We won’t know the full details for several more weeks, but it is possible HTC could countersue Apple for infringing on some of their smartphone patents. We might not know who wins this dispute for several years if it goes to court, so hopefully they come to some settlement and we can move forward.

If you ask me, I think Google and HTC already delivered the first revenge nut-punch by releasing an unlocked Nexus One for AT&T (Apple’s BFF). Google could not reach a deal with AT&T (like they did with the other carriers), so they went went behind their back and released it anyways.

Check out the press release and let us know what you think HTC should do next.

The contents of the full press release:

HTC DISAGREES WITH APPLE’s ACTIONS

Seattle – March 17, 2010 – HTC Corporation today outlined its disagreement with Apple’s legal actions and reiterated its commitment to creating a portfolio of innovative smartphones that gives consumers a variety of choices. Founded in 1997 with a passion for innovation and a vision for how smartphones would change people’s lives, HTC has continually driven this vision by consistently introducing award-winning smartphones with U.S. mobile operators.

“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,” said Peter Chou, chief executive officer, HTC Corporation. “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.”

The industry has recognized HTC’s contributions through a variety of awards including Fast Company’s 2010 Top 50 Most Innovative Companies and MIT Technology Review’s 2010 50 Most Innovative Companies. The GSMA also recently awarded the HTC Hero as the “Best Phone of 2009.” Some of HTC’s technology firsts include:

First Windows PDA (1998)
First Windows Phone (June 2002)
First 3G CDMA EVDO smartphone (October 2005)
First gesture-based smartphone (June 2007)
First Google Android smartphone (October 2008)
First 4G WIMAX smartphone (November 2008)

In 2009, HTC launched its branded user experience, HTC Sense. HTC Sense is focused on putting people at the center by making phones work in a more simple and natural way. This experience was fundamentally based on listening and observing how people live and communicate.

“HTC has always taken a partnership-oriented, collaborative approach to business. This has led to long-standing strategic partnerships with the top software, Internet and wireless technology companies in the industry as well as the top U.S., European and Asian mobile operators,” said Jason Mackenzie, vice president of HTC America. “It is through these relationships that we have been able to deliver the world’s most diverse series of smartphones to an even more diverse group of people around the world, recognizing that customers have very different needs.”

For more information on HTC’s history of innovation, please visit: www.htc.com/history.

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New features include:

• Updated search results page: The detailed search page got a major face life. New buttons have been added for map view, navigate, call, and street view. The reviews area has a slick looking colored chart to display star ratings and you can easily buzz about any place.
• Swipe for more results: The tabs are now gone from the search results page and users can easily swipe between places. The scrolling is super smooth on my N1 and it has a nice feel as results snap over.
• Latitude widget and Maps live wallpaper: I guess this is more eye candy than usefulness. The new Maps live wallpaper allows you to view live traffic on your homescreen. The Latitude widget shows updates for friends around your location.
• Switch Google Accounts: Android 2.0 added support for multiple accounts and now you can switch them from within maps. This allows you to easily manage multiple identities.
• Dark Map for Buzz: A new layer that darkens the map and makes buzz posts glow red.
• More Ads: I don’t know if this is a new “feature” or not, but I am noticing a ton of new sponsored ads through out Google Maps when I perform a search. I think this started around version 3.4, but they definitely have more advertisers signed up now.

When you get done playing with the new Google Maps, please drop a comment and let us know what you think.

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Logitech has been tapped to provide a remote with a tiny keyboard (picture the Boxee remote on steroids).

The project has been underway for several months, but details are limited because all testers are under a NDA with Google. We believe Google TV could also be the platform behind the recent Dish Network service that featured Google search.

A source with knowledge of the secret project said that Google TV would use a version of Google’s Chrome Web browser. The default Android browser is based off the same WebKit core, but this is the first time we have heard of Chrome running on Android. We were previously told that Android and Chrome OS would merge over time, so I can’t say this is a huge surprise.

Like Android, the Google TV software will be open source at its core so device and TV makers should be able to customize it. This means those MOTOBLUR TV rumors could actually turn out to be true.

What do you guys think? Are you ready to turn control of your TV over to Google? Which current Android apps would you like to access on a big screen?

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Only 1,000 customers will receive the update and then Motorola and Verizon will monitor the blogs for any potential issues. If everything goes ok, then the another 9,000 users will get the update at 9 PM. This will then be followed by a 24 hour waiting period, before Verizon sends out the update to the remaining phones in batches of 200,000.

The rollout schedule for the Droid 2.1 OTA is:

• The first batch of 1,000 updates will be pushed out at 9 a.m. PDT.
• Assuming all goes well, another 9,000 updates will go out at 8:59 p.m. PDT.
• After that, there’s a 24-hour waiting period (to make sure all’s still well.)
• Then 200,000 updates will go out on Saturday, March 20.
• Another batch of 200,000 goes out after that, until everyone has the update.

So what took so long for this OTA to reach our phones? Motorola originally posted on their Facebook page that Android 2.1 was coming “this week“, but that was over a month ago.

A tipster is pointing the finger at Bitfone who actually manages the distribution of the updates for Motorola. We have seen problems with other OTA updates from Motorola (CLIQs to BRIQs) so this really isn’t that surprising. We wish Motorola and Verizon the best of luck, and hope this OTA goes out without issue.

