Sprint has been taking pre-orders on its website.

In its statement, HTC said it believes it is "in compliance with the ruling and HTC is working closely with customs to secure approval". Sprint and AT&T both declined to comment.

As of 0405 GMT, HTC shares were down 4.6 per cent in a broader market down 1.3 per cent

In late February, HTC announced its One series of models with fast graphic chips and advanced music and photography functions, to generally positive reviews from analysts and tech bloggers.