Android

Here’s what Google becoming a handset maker means for Apple

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 11, 2017

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...

HTC alters functionality of US handsets to bypass Apple patents

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 17, 2012

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...

HTC One X and Evo 4G LTE shipments delayed at US Customs due to Apple patents

Cody Lee ∙ May 15, 2012

So this is pretty big news: The Verge is reporting that it has learned that shipments of HTC's One X and Evo 4G LTE handsets have been indefinitely delayed at US Customs due to an import ban order handed down by the ITC last year.

The International Trade Commission ruled last December that HTC was infringing upon an Apple patent regarding the auto-hyperlinking of phone numbers and other data in text, resulting in a country-wide ban of HTC's products...

Tim Cook views Android litigation as “a necessary evil”, not a thermonuclear option

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 11, 2017

Remember how Steve Jobs told his biographer Walter Isaacson that he is willing to wage a "thermonuclear war" on Android because it's "a stolen product"? Having already spent an estimated 100+ million dollars on war on Android, Apple certainly means business. Sadly, the larger contest between Apple and Google is nowhere near resolution.

According to a fascinating cover story by Bloomberg, Apple is in it for the long run. The company is well-aware that many people have yet to choose a smartphone, a decision which usually entails loyalty to that phone's operating system. Yup, it's all about the same ol' lock-in.

Apple asking for up to $15 from Samsung and Motorola for each Android device sold

Cody Lee ∙ March 6, 2012

It looks like Apple is starting to grow weary of patent litigation. Hot on the heels of word that the company won a major victory in a Chicago court today, reports are coming in now that the iPhone makers are looking to settle some of its lawsuits involving Android partners.

According to Dow Jones Newswires, Apple has issued proposals to both Samsung and Motorola Mobility to settle several pending patent disputes in exchange for royalty payments to license its intellectual property...

Chicago judge grants Apple access to Android development history

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 27, 2017

The patent battle between Apple and Samsung has seemingly taken a back seat to the iPhone-maker's worldwide war with Motorola Mobility. Apple knows that with Google acquiring MMI, it can finally take its beef with Android straight to Mountain View.

Google has so far managed to stay out of the many different patent wars involving its mobile OS and manufacturing partners — but that won't last for long. Reports are coming in today that Apple has just been granted access to Android's development history...

Apple files complaint against Motorola over FRAND abuse

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 1, 2017

Well we all saw this coming. Electronista is reporting that Apple has just filed a complaint with the European Commission regarding Motorola's recent legal actions. The handset-maker won an injunction in Germany last month, resulting in the temporary ban of some of Apple's products.

But Apple has maintained that the patents that Motorola is asserting against it are industry standard, and therefore fall under FRAND jurisdiction. And since Motorola doesn't seem to want to offer Apple a FRAND license, Apple went to the EC...

Apple wins injunction against Motorola in Germany over ‘slide to unlock’ patent

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

When the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) awarded Apple a patent late last year regarding its 'slide to unlock' feature, we didn't think it would be very long before we saw it pop up in Apple's Android war. And it wasn't.

Hot on the heels of Motorola winning an injunction against Apple in Germany, which resulted in a temporary ban of some of its products, the Cupertino company has fired back by winning its own injunction against Motorola in the country...

Judge Interprets Key Realtime API Patent in Apple’s Favor

Cody Lee ∙ January 29, 2012

Apple has spent an estimated $100 million dollars on its so-called "war on Android." And so far it doesn't have much to show for it. Even its recent ITC court victory over HTC doesn't look like it will have much of an impact on anything.

But that could all change thanks to a recent interpretation of Apple's '263 patent by a high-ranking US judge. The patent covers realtime API — a key component in Android that would be extremely difficult to work around if a manufacturer was found guilty of infringing on it...

Tension Grows Between Apple and Google as Motorola Files iPhone Lawsuit

Cody Lee ∙ January 26, 2012

Reports are coming in that Motorola Mobility has just filed a significant lawsuit against Apple in the US over the illegal use of its intellectual property. Motorola believes that Apple is using its patents in both its iPhone 4S and iCloud products.

MM recently won an injunction against Apple late last year in a German court. And although the decision has yet to make an impact on Apple's sales in the country, it could certainly play a major part in Motorola's new lawsuit here in the States...

Apple Has Spent More Than 100 Million Dollars on Android War

Cody Lee ∙ January 23, 2012

By now, most of you have heard Steve Jobs' infamous "war on Android" quote from his recently-released biography. It goes something like, "I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong. I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this."

He wasn't kidding. The latest estimates suggest that Apple's litigation fees its incurred in its ongoing legal battles with Android manufacturers add up to more than $100 million dollars. And the war is far from over...

Apple Goes After Galaxy Nexus With Slide to Unlock Patent

Cody Lee ∙ January 21, 2012

A few months ago, Samsung's mobile president Shin Jong-kyun told reporters that Apple would have a hard time finding any of their intellectual property in his company's new Galaxy Nexus handset.

He obviously underestimated Apple's legal team. Reports are coming in that Apple has just filed another lawsuit in Germany against Samsung for the use of — get this — its patented 'Slide to Unlock' feature...