French company Abaxia, manufacturer of customized mobile phone applications, has now been bought over by HTC, a statement released on the HTC website claims. The merger will not be new for either company as in the past Abaxia used to have regular dealings with HTC Unlocked Phones. According to HTC’s website, “In the past, HTC has had very good business dealings with French customized mobile software maker Abaxia and its acquisition will be very beneficial in strengthening the overall capabilities of HTC in being able to develop new customized software for Unlocked Mobile Phones. This will allow us to better serve our customers, bringing a new realm of development into HTC. HTC is committed to providing the very best for all out customers today as well as any future customers we might acquire. The addition of Abaxia helps in strengthening our software development capabilities.”

Abaxia CEO, Cedric Mangaud was quoted as saying, “Since we have been able to work closely together with HTC in the past and our overall business dealings well complemented each other, we are extremely proud and excited to join together with HTC to develop software solutions at a much faster pace than ever before.”

No further details of the merger were disclosed by HTC.

Abaxia was founded in 2001 and since that time it has rapidly grown, specializing in business solutions for mobiles. It has even manufactured many handset services for smartphones. On the other hand, HTC has been one of the fastest mobile manufacturers in the world and is ever expanding. Since HTC, a worldwide leader in Unlocked Smartphones has been able to acquire Abaxia, their overall customer base is sure to increase rapidly. Since HTC always places people at the center of whatever it does, it has been able to create ground breaking Smartphones used by people the world over.HTC is currently listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498.

It looks as if Microsoft’s lawyers are going to be pretty busy these days.  Recently Microsoft has realized that Google’s Android OS infringes on many of Microsoft’s software patents.  While Microsoft has declined to say how the Android OS specifically infringes on their patents they did say they believe that elements from both the user interface and underlying operating system are in violation of its rights.  This is in keeping with the Windows maker’s campaign to leverage patent claims over Linux, Amazon, Xandros and GPS developer TomTom.  While lawsuits are not yet being discussed this is hardly a small time matter.  Longtime Windows Mobile partner HTC has already decided to purchase a license from Microsoft that covers its Android devices, like the HTC Tilt, to reduce the risk of a possible lawsuit from Microsoft.

While it would be pretty crazy for Microsoft to sue one of its biggest and most important hardware manufacturers for patent infringement HTC is taking no chances by purchasing the Microsoft license.  It is rather unfortunate that HTC has to pay Microsoft royalties in order to use Google’s operating system these recent developments may be more of an indictment on Google than the other mobile device manufacturers. 

By forcing their Windows Mobile/Windows Phone partners to purchase a license to run Google’s Android platform Microsoft is leaving open the option of a lawsuit with Google itself down the line.  While this is a rather unfortunate turn of events for other companies such as HTC it is a nasty necessity if they want to utilize the Android platform without further possible lawsuits from Microsoft.  The cost of the Microsoft licenses far outweighs the potential damage that could be caused by a lawsuit for patent infringement.

With the recent news that Palm is up for sale there have been rumors circulating about several suitors to acquire the mobile device company.  One of the newest companies that has people speculating is Huawei which is located in the Asian Pacific.  Reuters is reporting that Palm had contacted Huawei about two months ago to see how interested the Chinese company would be about purchasing the mobile device company.  With its strength in manufacturing and strong reputation overseas Huawei’s acquisition of Palm would only accelerate the company’s entrance into the American smartphone phone market.

While this deal could be a potential perfect match it appears that the talks were short lived and have not progressed much in the last few months.  Even with Huawei appearing to be a perfect fit to purchase Palm they are not the only suitor.  Other companies such as Lenovo, ZTE, HTC and Dell are all on the short list that appear to be interested in obtaining the cell phone company.

