Samsung

Run for the hills, Galaxy S III ad assault begins

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 21, 2012

I know this is an iOS blog, but today Samsung launched its Galaxy S III in the United States with much fanfare and we thought you'd be interested in some of the television commercials they're running now. They're shiny, 100 percent devoid of Apple bashing and way cooler than Samsung's first promo video for the S III.

You can also bet on Samsung bombarding us with more commercials for the S III in the coming weeks. If these two adverts are an indication ("the next big thing is already here"), I'm expecting some fast jabs at the iPhone (though Terry Gou would disagree).

The question is, will Samsung's latest baby become the first smartphone to outsell the iPhone?

Foxconn CEO says next iPhone will put Samsung’s Galaxy S III to shame

Cody Lee ∙ June 20, 2012

So this is rather interesting: Apparently Foxconn's CEO Terry Gou has been sharing some of his famous words of wisdom lately, advising consumers to wait a bit before making their next smartphone purchase.

Speaking at the company's annual shareholders meeting, Gou told investors to hold off on buying the new Samsung Galaxy S III, claiming that Apple's next smartphone would put the handset to shame...

Samsung seeking “adequate damages” from Apple following 3G patent win

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 20, 2012

Thanks to a report by Dutch website All About Phones, translated by The Verge, we now know that Samsung will seek "adequate damages" from Apple following a favorable ruling in the 3G patent lawsuit in The Netherlands. Luckily, the ruling excludes a sales ban option because the infringed patent is classified as FRAND...

Is there any hope left for Nokia? (probably not)

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

It's not a typo: I really meant Nokia, not RIM. Look, the writing's on the wall. In the first quarter of 2012, only Apple and Samsung reaped benefits of the 41 percent year-over-year growth in the smartphone biz.

Together, the two frenemies accounted for 55 percent of global smartphone shipments in Q1 and an astounding 90 percent of the profits.

Apple shipped 35 million iPhones in Q1 while Samsung recorded 43 million global shipments. None of this is surprising. What's stunning is how sharp Nokia's decline is. Of all companies, beleaguered RIM, whose Q1 shipments dipped 20 percent, may soon surpass Nokia...

iPad web traffic drops a little, Nook overtakes Kindle Fire

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 14, 2012

An interesting change in tablet web traffic in June, as observed by ad network Chitika which sampled hundreds of millions of ad impressions across mobile apps that incorporate its solution. While they're by no means an accurate representative of the market, the numbers still outline market trend changes.

Apple's iPad dropped a bit in June, but the biggest change comes in Barnes & Noble's Nook passing Amazon's Kindle Fire. Of all non-iPad tablets, Samsung's Galaxy Tab remains the most widely-used device...

Samsung getting even with Apple: the next iPhone is a priority target

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 8, 2012

Looks like Apple is pushing Samsung's buttons by asking the court to put the Galaxy S III smartphone on the list of devices eligible for a preliminary sales injunction in the United States.

So, what's Sammy gonna do? Summon its legal sharks to go after the iPhone 5, of course...

Apple leverages Siri patent to block imports of Galaxy S III to US

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 6, 2012

Perhaps not unsurprisingly, Apple has asked the court for permission to add Samsung's latest smartphone to its list of devices eligible for a preliminary injunction.

The company is leveraging its two patents to enforce the ban, one already successfully used to stop imports of HTC devices and the other covering unified search and Siri capabilities that Samsung's device replicates with its S-Voice feature that Cupertino feels shamelessly rips off Siri's user interface.

Looks like Samsung may want to re-think its stance that the S III wasn't designed by lawyers...

Drop test: Samsung Galaxy S III vs. iPhone 4S

Cody Lee ∙ June 5, 2012

Ever since Apple unveiled the original iPhone, the handset has been a point of reference for the rest of the industry. It seems like every new device is pitted against the latest iteration of Apple's smartphone to test its caliber.

The latest notable handset to play this game is Samsung's new Galaxy S III. And while we've seen the device's voice assistant take on Siri, and other comparisons, we've yet to see the two smartphones in a drop test. Until now...

No sales ban on Samsung and Motorola tablets in US and Germany

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 5, 2012

A judge in California this morning decided to hold off on a ruling related to Apple's case against Samsung, meaning Cupertino won't be able to impose a sales ban on Galaxy Tab tablet sales in the United States. Apple's also been dealt another blow in Germany as a court said it's unlikely to grant them the same victory against Motorola's tablet as it'd done with last year's sales ban of the Galaxy 10.1 tablet...

Apple’s Siri and Samsung’s S-Voice go head to head (video)

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 25, 2012

The Verge was first out of the gate today with its exhaustive review of Samsung's Galaxy S III handset. A section of the piece provides an interesting side-by-side comparison of two intelligent personal assistants, Siri on the iPhone 4S and Samsung's darling dubbed S-Voice.

Both features work as advertised (well, most of the time), amuse with canned responses, delight with factual answers - all the while letting you converse with your handset using natural language rather than remember a bunch of hard-coded commands.

Siri and S-Voice also score similarly in handling common tasks such as pulling local weather, creating appointments and reminders and what not. And of course S-Voice is a blatant rip off of Siri's user interface. Apple's digital secretary appears to be snappier at running queries and S-Voice at times has a hard time understanding what you want.

And here's a nice side-by-side comparison video laying it all out for you...

No, lawyers didn’t design Galaxy S III, Samsung design boss says

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

When Samsung introduced its third-generation Galaxy S smartphone earlier this month, folks immediately took to Twitter, opining how the handset was "designed by lawyers" in a nod at Samsung's ongoing legal feud with Apple over alleged copying of the iPhone's hardware design and software features.

Instead, the phone that was "inspired by nature" and "designed for humans", as the tagline has it, fits in Samsung's five-year redesign plan and went through hundreds of iterations before they settled on a final design....

Tim Cook to start settlement talks with Samsung head today

Cody Lee ∙ May 21, 2012

Well it appears that Apple could be getting closer to resolving its 14 month-long patent dispute with Samsung. The two companies are slated to begin their court-ordered mediation session later today.

Reuters is reporting that it has learned that Apple's Tim Cook, and Samsung vice chairman Choi Gee-sung will be meeting in a San Francisco federal courthouse this afternoon to discuss a legal truce...