This may seem underhanded, but it is a pretty good technique to gain monopoly on technology. Regardless if Apple is using the technology, the fact that they own the patents means that they have a legal right to it –even if HTC made the device first. Of course, a bit of investigation has to be done in order to confirm that a patent has indeed been infringed. Of course, it is highly possible that during the course of the investigation, Apple could motion that the HTC devices in question be put on hold –effectively weakening the availability of the Android OS.

HTC has stated that they will not only defend their patents, but also:  “HTC disagrees with Apple’s actions and will fully defend itself. HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best mobile experience possible.”

“From day one, HTC has focused on creating cutting-edge innovations that deliver unique value for people looking for a smartphone. In 1999 we started designing the XDA and T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition, our first touch-screen smartphones, and they both shipped in 2002 with more than 50 additional HTC smartphone models shipping since then.”

Get the full details on the lawsuit against HTC and their statement at Pocket Lint.

Now, Taiwanese manufacturer HTC is continuing the trend with the Legend, a stylish little smart phone that comes with an aluminum casing. The device was first seen at the leaked 2010 roadmap where the HTC Bravo was also shown (now known as the HTC Desire).

The Legend comes with a 600 MHz Qualcomm processor. It’s a good match for the phone since at 600 MHz, most apps already run smoothly and the load times are decent -just do not expect to get some really high end games. The 5 mega pixel camera does a good job at shooting images and capturing video thanks to auto focus and flash. Lastly the 3.2 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen provides a decent screen size for watching vids, the graphic quality is also well detailed and it responds well to touch commands.

Vodafone has already confirmed that they will be releasing the device this coming April along with the HTC Desire. For those who missed on the scoop on the Desire, this Android smart phone runs on a Snapdragon 1GHz CPU, has a 5 mega pixel camera and a 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen display.

In other HTC news, the lawsuit between Apple and HTC is still ongoing as Apple is claiming that the Taiwanese manufacturer infringed on 20 of their patents for software and hardware innovations.

Get to know more about the HTC Legend and see the smart phone in action at Mobile Choice UK.

The 35 Pound monthly tariff will nab you the Android smart phone for a low offer of £50 (though we have seen some better contracts with the phone offered for free). Carphone Warehouse has all the details on acquiring this little handset and it has been confirmed that the Desire will also be available on Orange, Vodafone and more.

For those who missed out on the many cool things about the HTC Desire, this new Android smart phone comes with the latest 2.1 Éclair operating system and specs that match that of the Nexus One. And it should, it is already known that the Nexus One is based on the HTC Bravo –which was the original name of the Desire. The Bravo details got leaked last year along with several other HTC devices right before all attention turned to the upcoming Google Phone.

When the device finally came out at the Mobile World Congress last month, HTC revealed that the Bravo would have a new name, the HTC Desire. The phone comes with a large 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen that delivers excellent graphics and accurate touch control, a 5 mega pixel camera with 720p video recording and a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU. Many are already saying that this phone would serve as a better alternative to the Nexus One (which can only be bought through Google’s Online Store).

Get to know more about the HTC Desire at Mobile Choice UK.

The device played second to the HTC Bravo (now known as the HTC Desire). The Legend uses a 3.2 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen, much smaller than the Bravo’s 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen.  Bothe devices’ digital cameras were 5 mega pixels each, though only the Bravo had 720p video recording capabilities. The Legend runs at a much slower 600MHz Qualcomm processor when compared to the Snapdragon 1GHz CPU on the HTC Bravo.

Still, the Legend promises to deliver Android at a much cheaper price with excellent hardware; it also comes with a sleek aluminum casing that gives it a very stylish look.

According to recent reports, the Legend is currently being offered only by Vodafone (though it has been seen at retailer Clove Technology’s offerings as well). No word yet if the Android smart phone will be an exclusive offering since many are already offering the Desire to their clients. With the March 23 release date drawing near, it may very well end up with Vodafone being the only operator offering the device, for now.

In the meanwhile, HTC is still battling it out with Apple to show that they hold patents for their technologies used in most of their Android smart phones (and a few WinMo devices). Apple has recently filed a lawsuit against HTC stating that the Taiwanese manufacturer infringed on 20 software and hardware patents. Google has stated that they stand behind HTC in this matter.

For more information on the HTC Legend UK release, go to Tech Radar.

Lastly, the phone runs on an efficient Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 CPU clocked at 1GHz. Overall, it is a powerful device that should be more than enough to run the new Windows Phone 7 series mobile operating system. Sadly, this will never happen.

