August 24, 2012. US Federal Court announced the decision of much awaited patent infringement lawsuit between Apple, an american lifestyle product giant & Samsung, Korean consumer electronics group about the technology used in mobile smartphones.
According to the verdict Samsung found guilty for infringement of 5 patents (out of 21 total accused by Apple) and has been asked to pay $1bn + as a fine. Everyone who know what smartphone is, will be aware with this news by now.
This post is to highlight some more facts, which are not considered popularly.
Media, experts & readers consider that this a victory of Apple, Indeed. I am more interested in 21 - 5 = 16 patents for which Samsung has been accused, but there was no success. Apple iPad is crowned king of the tablet world. Samsung Galaxy tab series is also one of the most popular in tablet army. Looking at the changing consumer focus and trend, pointing towards the tablets (more than laptop/netbooks), that will be the main battlefield in the future. Samsung was successful in bringing all the tablet devices out of trouble, should be a notable achievement.
I'm no Expert to analyze patents and its genuine intentions. Sometimes I am worried that my Dell XPS laptop also has rounded corner rectangle shape, I might need to pay some good money for it to be approved by Apple. As Samsung said in the statement,
Today's verdict should not be viewed as a win for Apple, but as a loss for the American consumer. It will lead to fewer choices, less innovation, and potentially higher prices. It is unfortunate that patent law can be manipulated to give one company a monopoly over rectangles with rounded corners, or technology that is being improved every day by Samsung and other companies...Read full statements by Apple & Samsung here - Thanks to Engadget
Additionally, this patent war was not just targeted for Samsung. It is against the only popular alternative to Apple's mobile realm, "The Android". Samsung being the flag-bearer of Android, got a very first hit. (though its not the first hit, there were some HTC devices got import ban, Galaxy nexus suffered some ill-fate for sometime etc.)
The happiest candidate in this situation is ofcourse Microsoft. With their milestone product Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, along with brand new hardware Microsoft Surface, its just the right moment for Microsoft to start the party. Android vendors can easily get hooked with the promising new Windows Phone 8 platform, making it success.
The signal from Apple is clear. Their empire is in danger, and they are doing every possible and (as per Apple tradition) impossible thing to save it. Being World's largest and most successful company, driven by innovations, they have every right to do that.
One more interesting read is "How Android has evolved while steering clear of Apple's designs".
Looking forward for appeal and other developments like Motorola vs Apple patent case and others.
Future looks interesting...
with Jelly beans, iPhone 5, Windows Phone 8 and yes not to miss MeeGo on jolla's adventure ride.
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