Is Google Losing The Patent Wars?

Logo via: TabTimes

A Japanese court recently awarded Samsung a small victory, saying that Samsung did not violate any of Apple's patents.

However, even though it is indeed a small victory, it's not a major one according to the world's most quoted patent expert, Florian Mueller, who says that overall, Apple is beating Android and stated that the victory, in reality, was "..... a non-win for Apple and a non-defeat for Samsung... that's all."

In fact, when it comes Apple, and its recent and massive victory over Samsung last week, it could help to explain why both CEO's of Google and Apple have been holding secret patent talks, with more to follow.

I've seen comments and reports that suggested that both companies were getting weary of all of the legal patent squabbles and were interested in coming to some kind of reasonable understanding. My take, however, is that after last week's massive Apple patent victory Google now sees the writing on the wall for Android and recognize that they are clearly next in line, and that if Google doesn't come to some kind of mutual agreement with Apple, then Android, at least as it now stands, is el-finito...... finished!

In fact, when it comes to who's winning in the current patent wars, and according to Herr Mueller, he notes:

"The Android camp is clearly losing this patent war (not as quickly as Apple would like to win it, but still, Android is losing without a doubt, with Android-based devices having been found to infringe 15 valid Apple and Microsoft patents, all of the non-standard-essential). That's why some of the companies on the losing end, and those who for whatever reason seek to support them, try to make people believe that there been wins and losses on both sides, while no reasonable impact assessment can arrive at the conclusion that is is a balanced battle. Currently, not a single standard-essential patent is being enforced against Apple or Microsoft anywhere in the world. Apple will have to pay something to Motorola in Germany and a small amount to Samsung in the Netherlands, but that won't change the equation for a cash-rich player like Apple." (emphasis mine)

As AppleInsider reported , after, "Realling from its scathing jury verdict, Samsung executives have promised to continue to litigation with Apple over patents while also partnering with Microsoft to cut its dependency on Google's Android."

In other words, as far as the above goes, Samsung is scared stiff and is showing their real colour.... that of its sheer desperation! At least that's how I read it anyway. Yes, I can see and agree that looking to Microsoft's Windows 8 mobile as an alternative is a good one for Samsung, but it's not a very good or great one, because according to a recent Berstein Report: "People Don't Want Windows Phones."

In conclusion, I honestly can't say for sure if Google is losing the patent wars, but at this point, unless things change, and change fast, than it's becoming increasingly clear that most likely Google Is Going To Be  A Big Loser, after all.





And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy Friday, August 31, 2012

The New iMac Tablet From HTC!

Image via: Pocket-Now

Hey,  just look at the iMac above and me what do you see? See anything different, anything unusual?

Well, besides the fact that it is running one of those Men In Black movies, or the fact that its boarder is slightly different, and the Apple logo seem to be nothing more than a dot, the really big differences is that this thing is small enough to fit in your hands and is, in fact, not even a desktop computer!

That's because this baby is actually a new-fangled tablet from HTC, a company that is already, by the way, being sued by Apple for copying iOS and the iPhone!

HTC, for its part, says that it's not afraid of big, old, bad Apple regardless of it''s ground-breaking victory over Samsung, and that it has utterly no intention of settling with the world's biggest and richest company.

Hmmmm, Apple was only awarded more than a billion dollars in damages from Samsung's copying, which could soon be trebled, and the fact that Samsung has already lost some $12-billion in market cap, and that people are dumping their Samsung phones because of it, well, it kind of makes me think that maybe HTC is a little bit on the suicidal side!

Image via: Pocket-Lint

Anyway, back to that mysterious iMac look-a-like tablet, and what can I tell you? Well, first of all, putting the Apple logo where it's on a desktop computer is one thing, but putting it in the same location on a tablet is another thing altogether. It would seem to me that its placement is exactly where you would naturally put your finger, which would naturally kind get in the bloody way of its ability to capture images! But hey, this is from the company that says it has no intention of settling with Apple. Yes, in other words: these folks really are crazy, nuts, and a little bit bonkers, and, not to mention... a little bit suicidal!

I also agree with Pocket-Lint observation, when it says:

"From the pictures, the new tablet looks to be a 10-inch tablet rather than 7-inches as seen on HTC's first tablet, the HTC Flyer. Likewise, there is no reference in the images to the inclusion of a stylus as found in the Flyer."

In conclusion, I also agree that there is no real evidence to establish whether or not these images are even real, or just some clever, and to me, somewhat humorous, fakes? What ever they are, you can get a glimpse of more photos here, or here and make up your own mind. For me, if they are real, they are no more than just some type of concept tablet that will never see the light of day, because HTC would never be that crazy or that dumb to release them, or would they?




And that's my 2 cents 4 this sunny, but rather cold, Thursday, August 30, 2012

Apple Patent Victory Triggers Drop In Samsung Resale Value

Image via: Bakerforjudge

Samsung's market cap lost a whopping $12-billion dollars, or some 7.5%, as a direct result of last week's massive patent victory by Apple, but apparently that's not all that Samsung has been loosing, as it is now being reported that Samsung's phones have also been loosing their resale value as well.

