We've seen the United States Patent and Trademark Office reject or invalidate a few important Apple patents in the last few months, including one covering the infamous 'rubber banding' UI feature, and one covering the iPhone.
Today, the USPTO added another key patent to the list, tentatively declaring Apple's US 7,844,915 invention — widely referred to as the pinch-to-zoom patent — invalid. It's just a preliminary decision, but it's still a fairly big deal...
For the second day, Samsung has been named the new leader. After Tuesday unseating Nokia as the top cellphone maker in 2012, the Galaxy vendor today topped HTC as the Android maker which gets most used to access mobile ads. According to ad firm Millennial, Samsung had 46 percent of Android app use, double the 26 percent of 2011.
HTC - which is bleeding money and is rumored to have cut in half shipments and delayed new devices - fell to #2, dropping 30 points behind Samsung. But for Apple, perhaps the best news is what the Millennial end-of-year report did not find...
The cellphone industry has a new king. South Korea's Samsung is #1 in the market, unseating the Finnish-based Nokia after fourteen years. As 2012 wraps up, Samsung is responsible for 29 percent of all cell phone shipments, up from last year's 24 percent.
Conversely, Nokia slips to #2, dropping to 24 percent of the market, a fall from 30 percent posted in 2011. Nokia's departure from a top spot it held since 1998 is largely due to the predominance of smartphones, an area where Samsung thrived and Nokia faltered, according to the hardware research firm iSuppli...
Is Samsung feeling magnanimous after a U.S. judge refused to ban its smartphones? That could be one reason why the South Korean firm Tuesday dropped its bid to ban Apple products in Europe. Although the company described its decision to withdraw requests to ban Apple devices in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands as "protect[ing] consumer choice", the Galaxy maker will continue to see Apple for licensing fees of patents it contends were violated by the company...
While the high profile Samsung-Apple trial technically ended back in August, with Apple winning a staggering $1 billion judgement, the fallout is far from over. The two companies must still endure countless post-trial hearings and their subsequent appeals.
In fact, both sides met this month to discuss some of their post-trial demands. In addition to its large settlement, Apple wanted Samsung's infringing products to be banned, and Samsung wanted the whole trial thrown out on the back of jury misconduct.
Tonight, US District Judge Lucy Koh published her decisions on both requests in a pair of court filings...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIKv1AXUmOk
Not sure whether or not you saw Samsung's TV ad starring Santa and Mrs. Claus where the characters share their sex tape using "the magic of S Beam on the Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note II".
I know it's a rehash of Samsung's earlier (and pretty funny) take on a sex tape exchange between a guy and his wife. Let's be clear - I have absolutely no problem with sex in advertising, but that's a preposterous thing to air as we head into Christmas.
Just what exactly are kids supposed to think after being exposed to such a dramatized sexual innuendo involving their childhood hero? Seriously, what's next? A sexting Santa commercial? Thanks for ruining my childhood, Samsung!
The UK continues to be Apple's European fortress against the invading hordes of Android smartphones. That's the word from Internet firm comScore, which announced Monday most European cell phone owners have adopted smartphones. In the United Kingdom, Apple is holding onto a slim 4 point-lead.
Meanwhile, South Korea-based Samsung experiences double-digit growth. Germany is the only European nation where smartphone penetration has not reached at least 50 percent. In the UK and Spain, two countries where consumers have largely abandoned landlines, smartphone adoption is at 62.3 percent and 63.2 percent, respectively.
But the real story could be the tight race between Apple and Samsung, fueled by Android's growing presence in Europe...
As we head into 2013, patents - along with the legal fight to enforce and protect them - is becoming a larger part of tech companies. Just ask Apple and Samsung. Where should we look for the next patent to appear? A good bet is China, which in 2011 filed for more than 500,000 technology related patents in 2011, topping the United States. According to the United Nations, China applied for 526,412 patents last year, more than the US with 500,000 and Japan's more than 300,000 applications...
Despite a blitz of advertising and promotions, consumers across the globe are choosing Apple products during the run up to Christmas. After interviewing more than seventy shoppers in ten cities, Reuters reports consumers are not swayed either by Wall Street concerns or Madison Avenue come-ons. Instead, in shopping malls in the US, Europe and Asia, the key is Apple's simplicity.
Samsung - Apple's chief rival - is gaining no converts in shopping malls. Only in Singapore and Bangalore, India did Reuters find consumers picking Samsung products over the iPhone or iPad. In Mexico, despite having a mall covered with ads and displays promoting the South Korean firm's products, the iPad mini is selling like hotcakes...
Young Sohn is Samsung's chief strategy office. By virtue of his position, the executive is privy to the South Korea conglomerate's market strategy, future products and business dealings.
It goes without saying we were a little shocked (positively) learning that he also happens to be an Apple user, and by choice, too.
His entire household is full of Apple devices and Sohn had no problem admitting that, in his view, Apple designs the world's most-integrated devices. He also praises Cupertino firm's iCloud service and the iTunes ecosystem as he also happens to be a great believer in worry-free computing...
You can't blame Samsung's marketing team for pouncing on Apple's every misstep. Remember the Apple Maps snafu in Australia that led to the police issuing a public warning advising against using the mapping product because it incorrectly placed the town of Mildura in the middle of Australia’s Murray Sunset National Park? Seen at the top is a new display banner found on Sydney’s George Street.
A mud-soaked SUV and a sign that reads “Oops, should have got a Samsung Galaxy S III. Get navigation you can trust” really needs no description. The wrong data Samsung's ad is referring to was supplied by the Australian government, iDB reported yesterday, and was incorrectly rendered in other mapping products...
We've suspected for a while now that Apple's been making moves ultimately aimed at taking its chip contract elsewhere. Clearly Apple ain't interested (any longer than it needs to) in letting Samsung enjoy an early peek at the technological solutions developed for the engine that drives its iPhones and iPads.
Currently, all of Apple's in-house designed A-series processors are being built exclusively by Samsung in its $14 billion chip plant in Austin, Texas.
The iPhone maker was also rumored to be contemplating a switch to Intel's x86 mobile chips for iPads, as outrageous as the very thought of it may seem.
But what if Tim Cook and his newly-minted chief of Technologies and long-time hardware expert Bob Mansfield have a radical solution in mind? A report Wednesday has it that the California firm could be seeking to invest up to ten billion dollars into a dedicated chip fab in New York, presumably in order to take control of its silicon destiny...