Screw you Apple (UPDATED)

I’m so pissed off right now. I have dozens of reasons for disliking Apple and all they stand for but this latest issue has affected me directly. We switched back to Sprint in order to save money over Verizon. We were able to trade our phones in and get phones at Sprint for free. I am, or was, going to be trading mine in on Friday for the new HTC EVO 4G LTE. It’s the same price as my Galaxy Nexus and so it’s a straight up swap. However, the problem is that Friday is the very last day I can do that. Now it seems that the EVO will no longer be hitting the shelves this Friday, due to friggin Apple.

This was something I had really been looking forward to and now because of Apple, it likely will not happen. I’m hoping that this will get resolved and all will be fine for Friday but it’s not looking that way.

This is one of the many reasons why no one should be supporting Apple. Their business practices are disgusting and I would love to see a boycott. Apple’s method of competing in the market that is currently being dominated by Android devices, it to simply sue the manufactures for stupid and bizarre copyright infringements. While they don’t always win, they do succeed in getting devices banned or in this case delayed.

Now, the US launch of the HTC one X and the replacement phone I was supposed to get on Friday, the HTC Evo 4G LTE have been delayed at customs and this is a direct result of Apple previous lawsuit. The below post was from Engadet.

No one should stand for this. I’m a huge supporter of Android and companies like Samsung, HTC and Motorola. I would love to see Google finally step up to the plate and lay the smack down on Apple.

The original post can be found here.

 

We’ve just received a statement from HTC indicating that the One X for AT&T and the EVO 4G LTE for Sprint have been delayed at customs due to an ITC exclusion order that was handed down last December at Apple’s behest. That order was set to go into effect on April 19th, and it looks like HTC’s two new stateside superphones are the first to feel Apple’s the government’s wrath.

Here’s HTC’s take on the matter:

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.

We’ve reached out to HTC for clarification on the delay and to find out if this will affect the launch of the EVO 4G LTE, which is expected to hit the shelves this Friday, May 18th. Stay tuned for updates.

This following information is from the Verge.

 

The HTC One X and Evo 4G LTE are notable devices for many reasons, but today they become notorious: they’re the first devices to face an import delay at US Customs for potentially infringing an Apple patent. 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.

Apple won a wide-ranging exclusion order banning the importation of HTC Android devices at the International Trade Commission last December — the ITC found that Android’s messaging app and browser infringed upon Apple patent #5,946,647, which covers automatically converting things like phone numbers and email addresses into actionable links that open a menu of options.

The ban was delayed so HTC could engineer around Apple’s patent claims, but it went into effect on April 19th — and although HTC claimed so-called “data tapping” was a “small UI experience” that would be completely removed from its US Android devices, Customs is now reviewing the One X and Evo 4G LTE.

CUSTOMS ORDERS ARE COMPLETELY CLASSIFIED — EXCLUDED EVEN FROM THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

Although the ITC order was handed down before the One X was even announced at Mobile World Congress, it’s open-ended enough to block importation of any HTC Android device — the ITC broadly prohibited the importation of HTC “personal data and mobile communications devices” running Android that infringe the ‘647 patent. Customs and Border Protection is in charge of executing the order, and it’s allowed to handle things pretty much any way it wants; there are really no formal rules governing how exclusion orders are interpreted or enforced. What’s more, the final enforcement instructions delivered by Customs to its officers are totally classified — they’re even excluded from Freedom of Information Act requests.

At this point HTC is basically in limbo while it waits for Customs to issue a decision.

HTC can certainly try to stay the ban while it further appeals the case; the company’s official statement is below. We’ve also reached out to Apple, AT&T, and Sprint, we’ll update you as we learn more.

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.

 

Apple, your practices are deplorable. Perhaps you could invest your wealth into creating new and unique products, instead of wiping out the competition with lawsuit’s.

Fuck You Apple…….

 

 

 

Rob Gorski

Full time, work from home single Dad to my 3 amazing boys. Oh...and creator fo this blog. :-)
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Cammy Rubin

Sprint is very good to its customers, I've had them for years – try to see if you can arrange something with the on-line sprint store and/or phone-in customer service. You may have better luck than with the folks in the store. I know you are having a hard time because you just switched over to them – once you've been there a couple years they start giving you breaks on accessories and arrangements like this.