Whoever does decide to purchase the once proud mobile phone developer will be purchasing a famous, well known brand that will surely boost their company’s profile.  Palm is one of the more well respected smartphone manufacturers and will be a real steal for any company that does decide to make the plunge and purchase this brand.  I think it would make the most sense for a company such as Dell or Huawei to make this purchase especially if they are looking to seriously enter the US smartphone marketplace.  With Palm already being a major player in this arena it would make perfect sense for a company looking to make a splash in the American market to make this purchase.

HTC will continue its Android 2.1 lineup with the Desire which is very similar to the NexusOne which is regarded as one of the best Android phones currently on the market.  As soon as the Desire was leaked back in December mobile device fans have been clamoring to get their hands on the new HTC device.  With the first internet rumors hitting the scene last December there have been a few changes to the Desire that might make it less desirable.  DivX support and the 720p video capture never made it to the final build but there are still a ton of awesome features that make purchasing this phone worthwhile.  Features such as a speedy 1GHz Snapdragon processor, large AMOLED screen and HTC’s latest version of Sense UI that is already available on the Legend will make the Desire one of the hottest phones when it is officially released.

Some of the other hardware features include Android 2.1 OS, 3.7” AMOLED screen, 5 megapixel autofocus camera and 512MB of ROM.  This new device from HTC is certainly set to become a fan favorite of many smartphone admirers.  I know that I am eagerly awaiting the Desire’s release so that I can see first hand just want all the buzz is about.  While the Desire is very similar to the NexusOne I think that there are enough differences between the two that will make waiting for the Desire’s release well worth your time.  Having the extra ROM and will certainly make your web surfing and application loading that much faster.  When your phone is working quickly it is a much better experience and you will enjoy your mobile device that much more.

If you are getting a little sick of the Motorola DROID’s bland stylings why not give the HTC’s Sense UI a try?  The HTC Sense UI has been ported over to the DROID thanks to the work of All Droid user Greek35T.  While things are still very rough and this is a very alpha setting there have been some good things mentioned by users of the Sense UI.  Some of the minor quirks that have shown up when moving over the Sense UI to the Motorola DROID include the inability to make calls over the 3G network (data works but voice requires 2G) or use Bluetooth and GPS. 

While you may not want to deal with those quirks you can certainly live through the trials and tribulations of others via the internet.  Personally I think those quirks are a bit much to have to deal with just to get a new UI on the Motorola DROID.  The negatives will greatly outweigh the positives.  But to each their own and this may be something that you want to look into. 

 The Motorola DROID unlocked mobile device does have a pretty bland UI and could certainly use some sprucing up if you are looking to use your mobile device more for data than phone calls.  If this is the case that you find yourself in then it might be worth your time and effort to look into installing the new Sense UI onto your Motorola DROID so that you can increase your enjoyment when utilizing all of the different features that the Motorola DROID has to offer.  Either with or without the new Sense UI the Motorola DROID is still one of the best mobile devices on the market today and you can not go wrong with either UI when purchasing this phone.

If you are like me and do not like to type out your texts, emails or notes on your Android mobile device and would rather use a stylus to write out your messages then your prayers are about to be answered.  Android is taking steps to roll out Swype technology to all users which will be a welcomed site for all of us mass texters and email junkies.  To get this program off the ground Swype recently announced their plans to start a beta testing program of which you can apply for at the website.  Even though you can get some Swype technology for your Android phone, like the HTC Tilt unlocked cell phone, currently, it will be quite exciting to see what the official beta test looks like.

While Swype does mention that some of the user-installed copies will be missing some features that the factory installed versions will carry it is unclear at this time just what those features may be.  Regardless of this minor setback participating in this beta program can be a great way to test this technology out and have someone listen to your feedback.

The Swype technology will support both the HVGA and WVGA screens which should cover a large range of phones really opening up this beta testing program to a lot of Android customers.  Because the demand to be included to this program figures to be quite high it is important for you to get your applications in early for your HTC Tilt and often.  You do not want to miss out on this opportunity to let Android know what you think about their latest feature.