"It's a black fly in your Chardonnay
It's a death row pardon two minutes too late
Isn't it ironic ... don't you think?"
-- From "Ironic," by Alanis Morrissette, 1995. (Ironically, the belated pardon is perhaps the only case of true irony in this song.)
Two months ago, Apple
HTC appears to have taken that incident seriously, though. Today, the company signed a licensing agreement with Microsoft
Now, that's another bass-ackwards turn of events -- HTC is paying Microsoft for something that Google
Well, from HTC's perspective, it makes sense in a twisted kind of way. Microsoft has a strong patent portfolio in mobile computing, along with a propensity to go after patent infringers in court. Moreover, HTC has been making phones with Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system for years, and it would probably hate to lose a business partner over some petty patent dispute. There's no such business relationship between HTC and Apple.
HTC might be setting a precedent for other Android partners who want to cover their backsides. Will Motorola
You could say that Apple opened a fresh revenue stream for archrival Microsoft here. Don't you just love cosmic irony?