From our anonymous tipster: “Not sure if you’ve heard, but the real reason for the latest delay on the Android 2.1 update for Droid phones is due to Motorola’s distribution vendor (Bitfone- now owned by HP). They are having capacity problems with a) the Bitfone application that distributes the updates and b) capacity issues with the current network infrastructure that hosts this application. I spoke to one of the engineers personally and they mentioned that Motorola reps have been “bugging them all day” because of the 3/18 commitment date.”

If you are one of the lucky few to receive Android 2.1 tomorrow morning, hit up our tip line with visible proof for a reward.

For more specific details about the Android 2.1 update, see our previous post.

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Sprint just announced they will officially support the Nexus One and we should have pricing information and a launch date next week at CTIA.

“Nexus One is a powerful device that belongs on a powerful network. This is another step in our continued partnership of innovation with Google. Sprint customers already have the option of two amazing Android devices with Samsung Moment and HTC Hero. It is a natural fit for us to add Nexus One to the list of choices available for Sprint customers who want the best value in wireless with the best in Android.”Fared AdibVP of product development, Sprint

The announcement comes just one day after Google began selling a Nexus One that supported AT&T’s 3G bands (and Canada too). T-Mobile was the first carrier to support the Nexus One and the Verizon version should also go on sale next week.

I’m glad that Sprint is now on board, but I would probably hold out on purchasing the Nexus One until the full details of the upcoming HTC Supersonic are announced.

If you are a Sprint customer, let us know what you think. Nexus One or Supersonic?

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“It’s now or never. They won’t have an exclusive on the 4G marketing message indefinitely.”Avi GreengartAnalyst at Current Analysis

Sprint’s 4G is expected to cover 120 million people in 2010 so check your availability on their official 4G site. For a preview of 4G speeds, see our hands on review of the Sprint Overdrive.

The Supersonic was recently captured on video in near final form sporting a white case. HTC and Sprint both have a history of tweaking the design and colors, so we might end up with something different by launch.

Rumored specs of the HTC Supersonic include:

• 4.3” AMOLED
• 1 GB ROM
• 512 RAM
• 5 MP Camera with Dual LED; Auto focus, Digital zoom
• Kickstand
• 3.5mm Head Jack
• WiMax
• Bluetooth
• GPS
• FM Radio
• 1GHZ Snapdragon
• MicroUSB and MicroSD

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Someone named Robert Webbe has uploaded some new pics and video to Flickr that show the Desire in two colors, silver and urban brown. The newer silver model is now available for preorder from PDAshop.nl for €449 ($618) with an expected release date of April 9th.

Which color would you pick?

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We are still awaiting official confirmation from T-Mobile, but TmoNews is reporting the Motorola CLIQ XT will launch tomorrow for $99 with 2 year contract. Customers will have three price points since T-Mobile offers the phone on contract and off.

The leaked official pricing information for the CLIQ XT:

• $129: 2 year contract
• $329: no contract

We just reviewed the CLIQ XT and found it was a nice device, but the hardware and software is a little dated. There is nothing wrong with this as long as you understand what you are buying. The CLIQ XT is an entry level Android phone and it is priced as such.

Note that we don’t actually know the full price of the CLIQ XT and the $299 is just speculation. T-Mobile offers these awesome no-contract plans (Even More Plus), but they have a habit of hiding the no-contract pricing of their new devices.

This pricing was wrong.

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Don’t get too excited though. Gesture Search is only available by launching the special application and is not yet used in the native apps. I expect we will eventually see Google implement more gestures into their apps, but this is pretty much a beta program right now.

From Google: I’m happy to share with you that Gesture Search is now available on devices with Android 1.6 and higher. Additionally, it can be downloaded in all countries where Android Market is available, although it continues to only recognize the English alphabet. The new version also includes some improvements to performance and bug fixes. Please try it out and let me know what you think.

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Now Verizon has posted the benefits of the upcoming firmware update on their support page. The build number of the new Android 2.1 firmware is ESE53, which is the same one that leaked earlier this month with live wallpapers.

Android Central is reporting that Verizon will begin pushing out the OTA update on March 18 around 12 PM EST in batches of 250,000 users. Major updates like this normally take a week or so to fully roll out, so don’t be alarmed if it doesn’t hit your phone on the first day.

Enhancements of the software update include:

• Pinch-to-zoom is now available when using the browser, Gallery, and Google Maps.
• New Weather and News application plus widget. − The Weather and News app pulls the information you want from the Web and brings it to your fingertips. You get weekly and hourly weather forecasts based on your location, and news headlines.
• New support for voice-to-text entry. – Whenever a text-entry box appears, simply tap the microphone icon on the virtual keyboard and speak.
• New Gallery application with 3D layout. View and share photos taken with your phone and images from your online Picasa Web albums.
• Live Wallpapers offer richer animated, interactive backgrounds on the home screen. Access them with a long press anywhere on the home screen. Tap Wallpapers, then Live Wallpapers.

Improvements include:

• Free Yahoo!® Mail is now supported—simply sign in with your Yahoo! email address and password.1
• Google Maps update.
• Improved pattern-lock functionality.
• Improved handset audio when disconnecting a wired headset.
• Email accounts no longer need to be re-entered after an over-the-air update.

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