Quentin Forttrell, writing for MarketWatch, noted that:

"While many experts predict that Apple Inc's court victory over Samsung could shake up the wireless industry over the long term, it's already have an impact on one key area: the resale market."

Not only has the resale price of Samsung been dropping, but Gazelle, the popular resale site, reports that they have dropped by as much as 50%!  Mr. Forttrell also noted that even though Android phones as a whole never really did hold their resale value, and especially compared to the iPhone, some experts are predicting that prices will continue to drop even more as more Android phones flood the market. Apple's patent victory only creates more uncertainty about future Android upgrades, thus making Android phones even more of an 'iffy' situation, and especially as those Android phones lose certain key features that users have become accustomed to.

When it comes to the resale values of Android phones, Mr. Forttrell sites Louis Ramirez, a senior features writer for DealNews, who noted that the recent court decision, ".... will continue to hurt Android resale values. When it comes to resale value, for example, the Samsung S II had a resale value of only $90 compared to its original $199 selling price. In comparison, the 16GB iPhone 4S, however, currently goes for some $300 on NextWorth, and this was all before the recent court decision.

The following illustration, via AppleInsider, (click to enlarge) helps to illustrate the stark difference in resale value:

In conclusion, the recent court rulings have not only strengthen Apple considerably , but has also weaken Samsung and Android, and this is a trend that should continue for the foreseeable future. Whether or not Samsung, Google and its Android partners can reverse the trend yet remains to be seen.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this rather cold, but otherwise gorgeous sunny Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Jury Foreman, In Apple v. Samsung Case, Interviewed On Its Decision Making Process (Video)

Velvin Hogan via: Bloomsberg

Velvin Hogan is the 67-year-old jury foreman in the patent trial of the century, namely Apple v. Samsung, and he recently gave a television interview were he discuses how they came to their decision to find Samsung guilty.

According to Mr. Hogan, the case was decided after long and hard thought, including some deep thinking that he had done at home, and he stated:

"I was at home thinking about that patent claim by claim, I had what we would call an aha! moment,  and he added, "I suddenly decided I could defend this if it was my patent -- I took that story back to the jury and laid it out for them and then we meticulously went patent by patent and claim by claim against the test that the judge had given us."

C/net goes into further detail, but it's apparent to me that the jury's decision, which many believed to be surprisingly too fast, was anything but fast or a careless and unthoughtful process. After a month of testimony, it was already clear in the minds of the jury that Samsung was not only in violation of Apple's patents, but wilfully so.

In conclusion, as massive as Apple's victory is, it is, of course, not the end of the story. There will be the appeal process and the delays that go with it, but one thing is certain: things are going to change in the world of patent infringement and, hopefully, it will be a lot harder for the Samsung's, the Google's and others of the world to just blindly ignore the IP and rights of others, and for me at least that is a very good thing indeed.





And that's my 2 cents 4 this rainy and thunderous Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Samsung, Google And Android In Panic Mode After Massive Patent Victory By Apple!

Image via: DigitalTrends

This morning, in after hour trading, Apple's stock is up a whopping 2.86%, or a staggering $18.98 per share!

The reason, of course, as you probably already know is that Apple, after a long and bitter battle with Samsung, has emerged with what is probably the biggest patent victory in history. In fact, many have been calling it the "patent trial of the century."

This is about more than just Apple vs Samsung of course, because, in truth, it's really more about Apple vs Google and its "stolen property", or namely Android, which has thus far been stealing iOS's lunch. That is something that Apple, hopefully, will now be able to change and I mean change big time!

Citing news reports from Taiwan, PatentlyApple is reporting that:

"A Taiwan report out this morning shows us that a litttle of how their media is taking the Apple v. Samsung verdict that was handed down on Friday. The final outcome of the case, they state, is expected to have a ripple effect on the smartphone market. Some local analysts see Apple's triump over Samsung as delivering a FATAL BLOW TO THE ANDROID CAMP." (emphasis mine)

Obviously, this is going to have a major impact on every other Android manufacturer, and especially those in Asia,  meaning that Apple's tech is now forbidden fruit, while others are saying that Apple's victory may reshape the entire industry, which I happen to think is more-or-less a given, and meaning that for the time being anyway, Steve Jobs has won his "thermonuclear battle"  against Android.  It's not over, of course, but the odds of Samsung, or Google overcoming this victory with an appeal is pretty bleak..

As far as Samsung goes, well MacRumors is reporting that its executives "were reeling in shock" over the verdict and that:

"It's widely expected that Samsung will appeal, but the outlook for success in the appeal looks rather murky."

In fact, MacRumor reported that one senior Samsung executive stated that:

"It's absolutely the worst scenario for us..."

In conclusion, all I can say is "WOW", who would have ever thought that Apple's legal victory would be so huge, so broad and so all in compassing? Now that Apple has won, the really big questions have yet to be answered., namely what happens next? That's going to be something that we'll just have to wait and see, but what ever the outcome, Apple's huge patent victory is sure to be a wake-up call call for the entire industry going forward.




And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy, mild, but otherwise nice Monday morning, August 27, 2012

My Top-Ten Desktoppr Wallpapers

As promised in yesterday's post, since I'm out of town, and have little time to blog, here are my top-ten Desktoppr wallpapers.

