Federal Court orders Apple & HTC to Settlement Talks on 8/28/12

Thanks to Joey for the heads-up...  this morning, a Delaware based Federal Court has ordered Apple & HTC to settlement talks on August 28, 2012. Hang tight everyone, this could be a bumpy news day.

From Foss Patents Blog:

Today the United States District for the District of Delaware ordered the lawyers as well unspecified decision makers of Apple and HTC to meet in Delaware on August 28, 2012, to discuss a possible settlement. The talks will be moderated by Magistrate Judge Sherry R. Fallon.

I don't expect any major developments between now and the date set for this mediation effort that will put the necessary pressure on HTC to settle. HTC doesn't have to fear any major legal breakthrough for Apple (not counting preliminary rulings) for at least the remainder of this year, and it now has bigger problems than this litigation.

If the Delaware court really wanted to make a contribution to a near-term settlement, it should un-stay all those lawsuits except for those claims that are still pending at the ITC. Even if the court did that, the matter wouldn't be ripe for settlement by the summer, but then a mediation effort might succeed in early 2013.

Read the full post @ Foss Patents.

What's this mean for the near-term? Well none of us know what exactly went on in court this morning, and no one is reporting on the elephant in the room - but I do know that we have some sort of movement on the devices sitting in the warehouse - so as soon as I can confirm something in stone, it'll be here.

6AM Update: HTC Gets help from Economics Minister - & Warehouse Info

The sun isn't even up yet, so there's not any new information this early on the status, but there is one HTC update from overnight:

Taiwan Economics Minister offers assistance, if needed, to resolve current customs issues dealing with the Apple patent.

Taipei, May 17 (CNA) Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang said Thursday his ministry will provide smartphone vendor HTC Corp. with assistance, if necessary, to deal with the ongoing litigation on patent infringement brought against the Taiwanese firm by rival Apple Inc.

Shih told lawmakers at a legislative session that the ministry has kept in close touch with HTC to keep informed of the progress of the particular litigation.

Also, a question from the inbox overnight, asked by about 100 people...

Where is the sprint warehouse?/Do you have any info on the Sprint warehouse?

Those not in the industry may find this odd - but Sprint actually doesn't have a warehouse. At least not in the traditional sense. Our primary 'warehouse' is actually outsourced (as with almost everything in the enterprise) to UPS. It's UPS employees that run the operation, answer the phones, process the return kits, ship out your new phones, and yes they even do the basic phone repairs(Level 1-3). And it's almost entirely automated, in a 500,000 sq/ft space in Louisville, KY. And yes, there is a bonded customs area (foreign trade zone) within the complex as well, for international shipments(hint: think HTC). While I've never been there in person, I was able to find a couple of older articles about it, one of them cited "a highly automated UPS fulfillment system utilizing four pick modules which are three layers high and over 200 feet long.  Capacity is available to handle 65,000 orders a day". I'll try to dig around internally today and see what other info I can find on it, but as it's outsourced, I'm not sure just how munch info we have on the actual day to day operations, other than processes.

*UPDATE* Thanks to a tip from reader Dan - here's a video that gives a rare glimpse into the Sprint warehouse:
http://pressroom.ups.com/Video/UPS+Delivers+for+Sprint

Got a question you want answered? email it to me: inside.sprint.now@gmail.com

HTC EVO 4G LTE delayed at US Customs by Apple

**SEE THE LATEST UPDATE (FULL LAUNCH DELAY**

**11PM UPDATE** HTC EVO 4G LTE launch now officially delayed. new post upcoming with details within the hour. 

**10PM UPDATE** Since posting the article below - it appears that a large majority of the pre-order stock is also being held. Will know more on Wednesday AM around 10AM, will update then.

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If you have already ordered your HTC EVO 4G LTE or plan on buying one at a store on Friday, then you're lucky... you may be in the elite group of people that will be able to say they own the device anytime soon. When the email inbox started lighting up a couple of hours ago with questions, we should have known something was up - and we can now confirm that a large number of shipments from HTC are now being held by US Customs - for Apple patent infringement.

So what's this mean for you? Well, if you're not one of the early adopters, and usually ride the 'second wave' when a new device is launched, you may be waiting just a bit longer until this power play by Apple is worked out.

The Verge has more info...

HTC's statement:

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.