Microsoft has been clear not only about specifying the specific chassis types for the upcoming devices which will use the new OS but also in declaring that the series 7 will be used only on new devices.

Aside from the fact that WP7 has very strict hardware requirements, Microsoft has also announced that they will continue supporting the WinMo system and will be renaming the OS as Windows Phone Classic when WP7 arrives.

The reason for continuing support of the older OS is because the newer operating system is focused more on the needs of general users. With this, Microsoft will not be able to address the needs of its business clients. To maintain their hold of the business sector, industry experts predict that the older WinMo OS will have to be updated with business-centered features. This will give Microsoft two choices for their clients: the Windows Phone 7 for regular users and Windows Phone Classic for business users. Under this scheme, the HTC HD2 will be able to be aimed towards business clients.

Vodafone UK does not have the HD2 device available to regular customers, but a business plan is still available for those who are looking for it. Considering the fact that Vodafone UK has a provision means that the HD2 is highly marketable as a business device.

Read more about the WP7 on the HTC HD2 at Engadget.

It is already a common fact that most HTC devices use the Sense user interface (or the TouchFlo 3D) which may be the target of the some of the software infringement cases. Despite this, Google has issued a statement that they support and are behind HTC on the issue.

The show of corporate loyalty is touching, and for many, quite expected. Google and HTC have a pretty long history together. HTC, for its part, has been one of the founding and most active members of the Open Handset Alliance. They have played a key role in the development of the Android OS and have been the manufacturer behind many firsts such as the first Android device and the first Google branded smart phone.

With Apple and Google’s industry rivalry getting stronger with each passing week, Apple’s decision to sue HTC can be considered a very smart maneuver to disable an important cog in the Android chassis.

Regardless of whether HTC wins the lawsuit or not, it is predicted that Apple is simply aiming to slow down the pace of the Android OS’ advancement. With the Nexus One already under its belt, the HTC Desire and Legend coming this year and the upcoming HTC Scorpio seeming poised to match the Apple iPhone 4G; HTC has positioned itself as a key player in Google’s plans. A single well placed lawsuit such as this should help Apple pave the way for their upcoming devices like the iPhone 4G.

Get more info about the Apple-HTC lawsuit at the Telegraph UK.

It runs on a Snapdragon processor clocked at 1GHz and uses a large capacitive touch screen for user input. While the WinMo OS has long been criticized for its user interface that requires the use of a stylus (and in turn, a resistive touch screen), HTC gets around this flaw by making use of the HTC Sense user interface.

This is the very reason why, to this day, the HTC HD2 is the only WinMo 6.5 device that uses a capacitive touch screen. The HD2 even got a sequel, the HD Mini which features WinMo 6.5.3 Maldives –also on a capacitive touch screen.

It is the fact that Windows Mobile is running on such good hardware that many are assuming that the smart phone will be compatible for an update with the upcoming Windows Phone 7 series.

Sadly for current users of the HD2, there will be no updates to the new OS; not now, and from the looks of it, not ever. This is because the HD2’s hardware is not sufficient to handle the requirements of the new OS. Even with the Snapdragon processor, the heavy hardware requirements of the OS would require a phone with even better specifications.

The Taiwanese company has already announced that they will be releasing a new device for the new OS later this year –but it looks like LG is going to be the first manufacturer to come out with a WinMo device.

In some ways, Microsoft did a great job by not releasing an update patch. The sales of devices that will be using the new OS will certainly be hurt if it was possible to use Windows Mobile on older devices.

Get to know more about the HD2 and WP7 at GSM Arena.

HTC Desire

HTC’s recently launched range of phones have certainly set tongues wagging in the mobile phone industry, and a lot of the chatter surrounding the new HTC handset, the HTC Desire, was focussed on just how potential users would respond to a device that on first impressions appears so similar in both design and operation to Google’s Nexus One device. In fact the questions on many peoples’ minds is whether or not it really is worthwhile to get hold of the Desire when it comes out in roughly two months time, and does it have any more to offer than the Nexus One? Some reviewers have jokingly referred to the HTC Desire are the Nexus Two off of initial spec analysis alone, however when examined more closely the Desire significantly outperformed the Nexus One in quite a variety of ways.