My first top-ten Desktoppr photo is of one of my favourite things in the whole world.... trees! I absolutely love trees, and you have to admit this one is a beauty. I mean, just look at it, all alone silhouetted against all of those dark but glorious colours, how could anyone not love it?

Below is my second favourite, and wow, just look how lovely it is in its simplicity, the whole world in your hands, in wood nonetheless. I love it, don't you?

My third top-ten is above, and ain't it a beauty? Yes sir, it is a wallpaper that reminds me of Windows 95 default desktop, one consisting of a simple picture of dreamy clouds surrounded by the blue, blue sky. Lovely isn't it?

Above, what can I say about good-old pick number four other than it's colourful, very, very colourful. It kind of looks like an artist had gone stark-raving mad and threw his paints randomly at the canvas. Nonetheless, I think its a masterpiece anyway you slice it.

Lines on blue, that's all pick number five is above, but I find its simplicity to be extremely beautiful. Simplicity is beauty, don't you think? I do anyway.

I don't know what you would call my pick number six, but I simply call it: purple above! Of course, I'm colour-blind so it might look anything but purple to you, but I like it anyway, and I like it a lot to boot.

Number seven above is out of this world. Yes, it's an imaginary world, but a beautiful one and if your into space wallpapers you'd have to be a little spaced-out if you didn't like this one.

Again, above, we find number eight and it's one of my favourites of all time, and this is one wallpaper that I love to use a lot. Not sure what you would call it, but I love it, so I'll just call it gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous.

Awe, good-old number nine is next. I call this simply smoke, as it appears to be nothing more than smoke carelessly drifting through a blue haze.

Now, for my very last Desktoppr top-ten, and yes.... it's another tree. For crying out 'pizza with anchovies', I did tell you that I liked trees, didn't I?  Well, indeedy I do, and this simple, but very lonely looking little tree makes me just want to hug it! If that makes me a tree-huger, so be it.

In conclusion, I'm a simple minded kind of guy, so my taste, as you can see in my top-ten Desktoppr wallpapers, is rather simple, but I assure you, my dear, dear two or three readers, that these lovely wallpapers look all the more lovely on your desktop. If you don't like em, no problem, because Desktoppr has zillions and zillions of more cool wallpapers for you to choose from, and I'm sure you'll find what your looking for, so if you haven't already, then, by all means, create a Desktoppr account for yourself here.




And that's my 2 cents 4 this Friday, August 24, 2012

Site-4-The-Day: Desktoppr, The Best-Dang-Tooting Wallpaper Site Of them All!

I don't know about you, but I really love to have a bunch of cool photos and art work to display on my desktop. Yes, I know that there are  tons of great wallpaper sites out there, but of all of them, absolutely, and no doubt about it, the very best one of them all is a new site called Desktoppr.

What's so special about Desktoppr is that, unlike most other desktop wallpaper sites, you don't have to weed out all of the crude, because Desktoppr does all of that for you beforehand, and, as they state:

"We only accept high resolution widescreen wallpapers - ensuring you get only the best wallpapers around!"

Yes, indeedy! I've found Desktoppr has the best-tooting wallpapers out there, bar none! Yes, I know there are other great wallpaper sites, including Desktop-Nexus, another one of my favourites, but Desktoppr is still, as far as I'm concerned, the best dang-tooting wallpaper site yet.

What I love about Desktoppr is that the wallpapers themselves are all first class and cover virtually any genre that could could wish for, including: scenery, be it mountains, oceans, forests, cities; as well as space themes, including galaxies, stars, planets, both real and imaginary; animals, such as tigers, lions, wolfs, birds and you name it, as well, of course, people, which of course also includes those cute little buggers known as babies, as well as some very sexy creatures known as women, and a few dudes thrown in.

Desktoppr allows you to also search and filter wallpapers by either the newest ones first, the most liked, the most downloaded, or the by the most viewed. In addition, any dimension from 1440x900 to 2880x1800 or greater can be selected, which is pretty great as well.

In conclusion, I'll be out of town for the next few days, so with little to no time time to blog, so  tomorrow I'll be posting some of my top ten personal Desktoppr wallpapers, but in the meantime, be sure to sign up and create your own free Desktoppr account, you'll be glad you did.







And that's my 2 cents 4 this Thursday, August 23, 2012

iPad Accessories: Apple's New Tablet With The Clickity, Clackity Sounding Charm Of An Old Typewriter Keyboard.

I don't know how practical the above iPad accessory keyboard is, but it's nonetheless cool as hell! Yuppers, this baby brings back all of that good-old clickity, clackity sound from the typewriter keyboards of the past. 

The iTypeWriter is an iPad hardware and software accessory that adds an old-world charm to the whiz-bang of today's modern tablet. I'm not really sure where on earth you would actually go to get your hands on one of these lovely's, but I do love how Gizmodo describes the iTypeWriter as:

"Click, tap, tap, reset. It's the sound of work and art at the same time. So combining a typewriter with an iPad? That's a sound I love to hear." 

