Nokia's co-developed high-amplitude mics retain 10-month exclusivity, HTC has to look elsewhere (updated)
Nokia's injunction yesterday has now been made a little more concrete. The Amsterdam district court has handed down a 10-month ban on STMicroelectronics selling its high-amplitude mics to anyone other than the Finnish phone maker. The same dual-membrane microphone is used in both the Lumia 720 and the HTC One, but Nokia (which co-developed and designed the component) had signed a 12-month exclusivity deal with the chipmaker -- a deal that STMicroelectronics apparently thought was only six months long.
According to All About Phones NL, the ruling won't halt sales of One devices already out there, with the court stating that HTC was "blameless" and that it couldn't have known about the contract between Nokia and STMicroelectronics. In short, you'll still be able to buy HTC's flagship in the Netherlands with those dual high-amp mics in tow -- at least for now. We've reached out to both companies for comment, but it's shaping up to be another parts supply woe for HTC's new smartphone.
Update: We've just heard from HTC on this, and its response is largely the same as yesterday's:
"HTC is disappointed in the decision. We are consulting with STM and will decide whether it is necessary to explore alternative solutions in due course. In the meanwhile, we do not expect this decision to have any immediate impact on our handset sales."