Certainly the moniker of Nexus Two is easy to interpret when you first look at the Desire, featuring as it does an almost carbon copy 3.7 inch WVGA AMOLED display in concert with the device’s rounded curves and the power button placed on the top of the device. The internal specs and features of the Desire are also not too distinct to those found in the Nexus as the Desire contains the 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor, a microSD expansion slot through insertion of a memory card allows the memory of the device to be significantly upgraded, GPS and AGPS as well as 256MB of RAM and 512 of flash memory. In concert with the GPS functions there is also an integral compass.

As might be expected by knowledgeable mobile fans the Desire also has immediate Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and HSDPA readiness, along with the almost standard-issue 5-megapixel integral camera with its LED flash. The user can also capture 800×480 video through the camera, and the functions are powered by the latest 2.1 Android operating system which keeps things running at a rate to make even the most cynical of critics happy. Functions can also be readily accessed through shortcut features that can be easily found on the menus and homepage.

Despite the fact that Google’s Nexus One does score some points for active voice cancellation this does not detract from the Desire in any real way. In fact on the Desire HTC have trimmed away the excesses and less functional aspects of the Nexus and have really made some significant improvements, such as getting rid of the crash-prone trackball as well as the on-screen touch-sensitive button, preferring instead to include actual hard shortcut buttons.

HTC Desire

The Desire also features HTC Sense UI which was unveiled originally on HTC’s Hero to great acclaim. On the Desire, however, the facility is much improved over the original to offer even more user features and functionality. It is, for instance, much faster in its new setting and has a range of new features and functions that leave the Nexus One far behind – one of the most original features of which is what HTC calls the ‘helicopter view’ from which the user can see all homepage screens that are currently open and can pinch in between to choose the one they want. They can then tap on the screen they wish to go to, a facility that works in much the same way as Expose works on the Mac, and simply pinch back out when they’re ready to leave.

Flash Lite is also included in the Desire through which videos can be watched online straight out of the box. Users can also click on on-screen text and get it instantly translated or looked up on Wikipedia, a great touch. Overall the Android 2.1 keeps things running at a fast rate, and with the quality of features being used today there are generally no questions after closer inspection which tech-savvy users prefer when looking at both the Nexus and Desire.

The lineup is headed by the HTC Desire. This phone was originally announced as the Bravo and it was revealed last year as part of the 2010 roadmap. The phone’s initial specifications have not changed since then. It runs on a 1GHz Snapdragon processor which means that it will be running pretty fast with the Android OS. The 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen display delivers excellent quality images and visuals perfect for viewing the images and videos you can take with the 5 mega pixel camera with 720p D1 video recording capabilities.

The next HTC Android is the HTC Legend. This smart phone is a sequel to the successful HTC Hero. The device comes with an impressive 600 MHz processor, a 3.2 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen and a 5 mega pixel camera. The device comes fitted with a stylish aluminum casing.

There will be two more HTC Android devices coming. Of the two, the HTC Scorpion is far more interesting since the device will be using a dual core Snapdragon CPU (or so rumors say).

Meanwhile, the HTC Incredible is much closer to the Desire in terms of specs. The Incredible is also a Snapdragon powered smart phone running at 1GHz. It has a 3.7 inch capacitive touch screen (not confirmed to be AMOLED) and a 5 mega pixel camera with dual LED flash. So far, the Incredible is set for a US release, though it might get a name change and ported over to the UK.

Read more about the HTC Incredible at Tech Radar.

It’s a pretty smart move. Both the Desire and the Nexus One possess 1GHz Snapdragon processors which means that running apps, the Android OS and loading various features will be performed in a cinch. It also means that the phone will be able to handle heavy processes such as games. In terms of graphics, the 3D capabilities of the Desire are second only to the Apple iPhone.

Screen wise, the Desire is an impressive phone. Like the Nexus, it comes with a 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen. So far, the only other device we have seen that surpasses the quality of the screen is Samsung’s super AMOLED screen on the new Wave phone. In any case, expect to get excellent quality visuals on the Desire.

The HTC smart phone also has a 5 mega pixel camera with the ability to record video in D1 720p quality. This is a feature not present in the Nexus One (which only has a 5 mega pixel camera).

For those who want an early taste of the Desire and its Sense user interface on the Android OS, some crafty devs have found a way to extract the HTC ROM and have applied it to the Nexus One. Delivering the Sense UI in the Google branded device (not so bad considering that the Nexus was made by HTC in the first place). Of course, adding in the ROM will definitely void the warranty on your smart phone so take note –you have been warned.

To learn more about the HTC Desire ROM and how to find the resources for it, go to Pocket Lint.