In conclusion, I must admit that I too love that old, charming and reassuring sound of the clickity, clackity of yesterday's typewriter, a contraption that our modern computers, tablets, and smartphones are more-or-less responsible for killing off in the first place. As neat as theiTypeWriter's  physical keyboard is, it looks a little flimsy to me, but boy, oh boy, do I ever love that reassuring sound of clickity, clackity, click!




And that's my 2 cents 4 this gloriously, glorious Wednesday, August 22, 2012 

Official iPhone 5 Video Leaked! (Video Parody)

Above is an official leaked video for the new and upcoming iPhone 5, and boy, oh boy, is it a dozy! It connects to WIIFI, via your MacBook, and it can produce the most amazing photos of food that you could possibly imagine.

According to Greg Mansfield, Vice President of Apple Design, if it looks more like a camera than a smartphone it's because they have discovered, through exhaustive research, that iPhone users mostly use their phones more for taking photos of food rather than actually talking, so why bother offering any other useless features such as making phone calls?

Of course, this is all in fun. The above video is just another spoof of Apple which just yesterday became the most valuable American company in history. The video comes from the genius of a guy called Adam Sacks, who produces video comedies, because, as he says, ".... in an attempt to amuse myself, and maybe you too." Personally, I especially like the video he did on the Tony Awards, which you can see here.

In conclusion, Adam Sacks, is just one of many who have made video spoofs of Apple, Steve Jobs, the iPad, iPod and this hilarious iPhone parody, among many, many others, so enjoy.




And that's my 2 cents 4 this Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Special thanks to Gizmodo

Google Sues Apple Over Android's Notification Alerts, Good Luck On That One!

Image via: DroidXForums

Google says it doesn't like being sued over so-called "bogus patents", but, boy, oh boy, when it comes to their own patents do they ever love suing others, like last week when they decided to sue Apple in an attempt to ban all Macs, iPhones, iPods and iPads over seven non essential patents, including one for its notification feature in Android.

I don't know much about the other six patents that Google is suing over, but I do know that Google might be in for a big, big surprise when it comes to trying to enforce its notification patent for the simple reason of prior art.

Yes, Android's notification was found to be in use way, way back, and long, long before Google ever thought of buying Android. And guess what?, it all started, and get this... on the Mac OS! Yuppers, over nine years ago there was pretty much a 100% similar notification alert app that was released for the Mac, and was even recently introduced for the Windows platform. That app was called, GROWL!

I personally remember using Growl way, way back in the olden days of Mac Classic OS, and then using it when it migrated to OS X, so Google may find that its notification patent might end up being revoked over its attempt to enforce it on Apple.

Growl is one of those apps that I always first made sure I installed on my Mac, and that I and others would highly recommend to anyone who had a Mac. After all, it was FREE under the BSD license, so that might help to explain why Apple, no doubt, decided to do its own version for its latest OS X release. As far as I can tell, the Growl team has been copyrighting their notification alert system ever since 2004, a year before Google bought Android, so good luck on that one Google.

Google is also suing on patents relating to Siri, which Apple bought from a company that began its work many, many years ago, so I don't know how Google's so-called Siri patents are going to fair with those patents that were already created years ago and ones that Apple bought and later added other patents to?

In conclusion, I find the hypocrisy on the part of Google to be down-right stomach turning, and I find it amusing, and also obnoxious, how many people will readily comment that if Apple sues it is because it doesn't know how to innovate or because it's a thieving troll, but if Google sues it's automatically because it is right and just and is simply giving Apple, as well as others, simply their just deserts.





And that's my 2 cents 4 this sunny, yet cool, Monday, August 20, 2012

The Little Unlocking App That Big Apple Inc. Should Buy And Incorporate Into iOS

Image via: AppAdvice

Apple's slide-to-unlock feature is simple, natural and works great, but if your willing to jailbreak your iPhone, or other iDevice, then there is another way to unlock your iDevice that just happens to be not only as convenient, but, frankly, if you ask me, a lot slicker and a hell-of-a-lot cooler to boot.

It's called UnCurl, and as you can see in the photo above, it brings Apple's slick iBook animation to iOS's unlocking procedure.This feature works whether you swipe, or uncurl, from the bottom, top or either sides and it can also be used to reveal any notifications that you may have on your device as well, as you can see demonstrated in the video below:

Besides giving you access to iOS's Notification Center and SBSettings, UnCurl can easily be enabled or un-enabled, as well as its uncurl speed set. Lock screen and Notifications Center can also be configured to your independent settings as well.


In conclusion, this $0.99 cent app looks and works great. So much so, that personally I think that Apple should quickly snap up this swipe app and incorporate in its next iOS update so that users can have the choice of using this as an alternate to the slide-to-unlock feature without having to go through the hassle or dangers of having to unlock your device in the process.






Story, photo and video via: AppAdvice; Source: JailBreak Nation

New iPad Mini Renderings Are Sleek, Thin-As-Air And Down Right Sexy!

Image via: 9-to-5Mac

Above and below are two renderings, based on various reports and schematics, of what Apple's new iPad mini could and should look like if it ever comes to pass. 

Personally, I think it looks rather down-right sexy with its sleek and minimal look. Compared to the iPad and the iPhone, well the renderings, as you can see below, is of a device that looks just like the current models, but only different.

