‘Scribe’ The Possible iPad Rival Device From HTC

Following its success built from offering Android-powered iPhone alternatives, Taiwan-based handset maker HTC seems to now have the iPad in its sights. The company reportedly filed a patent application Dec. 26 for a “handheld device, namely a tablet computer.”

According to the report, the device is named the “HTC Scribe” and is seen as the company’s inevitable move into the burgeoning tablet market now controlled by Apple. The HTC device may “provide an alternative to the iPad,” IDC program Will Stofega told Bloomberg. The new tablet would rival the iPad’s price while providing an experience “as good or better” than the device from Cupertino, the analyst adds.

The reported “HTC Scribe” is just the latest competitive move by HTC, which is involved in a patent-infringement legal battle with Apple. After the Cupertino, Calif. company sued HTC in early 2010 alleging 20 iPhone patents were used by HTC smartphones, the Taiwan company countersued, charging Apple violated five of its patents.

In October, HTC Chief Financial Officer Cheng Hui-Ming said his firm was “studying the market” for another tablet. Sales of HTC phones have double compared to 2009 and investors rewarded the company, pushing its stock up 100 percent.

The Scribe could appear at next week’s Consumer Electronics Show or February’s Mobile World Congress, according to KGI Research analyst Richard Ko earlier this month. The device would likely be powered by Android 3.0, a version of the Google operating system created for tablets.

HTC won’t be the only mobile phone company introducing a tablet. Motorola is preparing an Android-based tablet, the company describes as “the next chapter in evolution.” The handset maker has dissed the iPad as a “giant iPhone” and downplayed early iPad rival Samsung’s Galaxy Tab as using “Android OS…for a phone.”

Like HTC, Motorola is also engaged in a patent-infringement struggle with Apple. After the Schaumburg, Ill.-based firm sued Apple earlier this year, Apple countersued, alleging Motorola also engaged in patent violations.

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