Apple has relied on slick applications, and even slicker advertisements, to promote the iPhone and maintain its advantage over rivals like Google in the battle to rule the next generation of smartphones.

But the fight may come down to something more provincial: who has the best lawyers.

To read this report in The New York Times in full, see:
www.nytimes.com/2010/03/03/technology/03patent.html

Also see:

What Apple vs. HTC Could Mean
The lawsuit that Apple filed on Tuesday against HTC, the mobile handset maker, opens up a lot of questions about the future of Android phones like the Nexus One and the cellphone market in general.

But it could also have an effect on consumers, specifically those who have purchased HTC Android phones.
bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/what-apple-vs-htc-could-mean/

Apple patent case ‘could affect all android phones’
Apple’s legal action against HTC may have “wider implications” for all phone makers using Google’s Android operating system, an analyst has warned.

Ian Fogg of Forrester Research said that the case against HTC, in which Apple alleges infringement of 20 of its patents, could be the first of many.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8547230.stm