Image via: 9-to-5Mac

According to a report by AppleInsider, the new iPad mini could be as light as the current iPod Touch, and if you ever seen and handle one of those little beauties than you know just how incredibly thin and light those little buggers are. The iPod Touch, at 7.2 mm, is considerably thinner than the new iPad, and indeed if Apple can pull it off then I would tend to think that this would be a very compelling factor in favour of a 7-inch version. 

It seems that with each and every passing day, more-and-more information about the new iPad mini is coming to light such as this supposed mini-dock flex cable photo. Apple hasn't said anything about producing the fabled iPad mini, but thanks to the on going patent war between Apple and Samsung, we now known that at least one Apple's big-wig has been pushing for it, and apparently even Steve Jobs was opened to the idea.

In conclusion, I'm really beginning to like the idea of a 7-inch iPad mini, though I find the new iPad, with its retina display, to be a more compelling device. However, there is a growing number of people who prefer the smaller 7-inch form factor, so, for them at least I hope that the iPad mini comes to pass, and at least according to this report we could see it, along side a new iPhone 5, as soon as this coming September 12, but we'll see about that.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this Thursday, August 16, 2012

Site-4-The-Day: Retina Mac Apps

Via: RetinaMacApps

Today's the day, boy-oh,boy, that I get to go for my regular little walk across town, a 56 kilometre trek, so I've decided to do a short little post for today, and thanks to this little post that I just happened to read last night, this one is especially written for all you fine folks out there who just may be lucky, and, or rich enough, to afford themselves one of those amazingly, amazing and eye-popping new fangled, dangled gizmos...... the MacBook Pro with retina displays.

Yuppers, as great as the new MacBook Pro retina laptops are, you really need to get your hands on some retina ready apps in order to fully take advantage of all that amazing, super, duper sharp goodness, but which apps are retina ready, and where can you find the little buggers?

Hmmmm, I wonder?

No problems mate, because now there is, as if you didn't already guess, a site for just that, my site-4-the-day: RetinaMacApps. com.

Mind you now, you have to take into consideration that the newly released MacBook Pro with retina display has only been on the market for a wee bit, so the list of retina display worthy apps is still rather small, but it's growing - and fast! Currently, I've counted a hundred or so, but you can bet your last pair of pink, purple and yellow bloomers that there'll be a lot more of them a coming!

RetinaMacApp.com will allow you to scroll through all of the retina apps directly available either by name, the most recent, or by their category, which thus far include: business, developer tools, entertainment, finance, games, graphics & design, health & fitness, music, news, photography, productivity, social networking, utilities and, of course, video, good old video.

So, in conclusion, there you go.... a source where you'll be able to list all of the yummy and eye-popping retina based apps, at least for all of you lucky stiffs that can actually afford to buy one of them fine-and-dandy MacBook Pros, with them fine and amazingly, amazing retina displays!





And that's my 2 cents 4 this Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The Largest Gaming Platform Of Them All: iOS?

Image via: Cult-of-Mac

Last week ArsTechnica reported that new data now suggests that iOS may have become the largest, best dang-tooting gaming platform of all time!

One of the reasons why iOS may now be able to claim the title of being the world's largest gaming platform is simply because of the sheer size of the platform, with over 400-million iOS devices sold, iOS simply dwarfs all of the traditional gaming platforms, such as Microsoft's Xbox, Sony's PlayStation, or Nintendo's wildly successful Wii or GameBoy.

According to Asymco, as ArsTechnica noted, Apple's Game Center is expected to cross the 150-million mark come this September, which when you compare it to Valve's 40-million members is quite impressive indeed. With thousands of gaming titles available, including those in the video below, there is little reason to go elsewhere for your casual gaming needs.

In conclusion, ArsTechica also brought out the interesting fact that even though Android now sells more phone units than Apple's iPhone, iOS users are much more inclined to buy and actually play games, with one popular game title selling some 20 times more units than it does for Android, so congrats to iOS users for making it the most popular gaming platform on the planet.






And that's my 2 cents 4 this Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Patent Trial Of The Century: Did Samsung Blow It?

Image via:  Hadhhogayi

Did Samsung blow its chance of avoiding spending hundreds of millions of dollars in legal fees and all of the other hassles that it now finds itself entangled in with the world's most valuable company, Apple?

Samsung had the chance, according to this post, to avoid its current legal mess, because it is now emerging that  Apple offered it a special, unique and one-time deal to license its crown jewels for a mere $250-million, as outlined in Defendants Exhibit 586.

According to Apple, "Because Samsung is a strategic supplier to Apple", for its iPhone and iPad, it was willing to give Samsung a special one-time deal to license its IP. Apple offered Samsung a licensing deal that would see Samsung paying Apple some $30 per phone and some $40 per tablet, but, for what ever reason, Samsung decided to reject the offer. The deal would have included the use of Apple's IP in Samsung's Android, Symbian and Bada phones, but not for Windows phones or tablets.  Apple, however, was willing to discus such licensing at a later date.

