HTC Delays Evo 4G LTE Launch as U.S. Customs Investigates Shipments for Breach of Apple Patent

htc logoLast December, Apple won a U.S. International Trade Commission case against HTC, with the agency ruling that several of HTC's handsets infringed upon a pair of Apple-held patents. The agency's ruling included a ban on the import of infringing devices beginning in April, although HTC quickly responded to say that it had already designed a workaround for the issue in question.

But as reported by The Verge late yesterday, U.S. Customs officials have delayed shipments of HTC's new One X and Evo 4G LTE handsets into the United States as it investigates whether those handsets also infringe upon Apple's patents.

We've learned today that the One X and Evo 4G LTE are indefinitely delayed at Customs as the agency investigates patent issues with Apple, and sources have further confirmed that some shipments are indeed being held back. The One X is also currently out of stock at AT&T's online store and at most AT&T retail stores we've called — and few had any information on when more units would arrive.

HTC issued a follow-up statement confirming the customs hold and indicating that it is working to secure the release of the shipments.

The US availability of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed due to a standard U.S. Customs review of shipments that is required after an ITC exclusion order. We believe we are in compliance with the ruling and HTC is working closely with Customs to secure approval. The HTC One X and HTC Evo 4G LTE have been received enthusiastically by customers and we appreciate their patience as we work to get these products into their hands as soon as possible.

Dow Jones Newswires provides more information today, noting that HTC will need to delay the launch of the Evo 4G LTE, which had been scheduled to debut on Sprint this Friday, May 18. In addition, AT&T is experiencing shortages of the One X due to the customs hold, although some units were able to enter the country before the import ban went into effect on April 19.

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

iPhone SE 4 With Apple's Own 5G Modem 'Confirmed' to Launch in March

Tuesday November 19, 2024 12:12 pm PST by
Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley and his colleagues recently traveled to Asia to meet with various electronics manufacturers and suppliers. In a research note this week, outlining key takeaways from the trip, the analysts said they have "confirmed" that a fourth-generation iPhone SE with an Apple-designed 5G modem is slated to launch towards the end of the first quarter next year. In line with previo...
airtag purple

AirTag 2 Rumored to Launch Next Year With These New Features

Sunday November 17, 2024 5:18 am PST by
Apple released the AirTag in April 2021, so it is now three over and a half years old. While the AirTag has not received any hardware updates since then, a new version of the item tracking accessory is rumored to be in development. Below, we recap rumors about a second-generation AirTag. Timing Apple is aiming to release a new AirTag in mid-2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman....
Magic Mouse Next to Keyboard

No, Apple CEO Tim Cook Didn't Say He Prefers Logitech's MX Master 3 Over the Magic Mouse

Sunday November 17, 2024 3:03 pm PST by
While the Logitech MX Master 3 is a terrific mouse for the Mac, reports claiming that Apple CEO Tim Cook prefers that mouse over the Magic Mouse are false. The Wall Street Journal last month published an interview with Cook, in which he said he uses every Apple product every day. Soon after, The Verge's Wes Davis attempted to replicate using every Apple product in a single day. During that...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Real Mock

Apple Releases iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 With Security Fixes

Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 come three weeks after the launch of iOS 18.1. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released iOS 17.7.2 for...
at t turbo indicator iphone 16 pro max v0 8hrh7w5f3w1e1

AT&T Turbo Indicator Showing Up in iPhone Status Bar for Subscribers

Wednesday November 20, 2024 3:42 am PST by
AT&T has begun displaying "Turbo" in the iPhone carrier label for customers subscribed to its premium network prioritization service, according to reports on Reddit. The new indicator seems to have started appearing after users updated to iOS 18.1.1, but that could be just coincidence. Image credit: Reddit user No_Highlight7476 The Turbo feature provides enhanced network performance through ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux

'iPhone 17 Air' Rumored to Surpass iPhone 6 as Thinnest iPhone Ever

Monday November 18, 2024 1:07 pm PST by
In a research note with Hong Kong-based investment bank Haitong today, obtained by MacRumors, Apple analyst Jeff Pu said he agrees with a recent rumor claiming that the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" will be around 6mm thick. "We agreed with the recent chatter of an 6mm thickness ultra-slim design of the iPhone 17 Slim model," he wrote. If that measurement proves to be accurate, there would be ...
bug security vulnerability issue fix larry

Make Sure to Update: iOS 18.1.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 Fix Actively Exploited Vulnerabilities

Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:52 am PST by
The iOS 18.1.1, iPadOS 18.1.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 updates that Apple released today address JavaScriptCore and WebKit vulnerabilities that Apple says have been actively exploited on some devices. With the JavaScriptCore vulnerability, processing maliciously crafted web content could lead to arbitrary code execution. The WebKit vulnerability had the same issue with maliciously crafted...

Top Rated Comments

ChrisTX Avatar
163 months ago
The famous words spoken by Steve Jobs "and boy have we patented it" referring to the original iPhone back in 2007 have all but been forgotten by everyone in this industry.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Winni Avatar
163 months ago
While it may seem like that, and Apple remains the biggest company in the world you still need to respect their patents.

The patents in this case are as trivial as it gets. They should not have been granted in the first place.

I have a background in software development, technical writing and networking, so I actually am a person that should feel protected by IP laws. But I live and work in the real world, and all I can say is that it is my firm belief that the entire patent and copyright system is a perversion that is only there for the benefit of large corporations and especially software patents should be abolished yesterday.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KnightWRX Avatar
163 months ago
Advertisements? Have you ever even used one?

Copy everything? HTC has came up with so many original hardware designs over the past several years. I believe they were the first with a unibody phone with the Legend. They are also known to have tried different hinges for their hard keyboard phones. They are all about innovation.

Their HTC Sense UI especially seems to be quite appreciated by the industry.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AP_piano295 Avatar
163 months ago
I don't see how it's inaccurate. Maybe instead of being snarky you can contribute to the conversation.

A better analogy would be:

Apple builds a house and moves in.

HTC builds a house next-door which is different in almost every way. Except they used some very similar tiles in the downstairs bathroom.

So instead of accepting that there really isn't that much difference between any set of blue tiles. Apple tells its lawyers to sue HTC and keep them from moving into their house until they pull up the tiles in the bathroom and replace them with tiles that Apple thinks are different enough.

This is a much better analogy of what is actually going on here.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aerok Avatar
163 months ago
HTC's slogan, "Quietly Brilliant", is very false. They spam us with advertisements and copy everything (not just from Apple).

Advertisements? Have you ever even used one?

Copy everything? HTC has came up with so many original hardware designs over the past several years. I believe they were the first with a unibody phone with the Legend. They are also known to have tried different hinges for their hard keyboard phones. They are all about innovation.


The moron who spilled her coffee was able to sue McDonalds and get money easily. A small company with a good reason could beat a large company in a lawsuit.

Read about the case, it is not as moronic as you think it is.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KnightWRX Avatar
163 months ago
Wonder what the people cheering for this news will say if the iPhone gets held up at customs following an ITC ruling against Apple :

http://www.slashgear.com/itc-finds-apple-violates-one-motorola-patent-24224485/

Apple was found to infringe a Motorola patent by the ITC on the 24th of April and a ban could be issued for iPads and iPhones.

Will VirtualBall and others claiming "you need to respect Apple's patents" do the same against Apple and for Motorola ?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)