Nokia raised a big stink when they realized HTC had been using the same HDR microphone component in the One. Apparently STM, the manufacturer of said component had signed a deal offering exclusivity to Nokia. The problem was eventually hashed out, and a Dutch court issued a preliminary injunction that prevented the component from being used in other devices besides Nokia’s.
Because HTC’s current stock of HDR microphones were purchased in good faith, they were not forced to turn them over. HTC released a statement about the whole ordeal:
The judgment against STM states that HTC can continue to use microphones already purchased from STM in its products, because they were purchased in good-faith. Nokia’s attempt to obtain a recall of microphones already sold to HTC failed. HTC will transition to improved microphone designs once its inventory of STM microphones is exhausted.
It seems like the official spec list for the One on HTC’s website has already been amended, more specifically the “HDR microphone” has been removed from the list of features. Many are questioning why HTC would do this, but I would argue the answer is obvious, pointing to one of two different scenarios.
Either HTC is preparing for the future, thus removing the listing before the HDR microphone stock is gone. Or adversely, HTC has already found a new source with a suitable microphone component. After all, in the statement above they did mention they would be making a switch to “improved microphone designs.”
Since the HDR microphones will no longer be included in the HTC One, it just seems smart to remove the component list from the official specs sheet. Don’t you think?
The whole ordeal is definitely silly, especially when you consider that all the fuss was over a simple internal microphone. Even though HTC is now forced to deal with the situation, it wasn’t their fault to begin with. STM really should never have supplied HTC with the components since a contract with Nokia for exclusivity had been drawn up.
What’s your take on this whole situation my fellow Android enthusiasts? Are you surprised at all by the fact that HTC removed the “HDR microphone” from the official One specs sheet?
Source XDA Developers Via Engadget