Samsung

Walmart stops Kindle sales, following Target’s lead

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Amazon's $199 Kindle and low-price retailer Walmart would appear to be a match made in discount heaven, right? Then how do you explain today's news that Walmart is kicking Amazon to the curb? In a statement, Walmart only says the decision is part of its "overall merchandising strategy."

"Recently, Walmart Stores, Inc. made a business decision to not carry current Amazon products beyond our purchase commitments and existing inventory," the Bentonville, Ark. firm told store managers Wednesday. In the memo reported by Reuters, Walmart officials said the stores will continue to offer "a broad assortment of tablets, eReaders and accessories at a variety of great price points."

Samsung may add iPhone 5 to US patent infringement lawsuit

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

If you thought the legal wrangling between Apple and Samsung was settled with August's patent-infringement jury decision, you were wrong. In a patent infringement lawsuit filed in February in the same San. Jose, Calif. courthouse that awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages, the two rivals are preparing for a grudge match. Now the Wall Street Journal reports the South Korean smartphone maker "anticipates" it will add the iPhone 5 to the iPhone 4S in its list of allegedly infringing devices.

Samsung shoots down the Galaxy S4 rumor

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

The Korea Times reported on Monday, citing unnamed company officials, that Samsung is getting ready to announce the next-generation Galaxy S4 smartphone at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain in February 2013, followed by March 2013 availability. The story claimed the Galaxy SIII successor would be "more than enough to curb Apple’s latest iPhone". However, the report is inaccurate as Samsung was quick to deny the rumor via its Korean account on Twitter...

Samsung airs Galaxy ad ridiculing folks who’d wait in line for the iPhone 5

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 19, 2012

As expected - and right on time ahead of Friday's iPhone 5 launch - Samsung has taken another cheap shot at Apple with a new television commercial. Like last year's anti-Apple campaign, this one again pokes fun of people who would wait in the line for a new iPhone (even if the vast majority of readers in iDB's non-scientific poll said they pre-ordered their device).

It increasingly appears Samsung is attaching its brand name to Apple in the hope of getting the kind of exposure, recognition and reputation Apple is enjoying. Don't take it all to hear - Samsung's ad is funny at times. And to those who beg to differ: we can always laugh at ourselves (here, here and here)...

Apple to seek $3B in damages from Samsung

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Apple will seek $3 billion in damages from Samsung when the two companies meet in court on Friday, a Korean newspaper reports Wednesday. The amount is triple that awarded in August, when a California jury ruled the South Korean firm violated Apple's patents.

According to the Korea Times, citing a "reliable source," Apple will ask for the $3 billion because the iPhone maker "wants to quickly address the harm that Samsung's infringing products are said to be causing." If granted, the $3 billion would mark a record reward for technology patent lawsuits...

It doesn’t take a genius indeed

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

You've seen Samsung's anti-iPhone newspaper ad (and a Nokia fan's take) that takes a jab at the incoming iPhone 5.

The advertisement has caused quite a stir with its "it doesn't take a genius" tagline (an obvious reference to Apple Store Geniuses) and a laundry list of features focusing on the bigger display on the Galaxy SIII, twice the RAM and stuff like standard micro-USB plug, expandable SD card storage and swappable battery.

Taking a page from Samsung marketing department's book, an Apple fan created a spoof that goes a long way proving that a spec matrix can often be a double-edged sword...

People to Samsung: we want the iPhone 5

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Perhaps Samsung was overly confident in nice numbers its flagship Galaxy SIII handset's been putting or maybe its silly anti-iPhone newspaper ad has backfired, but the South Korean conglomerate appears to have found itself on the receiving end this time around.

A trivial question posted on Samsung Mobile's official Facebook page has produced a ton of unexpected answers favoring Apple's new iPhone 5. Rubbing salt into wound, an unrelated survey has also revealed that nearly a whopping two-thirds of polled users in Australia are considering to jump ship because they are lusting after the iPhone 5...

Judge denies Samsung’s motion to dissolve Galaxy Tab ban

Cody Lee ∙ September 18, 2012

US District Court Judge Lucy Koh denied Samsung's motion to lift the injunction on its Galaxy Tab 10.1 last night. The decision comes in response to Samsung's August 27 request to dissolve the sales ban against its tablet.

Back in June, Koh granted Apple a preliminary injunction against the Tab due to patent infringement. But after the jury in last month's trial found that the tablet didn't infringe on Apple's IP, Samsung wanted the decision overturned..

Nokia fan (or Nokia?) creates Samsung style anti-iPhone ad

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 17, 2012

Following up on news of Samsung's upcoming anti-iPhone television commercial and sighting of an amusing print ad appearing in certain newspapers and focused on a laundry list of iPhone 5 and Galaxy SIII features, a fan of Nokia's newly introduced flagship handset, the Windows Phone 8-drive Lumia 920, has taken it upon himself to re-work Samsung's advertisement with a little Nokia touch.

Replacing the Galaxy SIII with the Lumia 920, the new ad proclaims Nokia's device "the heawyweight champion" of smartphone wars, which have grown uglier with the iPhone 5 introduction (which shattered sales records), patent fights, Samsung's nasty ad attacks and March 2013 release of the Galaxy S4.

Now there’s a new “ad” ready to become viral, coming from Nokia fans (or maybe Windows Phone fans). The unofficial commercial is entitled “Flyweight contender, meet the heavyweight champion” and pits the Nokia Lumia 920 against the iPhone 5...

Samsung to take on the iPhone 5 with the Galaxy S4, due in February 2013

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 8, 2016

Just as Apple announced two million iPhone 5 pre-orders and admitted to demand exceeding the initial supply, the latest word on the street has it that rival Samsung is readying its answer, a successor to its Galaxy SIII flagship handset which became the most serious challenger to the iPhone based on shipments of 20 million units in its first hundred days on market (they expect to ship 30 million by year's end).

The Galaxy S4 should launch in March 2013, a month following its public introduction at the annual Mobile World Congress conference in Barcelona, Spain. Samsung officials reportedly are convinced that the device will be capable of curbing the iPhone 5, which has a bigger four-inch Retina display, twice as fast processor and fast 4G LTE and WiFi networking capabilities, plus a two-tone form factor and a host of other hardware tweaks...

Samsung’s new Galaxy S III ad takes on the iPhone 5

Cody Lee ∙ September 15, 2012

"It doesn't take a genius," according to Samsung's new ad, to see that the Samsung Galaxy S III is a better handset than Apple's new iPhone 5. "The next big thing is already here," it says.

The ad, which Samsung will start running in national and regional newspapers tomorrow, does a side-by-side comparison of the two phones, with the Galaxy S III appearing superior...

Apple could be close to shifting CPU orders away from Samsung

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 14, 2012

The iPhone 5 comes with a brand new Apple-designed A6 chip for a twofold jump in CPU/GPU performance. In fact, the iPhone 5 could easily be the first ARM Cortex-A15 smartphone on the market. The A6 is likely manufactured on Samsung's 32-nanometer process, but probably not for long as Apple has been looking to take its chip contract elsewhere.

There ain't many places to go: Intel sucks at power management and Samsung is #2 chip vendor in the world. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), however, is the world's largest dedicated independent semiconductor foundry and Apple could be closer than previously thought to shifting production contracts away from Samsung and towards TSMC.

Can you say "stock plunge"?