HTC acquires Dashwire to boost cloud computing aspirations

Device maker HTC Corporation has acquired mobile applications and web services firm Dashwire. Financial details were not disclosed, although The Wall Street Journal reports the deal is valued as high as $18.5 million. Dashwire will continue as a wholly owned HTC subsidiary.

Dashwire's Dashworks platform allows consumers to set up and personalize their smartphones to enable access to data, documents and photos across multiple screens and services. HTC said it will leverage Dashwire's cloud sync and device setup solutions to extend its HTCSense.com cloud services portfolio, introduced last year. An HTC spokesperson adds the acquisition also will support the rollout of mobile instant messaging services across Android devices.

The Wall Street Journal speculates the Dashwire deal also could give HTC greater leverage for future patent litigation against competitors, including Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). The acquisition follows a month after HTC announced plans to acquire chipsets provider S3 Graphics for $300 million--on Thursday, the U.S. International Trade Commission released details of a July 1 ruling declaring that some Apple products violated patents held by S3, but added those products do not include bestselling Apple mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad. Analysts believe the ruling reduces S3's value as a bargaining chip in HTC's ongoing legal spat with Apple.

In April, Dashwire became a customer of patent holding company Intellectual Ventures, acquiring patents to use for "defensive purposes." The Dashwire deal further bolsters HTC's patent protection efforts, although analysts note that the Dashwire/Intellectual Ventures patents cannot be used as a weapon to sue others.

For more:
- read this Wall Street Journal article

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