Apple's lawsuits against HTC could be a swipe at Google

Apple, which has sued HTC for 20 counts of patent infringement, might have a tough time ahead of it in court. HTC has said it intends to fight the charges and is confident it can defend itself. HTC manufactures a number of smartphones based on the Android platform, including Google's own flagship Nexus One device. Several of the patent infringement charges have been made against specific Android models. Relations between Apple and Google have soured considerably in the last few months, judging by the number of public swipes they have taken at each other and the growing number of product categories the two giants compete against each other in despite having enjoyed a close relationship in the past. Both companies now manufacture smartphones, operating systems, web browsers, and mobile application stores, with additional clashes expected in the online office suite and photo management spaces. Google CEO Eric Schmidt was also an Apple board member growing until conflicts of interest compelled him to resign. Android phones initially refrained from using multitouch gestures which Apple pioneered, though these were recently enabled.