Google has released a public statement in which it tackles the recent legal goings on between both Apple, and the largest Android phone maker, Samsung. While both Samsung and Apple were keen to release statements following the court's decision to order the Korean firm to pay over one billion dollars to the iPhone maker. The whole thing revolves around Samsung's use of technology which infringes upon Apple's patents, and with Android beating at the heart of Samsung's smartphones, many wondered what Google would have to say about the matter.
Were you wondering where the Apple vs. Samsung patent battle would turn next? Now you know, with the news that a hardware ban is firmly within the Cupertino firm's sights. Fresh on the heals of winning a tasty victory in the courts on Friday, Apple has today named the eight Samsung smartphones which it hopes those same courts will ban from sale in the United States.
Nobody truly knows everything that goes on behind the closed doors at companies like Apple and Samsung, even though they have been forced to expose more than they would like in the last few weeks with a lot of their inner workings coming out during the recent patent trial in San Jose, it's unlikely that we ever will have a full understanding of the design and development process that goes on internally when designing a new product.
Although I love certain Samsung products and can see the value in them and understand why smartphones like the Galaxy S II and S III have been so commercially successful for the Korean electronics giants, there are certain Samsung products that simply do not make sense to me and actually make me wonder why they are even releasing them. Obviously my opinion is my own and if there wasn't a market for things like the Galaxy Note "Phablet" then they wouldn't put the resources into them, but it still staggers me.
Smartphone cameras are getting better. In fact, on Flickr, they hold their own against some of the very best standalones in terms of numbers of images posted. While many users opt to use their smartphones to take the majority of their snaps, though, in terms of performance and quality, they aren't even in the same league, and if you ever find yourself appreciating the camera of your S III or iPhone 4S just a little too much, a quick look at the proper DSLR will soon bring you back down to earth.
After a well-documented and rather grueling court hearing, Apple has prevailed over its Korean-based rival Samsung in a number of patent disputes, and with a settlement of over a billion dollars having been dished out in the Cupertino's favor, a few of the nine-person jury have given their accounts of why they came to the decision that Apple was indeed just with its lawsuits.
Although this particular chapter in the Apple vs. Samsung battle has come to an end with a nine person jury ruling in the majority of the instances that were brought before them, that Samsung were indeed guilty of infringing on patents that were owned by Apple Inc. The case was rather peculiar in the fact that until the jury actually came out of deliberation and announced their decisions, nobody could really tell which way the outcome was going to sway, but with Samsung now liable for $1.05 billion in damages to Apple, there is no longer a doubt.
The disagreements between Apple and Samsung had been bubbling away for quite some time, with the the companies first coming to blows relating to alleged patent infringements approximately 18 months ago. It isn't any secret that the two companies have been locked in a San Jose courtroom in California, with their legal teams presenting evidence and testimony to the judge and nine jurors in an attempt to show that they have been wronged in some way by their rivals in the smartphone and tablet market.
Apple suing Samsung, Samsung suing Apple back, Google buying Motorola (and its patent portfolio) and suing Apple, the patent wars are really starting to heat up again!
Keen to show the world, or maybe just Apple's lawyers, that the company offers more than just a carbon copying facility for smartphones, Samsung has released a rather artistic video showing off what it calls the design story of the Galaxy S III.
