Apple’s patent lawsuit against HTC will not cause major problems for the Taiwan technology company in the short term, analysts said Wednesday. But it could strain its relations with partners in the crucial U.S. market and test its leadership, adding to its challenges in the increasingly competitive smartphone field.

About half of HTC’s revenue comes from the United States, where its smartphones are bundled with services from providers like T-Mobile. HTC makes the Nexus One phone for Google under contract and also makes phones under its own brand.

To read this report in The New York Times in full, see:
www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/technology/04htc.html

Also see:

Google backs HTC in face of Apple lawsuit
Google has backed HTC, its smartphone manufacturer, after the Taiwanese company was sued for patent infringement by Apple.

The move sets the stage for a major battle between Apple and Google, formerly close partners, in the smartphone market.
business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article7048612.ece