Remember the ruling from Tuesday morning that threatened to take the HTC One off the market in the United Kingdom? It turns out that Judge Richard Arnold might have also let slip the release date of the HTC One sequel while reaching his decision.
“HTC is close to launching the successor flagship model to the HTC One. HTC has not revealed the launch date,” Arnold writes in his decision. “Nokia has adduced evidence which suggests that the launch date is in the first quarter of 2014 and possibly as early as February 2014. HTC has not contradicted this.”
Later in the ruling, Judge Arnold goes on to claim that the follow-up to the HTC One will be released sometime between February and March of next year. The reason the unannounced phone receives a mention in the ruling is because HTC is concerned its business will greatly suffer if the HTC One goes off the market before it can release a new phone. The judge agrees that “the damage which HTC will suffer if prevented from selling the One during this period will be both considerable and very difficult to quantify.”
In the meantime, HTC is doing everything it can to prove that its next device will not infringe on any of Nokia’s patents. Considering the company’s tragic smartphone sales projections, another sales ban is the last thing HTC needs.
