Apple in court documents wrote that the government’s complaint over an alleged price fixing related to digital books is “fundamentally flawed”. Moreover, the company argued that competition had been non-existent prior to its entrance into the market because Amazon was imposing its wholesale model upon the industry and no party was willing to challenge it… Read More
Earlier today, Google CEO Larry Page took to company blog to break the big news: having obtained necessary approvals from watchdogs on both side of the Atlantic, the search giant has finally closed its $12.5 billion acquisition of the ailing handset maker Motorola Mobility in a move meant to “supercharge the Android ecosystem”.
The transaction will close by May 23 and is rumored to see Google laying off up to one-third of Motorola staff.
Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha is stepping down (not unexpected) and will be replaced by Dennis Woodside whom Apple tried to poach last year. The new CEO already promised “fewer, bigger bets”, meaning Motorola should streamline its portfolio to focus on a select few hero devices.
So, Googlerola is alive and the search giant is now officially a handset maker – one sitting on an enormous pile of patents. In fact, the search Goliath is now in a position to directly fight Apple’s allegations against Android makers.
Taking it all in, we analyze what repercussions – if any – this development potentially poses for Apple and its ongoing legal spat against major Android backers such as HTC, Samsung and, yes, Motorola… Read More
When Samsung introduced its third-generation Galaxy S smartphone earlier this month, folks immediately took to Twitter, opining how the handset was “designed by lawyers” in a nod at Samsung’s ongoing legal feud with Apple over alleged copying of the iPhone’s hardware design and software features.
Instead, the phone that was “inspired by nature” and “designed for humans”, as the tagline has it, fits in Samsung’s five-year redesign plan and went through hundreds of iterations before they settled on a final design…. Read More
If you ever wondered whether Apple’s patent infringement claims against HTC were worth the pain, here’s your answer.
Responding to a recent exclusion order by the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) concerning HTC One X and Evo 4G LTE shipments, the Taiwanese handset maker, once the dominant force in the Android camp, is now pre-loading its U.S. phones with an altered build of Android software.
Designed to bypass Apple patents, it changes the expected behavior of these devices. As a result, flagship HTC phones waiting to be imported into the United States now feature notably different functionality compared to HTC devices shipping elsewhere in the world.
The change is also impacting the uniformity of the Android experience, suggesting Apple was right to sue in the first place… Read More
We all know that texting while driving is a huge safety risk and illegal in most countries and states, but what about texting while walking? Is that dangerous, too? Maybe this is the perfect ad for Apple’s Siri?
If you’ve ever walked into a lamp post whilst sending a message – come on, admit it – then you’ll probably say yes, but we doubt most would agree. If you happen to be passing through one US town though, texting while working could actually land you in trouble and hurt your wallet to boot.
Fort Lee, New Jersey, is set to be the first to ban texting while walking, with a fine being levied against those that flout the law. No, really… Read More
In an ongoing legal fray, Apple dealt another blow to Samsung, its key supplier of NAND flash chips, displays and processors for iPhones and iPads.
The iPhone maker has accused the international conglomerate of purposefully destroying documents that would have been advantageous to Apple’s position.
Apple now wants the judge to instruct the jury as follows… Read More
Eagle-eyed readers spotted something interesting at the end of yesterday’s clip accompanying the one billionth Angry Birds download milestone: a character that looks a lot like that in Casey’s Contraptions, a charming and addictive puzzle game by Snappy Touch and Mystery Coconut.
Confirming speculation, Rovio’s vice president of franchise development Ville Heijari confirmed his company acquired all rights to Casey’s Contraptions. The iPad version has already been pulled from the App Store as the Angry Birds maker works on a new version that will hit iOS, Android and other platforms this summer… Read More
Confirming the latest rumor asserting a possible settlement, Apple has reportedly offered Proview just $16 million for the rights to use the iPad moniker in China.
That’s a far cry from a whopping $400 million the cash-strapped display maker is allegedly seeking in order to settle the trademark dispute and appease its creditors.
At the same time, Apple too is in a hurry to settle this dispute as the company looks to launch its new iPad in the all too important 1.33 billion people market, without risking a country-wide sales ban… Read More
Less than two weeks before Samsung and Apple chief executives will meet for court-moderated settlement talks in San Francisco, the two frenemies cut the number of claims roughly in half in an effort to expedite the process and ahead of a summer trial.
That didn’t stop the parties from the usual bickering, with Apple saying Samsung’s copyright infringement practice has allowed the South Korean conglomerate to claim the top spot in worldwide smartphone sales.
Returning favor, Samsung argued Apple is “unable to compete”… Read More
For months, lawyers for California-based Apple and bankrupt monitor vendor Proview have been trying to negotiate a way out of a high-stake trademark dispute which has been holding back the launch of the new iPad in the 1.33 billion people China market.
According to the latest update out from China’s official government newswire Xinhua, Apple has now put a dollar value on their settlement offer to Proview, finally moving the ball forward… Read More