Even though $250-million might seem like a lot of money, it's still only a fraction of the $2.5-billion in damages that Apple is now seeking, and to me, anyway, looks like a bloody bargain. Not only is $250-million a mere tenth of what Apple is now seeking, it could be a lot worse for Samsung if it's ever found to have infringed Apple's IP wilfully. If that's the case, than Samsung could be subject to triple damages, or a mind-blowing $7.5 billion in damages, and its products could be permanently banned for sale in the U.S.! Also, in addition to avoiding any monetary damages in the form of finds and penalties, Samsung could have avoided the legal mess that it and others including, HTC, Motorola, and Google's whole Android platform now find themselves in as well.

So, did Samsung really blow its chance in the patent trial of the century, as some are now calling it?

In conclusion, that still remains to be seen, but, from where I sit , it's increasingly beginning to look like Samsung's prospects are growing ever dimer .





And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy Monday morning, August 13, 2012

Samsung's Desperation Makes It Scoop To A New Low: Nit Picking Over Exhibit Labels!

Image via: Foss Patents

Today's post is a short one, but also one that I find very amusing because it helps to highlight just how desperate Samsung is becoming these days in its patent war against the big A. Yes, if you ask me, Apple seems to be clearly winning this case so far in what has been labelled potentially the patent trial of the century.

According to Foss Patents Florian Mueller, Samsung has now shrunk to a new low, namely arguing over the placement of large exhibit labels in what Apple claims to be infringing products, such as the Galaxy S Captivate shown at the beginning of this post.

Samsung is complaining that the stickers hide the design elements of its products to the point of potentially confusing the jury, which is, of course, total and utter BS, if you ask me. It's also a clear sign of just how desperate and paranoid Samsung is becoming in its desput with Apple over its dress design and IP.

Considering how Samsung, and again according to Florian Mueller, is having a hell-of-a-time lately trying to to explain away all of the smoking guns that Apple has presented the court recently, I can see why they, Samsung, are beginning to get so desperate. In fact, Samsung's copying is so apparent that even the comedians are having a field day, at Samsung's expense, as seen in this video.

As far as Samsung's complaining about the size and placement of exhibit labels goes, Herr Muellers correctly states:

"Samsung's motion makes much to do about nothing, though I would agree that those stickers could be smaller and still server their purpose."

In conclusion, Samsung's copying and desperation is becoming all the more obvious as this trial proceeds, and it makes Samsung, in the process, look, in my opinion anyway, increasingly all the more desperate, childish and completely out-of-touch with reality!




And that's my 2 cents 4 this sunny Friday, August 10, 2012

iPhone Dominates U.S. Smartphone Market; Worldwide Profits

Chart via: Engadget

Worldwide, Samsung may have replaced Apple as the world's top smartphone maker, but state side Apple's iPhone is still the top-dog around town. If fact, the iPhone, as you can see in the chart above, has almost one third of the U.S. domestic market compared to Samsung which comes in at a little under one quarter. Both Apple and Samsung dominate the U.S. space when it comes to smartphones, with a combined share of some 55% of the entire market.

After Apple and Samsung, HTC comes in at a distant third with some 15% of the American smartphone market, followed by Motorola which takes a further 12%, and topped off by LG with a measly 6%. All other vendors take the remaining share, a share equalled to that of Google's Motorola division, or some 12%, which also includes the likes of Windows Mobile 7, BlackBerry and virtually everyone else that you can care to name.

Chart Via: AppleInsider

As AppleInsider noted in the above chart, over all smartphone sales rose nine-percent, with Samsung and Apple accounting for most of that growth, with most other vendors actually declining by an average of 16%. It's interesting to note that much of that growth is because of the demand for prepaid phones, which were up a by a staggering 91% year-over-year.

So, in spite of all of the tail-wagging, and all of the tongue-wagging from other smartphone fans, Apple's iPhone still retains its crown as the top-dog of the U.S. domestic smartphone market, while, at the same time, Apple's  iPad continues to also retain its crown in tablets, and not only domestically, but also internationally as well, dominating the market with some 68% of the entire space, which is actually up from some 54.7%, while Android's share of the tablet market as a whole has tanked. In China alone, the iPad is estimated to dominate with 73% of its market.

In conclusion, it's rather surprising that with all of the competition that Apple has inspired, it's still ahead of the game in so many areas, including the all-important area of profits, with almost three-quarters of all smartphone and tablet profits worldwide going to Apple! That means that all comers, including Samsung which dominates when it comes to number of smartphone units shipped worldwide, take in  a little over one-quarter of the profits combined!




And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy Thursday, August 09, 2012

The Radio Shack TRS-80: Happy Belated 35th Birthday!

Image via: TheOldComputer

Wow... how did I over look this yummy little tid-bit, namely that last week was the 35th anniversary of one of the very first personal computers ever... Radio Shack's lovable TRS-80!

I've written about the TRS-80 before, and since this fine morning happens to be my regular 55 kilometre walk across town, and the one day I don't have much time to write much about anything, I would love to take the time to still wish the old, but still lovable girl a very happy and belated birthday, so here's to you TRS-80!

