Apple

Samsung wants to settle EU antitrust case over Apple to sidestep $17.5B fine

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 25, 2013

The European Union six months ago launched a formal investigation into a potential breach of EU antitrust rules by Samsung. The antitrust investigation focused on the South Korean conglomerate's handling of industry-essential patents that EU regulators insist should be licensed to others on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms (FRAND).

The investigation determined that Samsung was abusing its patent portfolio by seeking high royalties it knew didn't make business sense, just so it could later assert those patents against rivals such as Apple. ”Samsung has been involved in settlement discussions for several months now," an unnamed source told Reuters on Tuesday. "Samsung wants to settle”...

Apple reportedly contracts out next-gen mobile chip manufacture to TSMC

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 24, 2013

After a long period of rumor mongering, it would seem that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest independent semiconductor foundry, is finally stealing Apple chip biz from rival Samsung. If a new report out of Taiwan is to be trusted, Apple has cut a long-term deal with TSMC to produce A-series chips for future iPhones, iPods and iPads built on TSMC's 20-nanometer, 16-nanometer and 10-nanometer process technology.

If true, it's the final nail in the coffin in the strained Apple-Samsung technology relationship. And good riddance, too, because Samsung will no longer be able to have a headstart of Apple's future semiconductor solutions...

Samsung reportedly cutting Galaxy S4 production, S3 going in early retirement

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

The unstoppable advance of Samsung may have hit a bump in the road. A report from South Korean claims the Apple smartphone rival plans to reduce production of its just-released Galaxy S4 by 10-15 percent, while sending the S3 to an early retirement.

The South Korean-based firm also believes the flagship Galaxy S4 won't be able to increase its share of the smartphone market alone, requiring a range of new models to do the job, the Thursday report claimed...

FTC to launch inquiry into patent trolls, including issuing subpoenas

Ed Sutherland ∙ June 21, 2013

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is expected today to approve an investigation into so-called patent trolls, according to the New York Times. Results of the investigation could be used as part of a possible antitrust lawsuit.

FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez has said the technology involved in one smartphone could spur thousands of patents. In 2012, patent trolls - politely referred to as patent-assertion entities - comprised 60 percent of some 4,000 patent lawsuits. In 2011, the number of patent lawsuits were half that amount, the Times reported...

Tokyo court finds Samsung guilty of infringing on Apple’s ‘rubber banding’ patent

Cody Lee ∙ June 21, 2013

On Friday, a Tokyo court found a number of Samsung's legacy smartphone models to be guilty of infringing on one of Apple's patents. More specifically, it's the infamous 'rubber banding' patent, which Apple has used in a number of courtroom battles.

For those unfamiliar with the 'rubber banding' property, it covers the software action that triggers the bounce-back animation when a user reaches the end of a scrolling document. And the Japan court feels older Samsung handsets infringe upon it...

IDC: iPhone 4’s triple-digit growth boosts Apple’s China share to 9%

Ed Sutherland ∙ June 20, 2013

More indications Apple's efforts offering flexible pricing are paying off. Sales of the iPhone 4 in China grew at a faster pace than the overall market during the first quarter, research firm IDC announced Thursday. Per data, the iPhone has a cool nine percent of the Chinese smartphone market, putting Apple in fifth place.

Demand for the iPhone 4 grew by 211 percent, outpacing the market's overall 117 percent growth rate. By comparison, Korean smartphone rival Samsung has nineteen percent of the smartphone market in China. However, the company has shifted from growing its share of the high-end market to simply hanging on to what it now has...

Apple’s IP chief leaves for patent troll Technicolor

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

After sparking its long-running patent war with Samsung, Apple's intellectual property chief has left to head a similar job at a French media company. Boris Teksler, who in 2012 testified Samsung was copying iPhone technology, left his job of four years Wednesday.

Teksler had no immediate comment on why he left to become president of the Technology Group for Technicolor, a media and entertainment company based in France.

Technicolor's CEO said the former Apple IP chief was well-suited to the firm's plans for expanding use of patents...

Apple’s key ‘rubber banding’ patent validated by US Patent Office

Cody Lee ∙ June 13, 2013

Apple's 'rubber banding' patent has been under heavy scrutiny in recent months, invalidated twice by the US Patent Office. It used the patent, which pertains to a software feature that allows content to 'bounce back' during scrolling, in its big $1 billion victory over Samsung.

But good news today for the Cupertino company. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (or USPTO) has said it will issue a re-examination certificate that confirms the formerly invalidated invention, clearing up any doubts of the patent's weight or validity...

Apple devices top Android on 3G networks

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated December 2, 2016

We've always contended that while Android has a numerical advantage over Apple's iOS, the iPhone and iPad see much greater usage.

More evidence of that belief: more than half of all 3G cellular traffic comes from Apple devices.

When combined, the iPhone 4, 4S and 5 account for about 53 percent of all 3G cellular traffic. Adding the iPad boosts the number to nearly 60 percent, according to a firm that analyzes cell network traffic. Where is Android? Samsung's Galaxy S, S2 and S3 combined make up a bit over eighteen percent of 3G traffic...

Prosecutors cautiously optimistic Activation Lock in iOS 7 could curb urban iPhone theft

Ed Sutherland ∙ June 11, 2013

Apple's Monday announcement that its new iOS 7 would include an 'Activation Lock' comes just days before the iPhone maker is to attend a Smartphone Summit. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón say they await details of the new iPhone feature.

After being stung by reports that it is not doing enough to prevent a rash of iPhone thefts, Apple argued Activation Lock would prevent thieves from using a stolen handset...

Samsung’s Galaxy S4 dead in the water

Ed Sutherland ∙ June 7, 2013

Following clickbait dead-in-the-water headlines which spelled doom for Apple on overzealous analysts projecting overly optimistic iPhone sales, it's now Samsung's turn to feel Wall Street's wrath. So, is Samsung's smartphone business running out of steam?

That's the question Wall Street is pondering as investors punish the South Korean firm after orders for its flagship Galaxy S4 had supposedly dropped by as much as thirty percent.

Friday, Samsung shares slid by more than six percent after more than $12 billion was sliced from the Android maker's market capitalization. Can Samsung stop the downward spiral, perhaps offering a stock buyback as Apple did? Or are we seeing only the latest signs of an industry-wide slowdown in demand?

Either way, the old saying about people living in glass houses seems all the more pertinent...

Aping Apple…

Ed Sutherland ∙ June 5, 2013

In an irony likely not lost on executives in Cupertino, at a time when China is becoming Apple's chief market, a Chinese smartphone maker is earning the reputation as the 'Apple of the East.'

Xiaomi, which makes Android-powered lookalikes of the iPhone, is led by a young, brash and wealthy CEO who appears to be the second-coming of Steve Jobs.

From his jeans and dark shirt wardrobe to his company's $1 billion balance sheet, Xiaomi's Lei Jun, sees Apple as the template for moving China from the cheap rip-offs of yesterday to the Fortune 500 of tomorrow, according to a New York Times profile published Wednesday...