Samsung

The verdict is in: Samsung must pay Apple an additional $290 million

The verdict is in folks. After just a few days of deliberation, a jury of six women and two men reached a conclusion for the retrial between Apple and Samsung over damages, and it's ruled in favor of the iPad-maker. Samsung must pay Apple $290 million.

This is in addition to the damages awarded in the original trial last fall, bringing the total amount Samsung owes up to $890 million. So essentially, Apple won back most of the damages that Judge Koh cut in March after finding the initial verdict flawed...

Apple explains why it’s entitled to additional damages in Samsung case

As you know, Judge Lucy Koh shaved more than $400 million off the $1.05 billion verdict in the much-publicized Apple vs. Samsung case that took place in August 2013 over patented iPhone technology. The South Korean chaebol admitted to lifting Apple's inventions, but the jury improperly calculated damages on certain Samsung products, prompting Koh to order a partial retrial in order to re-calculate the remaining damages.

Although Apple is already entitled to more than $500 million in damages (with patent rulings being upheld as well), the company is now demanding an additional $379 million in pending damages over patent infringement and lost sales. Samsung, on the other hand, argues it owes Apple no more that a rather meager $52 million for iPhone patents and design features...

Samsung sells just 50,000 Galaxy Gear watches in first two months [update]

In September, Samsung launched a line of Galaxy Gear smartwatches. The move appeared to be little more than a response to rumors that Apple and other tech companies were working on similar products, and an effort to be "first" to market.

But going first in unknown territory doesn't always work in your favor, and it looks like the Galaxy Gear supports that theory. According to a new report, Samsung has sold just 50,000 smartwatches since it launched them nearly 3 months ago...

Appeals court gives Apple another chance to ban Samsung devices

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has vacated Judge Lucy Koh's earlier denial of Apple's request to ban 26 Samsung devices that infringed on its patent. The move will give Apple another chance to permanently halt the sales of these devices in the US.

Now the issue will be sent back to Koh's court, where Apple's lawyers will no longer have to prove that the patented features in Samsung's products were the sole reason for driving sales, but only that there is some connection between the features and demand for Samsung devices...

Phil Schiller says iPhone was a ‘bet the company’ product

Philip Schiller

As the Apple v. Samsung trial to recalculate the damages Samsung owes continues, Phil Schiller took the stand yesterday. Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing was called up to speak with just 11 minutes left in the session.

But that still proved enough time for Schiller to dish out some interesting details about his role at Apple, and its early days of iPhone development. He said around 100 people worked on what was referred to as the 'bet the company' product...

Just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should do it

Bloomberg published an article today about Samsung's plans to release a device with a display that wraps around the edges. Why would you need such a feature, you may ask? As Van Baker, director of research at Gartner, explains, it's all about throwing a bunch of s#@& against the wall and see what sticks.

Curved screens may be a technology in search of a problem to solve, said Gartner’s Baker. Samsung may provide a test case because they have shown a willingness to release products into the market to see if they gain favor with customers, he said.

“There are enough companies out there that are very fond of throwing whatever hardware they can out into the market, just to see if anybody will bite,” he said.

Of course, Samsung will sell this to us as true innovation.

By definition, innovation is the application of better solutions that meet new requirements, inarticulated needs, or existing market needs. Innovation must solve an existing problem, not just be a demonstration of what can technically be done.

Just because you can do it doesn't mean you should do it. But Samsung likes to prove it can be first. Not first at creating a new innovative product. Just first at creating a product.

Samsung and Apple bosses to meet in January for another round of peace talks

Following a ruling in March which halved last August's $1.05 billion verdict against South Korea's Samsung, a retrial to recalculate the remaining damages is due later this week. In its opening statement today, Apple's legal representatives demanded $379 million in pending damages. Samsung argues it owes Apple but a paltry $52 million for infringing its iPhone patents and design features.

And as the two parties gear up for a déjà vu retrial, its CEOs will apparently meet for a new round of peace talks - all over again - according to a new report out Wednesday from South Korea...

Apple expected to increase holiday-quarter iPad screen purchases from Samsung

Samsung of South Korea may have gotten itself into hot water with Apple over patents and design issues, but its semiconductor unit continues to churn out unabated the Apple-designed engine which powers the iPhone, iPad and iPod devices. As for Retina screens, Apple originally sourced mobile displays from non-Samsung suppliers such as Sharp and LG Display.

Last we heard, recent yield and quality issues have reportedly prompted the iPhone maker to turn to its frenemy for help. Korea’s ETNews last Friday claimed Apple has asked Samsung for help as Sharp struggles to solve burn-in issues with IGZO panels for the iPad Air.

At the heart of the production issues is Japanese giant's malfunctioning of the thin-film transistor display technology. Corroborating the report, a display research firm on Monday said Apple's purchase of Samsung-made panels for the iPad is about to skyrocket in the fourth quarter...

Samsung ordered to explain why it shouldn’t be sanctioned for leaking Apple docs

Last month, Apple filed a motion against Samsung in a California court for sharing confidential information. In the filing, the iPad-maker accused the Korean tech giant of disclosing details regarding its Nokia patent licensing agreement.

Samsung learned the terms of the deal during its court battle with Apple, and although the info was marked "attorney's eyes only," it used it to negotiate better licensing terms for itself—which Apple says is very illegal. And the judge agrees...

Samsung barred from proactive use of Apple-HTC deal in litigation

In spite of the massive coverage concerning the high-profile Apple vs. Samsung trial, it's easily overlooked that Apple first went thermonuclear on Android by suing HTC. Following the rise of Samsung and subsequent decline of the Taiwanese handset maker, Apple and HTC in November 2012 announced a global settlement on patent litigation.

Terms of the deal have never been made public, but we do know the two sides agreed to a ten-year cross-licensing for all current and future patents and I guesstimated the deal's value to at least $3 billion.

Yesterday, Judge Lucy Koh issued an order granting Apple's motion to exclude last year's Apple-HTC settlement and license agreement at the pending Apple vs. Samsung retrial. The ruling conditionally bars Samsung from pointing the jury to the Apple-HTC settlement deal...

Samsung talks future: folding screens and 4K smartphones coming in 2015

One of the thrills of writing about technology is that more often than not one gets to blog about the next big thing always lurking just around the corner. Fans of technology have been living in the future forever and today Samsung spoke to the technophiles, sharing some of the upcoming technologies its mobile display unit is aiming to bring to market in 2014 and 2015.

We'll be living in the post-Retina world next year as Samsung preps to double the pixel count on smartphone and tablet screens, we're being told. And by 2015, your mobile devices will have full 4K resolution displays - that's a whopping 3,840-by-2,160 pixels normally found on Ultra HD TV sets, or four times the pixels of the full HD (1,920-by-1,080) Blu-ray movies.

By comparison, the iPad's Retina display maxes out at 2,048-by-1,536 pixels. But that's just scratching the surface...

Samsung beating budget phone vendors in China, Apple losing ground

Apple may be winning in the United States, the world's top market for smartphones, but in the 1.33 billion people market of China - which is Apple's second most-important territory revenue-wise - Samsung is beating local vendors of cheap handsets to the punch.

According to data from research firm Canalys, Samsung has overpowered rivals in China.

The company has grown its September quarter share to 21 percent, a notable jump from just fourteen percent a year earlier. The Galaxy maker was estimated to have shipped nineteen million smartphones during the third quarter ended September 30. It's worth underscoring Samsung does not disclose unit sales like Apple does, citing competitive reasons.

For the most part, Samsung's growth came at the expense of local vendors who build dirt-cheap handsets. But what about Apple?