Despite Apple's incessant efforts to win an injunction banning sales of Google's Galaxy Nexus, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has rejecting the Cupertino company’s claims, and the device - manufactured by South Korean electronics giant Samsung - will continue to retail.
As many of you already know, Android 4.1 Jelly on the Google / ASUS Nexus 7 uses a mix of tablet and phone user interfaces. The home screen launcher is fixed in portrait mode with virtual buttons at the bottom like the Galaxy Nexus, but when you go into landscape mode for landscape-oriented apps / games like Dead Trigger, the virtual buttons are placed at the bottom unlike the Galaxy Nexus. This is a completely new mix for UI (with respect to placement of virtual buttons) that has never been seen before on Android tablets; Google developed this specifically for the 7” tablet form factor.
There has been enough back and forth over the last eighteen months between Apple, Samsung and the courts to ensure that we have heard the words patent and infringement enough times to last us for the rest of our lives. It hasn't been a secret that the two companies have been in major conflict over various technologies and features that have been included in Samsung's tablet and smartphone products, as well as some questions over the design of their releases. Samsung obviously hasn’t taken the situation lying down and although Apple is one of their largest component customers, they have chosen to fight the allegations head on, with it eventually ending up at trial this week.
The smartphone industry is one of the most fiercely contested in tech space, and although Windows Phone 8 will bring Microsoft well and truly into the fold, the battle is currently fought between Google's Android and Apple's iOS platforms.
We’ve discussed and shown you plenty of prototype iPhones and iPads from 2006 and earlier here at Redmond Pie recently. These design documents have made their way onto the web thanks to the aggressive Apple vs. Samsung lawsuit that started yesterday; both companies are forced to reveal classified information about their already released or upcoming products in order help the Court make a just decision.
Google means business with Android these days. That's not to say it didn't before, but since the company's Google I/O conference recently it has become clear that the people at Google are beginning to understand what it takes to make a premium smartphone. It's not apps, and it's not handsets. It's the feel of the operating system.
Android Jelly Bean (4.1) seems to have gone down a treat among those using it, and it certainly seems as though Project Butter - a movement to make Android a lot sleeker and lag-free - has done the trick. With any new operating system, the temptation for many is to simply mod and tweak in order to decipher just what it's capable of, and for those having done a little - maybe too much - modding on their Nexus device, you'll be pleased to know you can grab a fresh, stock copy of your mobile OS.
Android Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) has now been superseded by Jelly Bean (4.1), but that doesn't mean to say some consumers are not waiting for an OTA update of the older iteration for their device. HTC's Desire HD is a pretty useful device in terms of specs - despite its age - thus most owners presumed their treasured device would inevitably see the new firmware.
The tablet market is one which is arguably already sewn up. It's already done. Dead. Finished. It's already Apple's. Or is it? With Apple undoubtedly heading the charts in and around the $500 price bracket, there is plenty of room for manufacturers to play below that mark. As the netbook market showed years ago, if you can make something cheap, people will buy it, regardless of whether it's any good or not.
The legal issues between Apple and Samsung show no sign of letting up, and whilst we're growing a little tired of the entire debacle, we're also learning more and more about two of technology's most influential companies.