If your young and you never even seen or heard of the TRS-80 before, well now, just let me take the time to introduce you to her via the following YouTube videos in order to give you a feel for the old gal. You can also check out this hi-res old TRS-80 catalog, because for one thing it's a hoot. Yeah, yeah, I know what your thinking....  that she's not exactly all that dang pretty and all, but you got to get to know her to fully appreciate her, so enjoy:

And to give you an idea of just how primitive the games where way, way back then in them olden days of computing, here's a dang fine video of an old TRS-80 game called, Missile Dodge below, and one more random video following it to wet your appetite:

In conclusion, well what can I add about the old TRS-80, because, as I've said, she's wasn't exactly all that pretty, nor was she all that powerful, or all that graceful, but in her day, boy, oh boy, dag-nabit, she was still one of the most sought after electronic gizmos that you could get you eager little paws on, along with the equally old Apple II and the old Commodore Pet.

And that's my 2 cents on the old, but lovable TRS-80, 4 this beautiful walking day of Tuesday, August 08, 2012

Design Expert Spells Big Trouble For Samsung In Its Patent Fight With Apple

Image via: CNet

Apple has turned up the heat in its on-going patent war with Samsung by calling in a design expert, Peter Bressler, who testified that several of Samsung's phones, as well as two of its tablets, were in his expert analysis, in violation of Apple's patents.

 Slashgear's Chris Burns, even went so far as saying that Mr. Bressler's testimony resulted in Apple striking "..... a heavy blow...."  to Samsung, because Mr. Bressler is a former President of the Industrial Designers Society of America, as well as a current fellow of the the same group, and the co-author of over some 60 design and utility patents. In addition, he is also an active faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Slashgear's post also noted that because of Mr. Bressler's many achievements, as well as his many accolades, his expert testimony is " very, very bad news for Samsung," and I tend to agree, though I'm not an expert on patents, it seems that the more that I read and study what is going on, Samsung seems to be standing on less and less solid ground, and is in fact, becoming increasingly more desperate by the day.

I'm not the only one either, as ZDNet's Jason D. Grady goes so far as declaring that Samsung's case against Apple is basically completely bogus, and he outlines his reasons why here, which I also tend to whole heartily agree with as well.  John Gruber also points out how bogus Samsung's insistence that Apple copied the iPhone design from Sony is, as he points out that it was actually created in house, by Apple, as a response to what Apple thought Sony could be making, and not necessarily that it was making. Samsung doesn't go on to show that the actual Sony phone in question ended up looking like this!

In conclusion, you can read more about Mr. Bressler's expert testimony here, here or here, but as far as I'm concerned the more that I read about Samsung's claims against Apple the more convinced I am how bogus and how desperate Samsung is becoming.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this gorgeous, and I mean absolutely gorgeous sunny, yet mild Tuesday morning, August 07, 2012

Smoking Gun Points To Samsung's Desperation In Its Patent Battle With Apple

Image via: InnovationPointofView

After staying up for most of the night in order to watch Nasa's spacecraft, Curiosity,
successfully and safely land on the surface of the Red planet, well, let's just say that I'm pretty tired and a little pooped out right now, but, nonetheless, I want to point out that Philip Elmer-Dewitt has a really great post on the patent trial of the century, namely Apple vs Samsung.

He mentions how the press seems to be making the mistake of focusing too much on learning more about Apple's world-famous secrecy, which, I'll admit is pretty interesting stuff and all, but in the process he also points out how they are ignoring what he says could be the smoking gun that proves that Samsung is indeed guilty as charge in deliberately copying, as claimed by Apple, the look-and-feel, as well as the features from the iPhone and iPad!

You can read Mr. Elmer-DeWitt's original post from Fortune here, but what I find extremely interesting is how Samsung's own marketing survey's, as he points out, more-or-less prove that  Samsung wilfully copied both Apple's iOS software, and its iPhone and iPad's hardware to a tee. Some of these documents are interestingly labelled:

"Beat Apple response"

"Lessons from Apple"

"Why you should care about Apple"

"Recent Apple analysis project"

"iPhone 5 counter strategy"

Pretty damming evidence, if you ask me, and I agree with Mr. Elmer-DeWitt that Apple's claim that Samsung's wilful copying could easily confuse customers with confusing Samsung's products with that of Apple's own, and Mr. DeWitt writes:

"My favorite: A survey of Best Buy customers returning the Samsung Galaxy Tab to the store. According to Samsung's own market research, the most common reason customers wanted their money back was that they bought the Tab thinking it was an iPad."

Below is a chart (click to enlarge) highlighting the above, via Mr. Elmer-DeWitt's original post:

Chart via: Fortune/CNN

Samsung was recently rebutted for leaking banned evidence, and has also been rebutted in the past for destroying emails that the court ordered shouldn't have been. In its apparent desperation, Samsung, has also, in the past, resorted to using, and some say abusing, its FRAND Patents against Apple, and is something that some think could eventually  backfire for Samsung. Samsung has also resorted to creating the notion that Apple first copied the iPhone from Sony, something that you can see is patently false here! It has also, apparently in desperation as well, even resorted to using science fiction films to thwart Apple's patents, but to no avail. 


In conclusion, even though I honestly don't know how the Apple vs Samsung (or is it really Apple vs Google's Android?) case will be resolved, but to me it's increasingly looking like Samsung is getting pathetically desperate in its attempts to stop Apple from protecting its IP portfolio. 







