Apple vs Samsung?

[jpi]

I hear Apple won a massive lawsuit against Samsung for infringing on their copyrights with respect to their smartphones.

I was considering dropping my iphone in favor of a new nexus/android....but tbh after hearing this I'm not entirely certain that's a wise choice.

Anyone have any thoughts on this whole scenario?


"Listen 'Zedbra' or whatever you are....please stop texting this number...."

[biggles604]

All I can make out from the whole thing (which is really quite complex) is that Apple are a bunch of douchey bullies trying to maneuver into a position for a monopoly.

[jpi]

Indeed. I just don't want to get the short end of the stick buying a new phone this week :\

Greedy bastards eh

[Adam West]

meh, tech is a 2% marginal improvement hyed up 98% so that you are left feeling hopeless and inadequate by someone who has a iphone with a slightly better camera than yours.

oh but its ALL new. yeah. sure.

[KenN]

The whole mess proves nothing about either company as far a "innovation" or "stealing ideas". What it does prove is that the USPTO will grant a patent for anything techie as long as the applicant is willing to pony up cash for the patent process.

Really, does any sane being thing that the look of an icon on a graphical interface should be anything close to "patentable technology"?


Kn.

[lowside67]

Originally Posted by biggles604

Apple are a bunch of douchey bullies trying to maneuver into a position for a monopoly.

Apple sued Samsung because Samsung duplicated Apple's patented technologies and design in several of their mobile product lines. I dont see it as being a bully when you are protecting what you have invested billions in developing and marketing...

Mark

[brightidea]

there's going to be about 300 appeals.

[ADS]

Originally Posted by jpi

I hear Apple won a massive lawsuit against Samsung for infringing on their copyrights with respect to their smartphones.

I was considering dropping my iphone in favor of a new nexus/android....but tbh after hearing this I'm not entirely certain that's a wise choice.

Anyone have any thoughts on this whole scenario?


"Listen 'Zedbra' or whatever you are....please stop texting this number...."

One of the most unfortunate verdicts in the history of technology. And yes to Biggles' mention above.

Have you seen the patents they won this on?

Apple brought three utility and four design patents to bear against Samsung.

Patent number 7,469,381 is for the bounce back that occurs when you scroll beyond the edge of a webpage or document in iOS.

Patent number 7,844,915 is for single-finger scrolling and two-finger zooming, while number 7,864,163 claims tap-to-zoom technology.

As for the design patents, D618,677 claims the iPhone's edge-to-edge glass, speaker slot and display border, while D593,087 claims its rounded corners and home button, and D604,305 claims the grid-style icon layout in iOS.

The last design patent, D504,889 is for the iPad's edge-to-edge glass, rounded corners, and thin bezel.

I need to jump on patenting the action of pressing a doorbell and thereby creating a sound that alerts the home's residents that someone is at the door so I can sue every doorbell manufacturer I can find. Clearly the patent system itself is broken and Apple is using this in full effect to help slow their primary competitor.

They have been overtaken and are losing ground to another manufacturer for the first time since the iPhone gained popularity (and losing ground to the Nexus 7 in tablet world now too so look for them to be suing ASUS eventually, while copying as much as they can from the Nexus 7 design) so gee I wonder why they didn't go after Nokia or RIM (who amongst others clearly also breach these patents)? Remember Apple invented none of this, but they patented all of it. The court case was pretty strange itself as a lot of evidence Samsung had for prior art was for some reason not even allowed to be submitted to the case and there was a lot of politics going on underneath it all.

So who is next? HTC? LG? Microsoft? Palm circa 15 years ago? The only loser here is the consumer who is going to suffer because every other player in the industry is now going to have to redesign all their devices around not having pinch to zoom, or a grid of icons etc. And of course if you like any of these features, prepare to pay the Apple Tax. Not to mention being told what you can or cannot do with your device.

Meanwhile Samsung components make up something like 70% of the iPhone. Processor, memory, the beloved Retina Display, the camera sensor. Samsung actually invented all these things. Apple's pony only has one trick: Design (and they are great at it btw), however they are inevitably falling behind in terms of innovation as they rely almost entirely on other companies for technology. It looks like they have decided to repress their competition via patent trolling as a result, and that in the end is not going to be good for anyone.

A couple of billion dollars isn't going to affect a giant tech company like Samsung in the long run, even as it wouldn't affect Apple in the long run. But making them bring many products back to the drawing board to design around patents as well as banning the sales of a lot of their older product in North America (and thereby eliminating competition) is Apple's real game here.

As for your question about whether it will affect Android going forward, the answer is no. For Samsung even, all the new gen phones like the Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Nexus are unaffected by the court case and will continue to sell like hotcakes. Apple will not sue Google directly because they themselves have copied so many aspects of Android recently without retribution from Google(notification bar, voice commands etc.).

This was a dirty move by a formerly innovative company that feels that they are being slowly left behind. It won't in reality stop anyone else in terms of phone sales. It only slows or stops innovation and those who would build on a solid and natural concept (pinch to zoom for example) and forces everyone else to not be able to build the best device they can.

So go ahead make your decisions based on what device works best for you, and not on which tech giant has a grudge against another. Assuming you're looking at switching to the newest phones out there this will have no affect on your choice, and hopefully innovation will continue regardless of attempts to break that process.

One thing is for sure, Apple sure has fallen far from their innovation/underdog roots. And they certainly aren't in it for the joy of making the best device they can any more.

[jpi]

Originally Posted by ADS

As for your question about whether it will affect Android going forward, the answer is no. For Samsung even, all the new gen phones like the Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Nexus are unaffected by the court case and will continue to sell like hotcakes.

That's what I am looking for, thanks

[KenN]

Originally Posted by lowside67

I dont see it as being a bully when you are protecting what you have invested billions in developing and marketing...

Mark

Apparently, you're blind.


Kn.

[lowside67]

It's ridiculous to argue that something like two-finger zooming isn't something that differentiates products and interfaces to a degree that it merits a patent. If it wasn't a good idea that made a difference, others wouldn't have used it.

It's like saying that the DW Link rear suspension design shouldn't be able to be patented because ultimately it's only a rear wheel moving up and down and how it does it is immaterial.

In both of these arenas, a marginal improvement is a real competitive advantage and one that should be able to be protected.

Mark

[Couch_Surfer]

Originally Posted by lowside67

Apple sued Samsung because Samsung duplicated Apple's patented technologies and design in several of their mobile product lines. I dont see it as being a bully when you are protecting what you have invested billions in developing and marketing...

Mark

Amazing how the last two words in a post can undermine the entire thought.

[IFO]

last gasp of a dieing company..

there is no stopping the Droid army..


ive owned both brands phones in multiplys now. and i will never return to an Apple product.


my Droids simply do everything better.

[Adam West]

yeah.. apple sure is dying.

[nouseforaname]

Originally Posted by lowside67

It's ridiculous to argue that something like two-finger zooming isn't something that differentiates products and interfaces to a degree that it merits a patent. If it wasn't a good idea that made a difference, others wouldn't have used it.

It's like saying that the DW Link rear suspension design shouldn't be able to be patented because ultimately it's only a rear wheel moving up and down and how it does it is immaterial.

In both of these arenas, a marginal improvement is a real competitive advantage and one that should be able to be protected.

Mark

No, it's like SRAM saying they 'patented' braking using your fingers, and are now suing Formula.