And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy Monday, August 06, 2012

Apple Is The World's Number One PC Seller

Chart via: Engadget; Source: Canalys

Apple easily breezed its way to the top of the PC sales charts according to this recent report. Amazingly, of the 108.7 million PCs sold in the last quarter, over 21 million units of these, when counting iPads, where from Apple.

Apple's two biggest rivals, on the other hand, HP and Lenovo, came in at the number two and third spots, followed by Acer and Dell finishing in the fourth and fifth spots respectfully. With HP and Lenovo both selling around 13 million units each, and Acer and Dell selling around10.6 and 8.6 million units, respectfully, during the past quarter, it's easy to see why Apple is not only number one, but it's number one by a good old-country-mile!

During the past quarter, Apple, Lenovo and Acer where the only manufacturers to actually grow their market share, while HP and Dell saw their market share decline by some 11% year-over-year. Apple's growth over the same period, however, saw its market share rise by close to 60%, at least according to the British firm Canalys who issued the initial report.

Even though Microsoft's Windows still has a 73% share of the market, Windows PC shipments have been disappointing lately. Whether or not the introduction of Windows 8 will make a difference is yet to be seen, but some, notably game developers are predicting that it will be a catastrophe, with the latest developer being Bizzard, the company behind Diablo 3 and the World of Warcraft, chiming in.

Interestingly enough, when it comes to Microsoft's highly touted Surface tablet, Canalys analyst Tim Couling, issued a statement saying that:

"We expect the Surface pads to have a similar impact on the PC industry as the Zune did in portable music players..." 

In other words: he expects it to have virtually no real influence at all! Of course, that remains yet to be seen, but, however, if it's true on the tablet side than Windows 8 my not lift the over all PC market for some time, as other Canalys analysts say it may not be until Q3 of 2013 until Windows sales pick up.

In conclusion, seeing Apple on top of the PC sales chart and actually blowing away its main competitors is something that I never would have thought possible not all that long ago. Of course, Apple can't afford to rest on its laurels, as Apple has itself proven, it doesn't take very long for things to change quickly in this business.




And that's my 2 cents 4 this cloudy, but otherwise nice Friday, August 03, 2012

Could This Be Apple's Smarter, Smart Cover?

Probably one of the most talked about, and most exciting features, about Microsoft's new Surface tablet was not the tablet itself, as fine as it may be, but rather its innovative Touch Cover, one that uses magnets to connect to the tablet, just like Apple's Smart Cover, but also features a built-in, full-sized keyboard to boot.

Some people, Microsoft fans, and Apple haters, really went on to brag how much more innovative, and just how much more practical the Touch Cover was over that of Apple's own Smart Covers, but hold on, not so fast, because according to this post, almost a year ago Apple filed a patent for an updated Smart Cover that would not only feature a full-sized keyboard, but bendable, and programmable OLED type screens on both the inside and outside!



As you can see, in the accompanying photos, if this thing ever comes to pass, the possibilities are endless. Besides featuring the ability to have an additional keyboard, the newer and smarter Smart Cover could also use software that would turn it into a drawing tablet and provide the user with various types of notifications. I would also tend to think that this would be a god-send for game developers, as it would allow them to also program newer gaming controls and what-have-you into the cover itself in addition to the main screen.

In conclusion, could this be Apple's smarter Smart Cover?  I don't know, but I sure hope so, because as cool as Microsoft's Touch Cover is, I think that this is even cooler still, and this could be just one more reason, among many, for a person to choose an iPad over any other tablet out there, including Microsoft's Surface, and I sure hope that it comes to pass, and the sooner the better.




And that's my 2 cents 4 this cool, cloudy Thursday, August 02, 2012 (Oh where, oh where does the time go?)

All images via: Engadget

The So-Called Sony Phone That Inspired The iPhone Was Really An Apple Phone!

Image via: The Verge

Samsung wanted to justify stealing the iPhone's look-and-feel by asserting that Apple itself first stole the design from Sony. Well, according to Daring Fireball's John Gruber, the actual phone that Sony designed, the one supposedly that Apple ripped off in the first place was nothing more, or less, than just a mock-up design first created by, and get this..... Apple itself!

The alleged Sony phone in question, the one that supposedly inspired the iPhone, as you can see above and here, definitely looks like an iPhone, no two-ways about it. The only problem is that the phone was NOT and never was a Sony designed phone to begin with, but rather it was an Apple side project that showed what Apple thought Sony might or could end up producing, but never did! The actual phone that Sony did end up making can be seen here, and as you can easily see, unless one is absolutely crazy or totally-blind doesn't look anywhere near or like that of the iPhone.

In conclusion, Samsung is desperately trying to stop Apple from stopping it and everyone else from producing their own iPhone wannabe knock offs. Samsung, and mostly Samsung, has profited from copying the iPhone, and if Samsung loses this case it would be not only a huge lose for Samsung, but more importantly for Android as a whole, or any other platform that wishes to adopt multi-touch or infringe on Apple's trade-dress. Apparently, even Google warned Samsung not to copy to closely the iPhone, which, more-or-less, helps to support Apple's contention that Samsung copied "every element" from the iPhone.




And that's my 2 cents 4 this rainy Wednesday, August 01, 2012