NPD recently published the results of their Q1 2012 mobile PC market research, and as you might expect, Apple's iPad has dominated competing mobile PC manufacturers. Again. After shipping 17.2 million iPads in the quarter, Apple has claimed 22.5% market share, compared to HP's 11.6%, Acer's 9% and Lenovo's 7.7%. Among tablet manufacturers, the iPad commanded 62.8% market share, followed by Samsung with 7.5%, Amazon with 4%, and RIM tied with ASUS with 2.3%.

It's still a little weird putting the iPad in the same category as netbooks considering the wide gap in form factor and software, but let's face it: the use case is identical, so you aren't going to be seeing a lot of people willing to buy both a mini laptop and a tablet. Samsung leap-frogged Amazon to the number 2 tablet manufacturer spot, which just goes to show that a low pricetag is far from the deciding factor in adoption.

"Post-PC" has been a fun buzzword for the last couple of months, but after seeing how well the iPad is doing versus more traditional portable computers, one can see why the idea is gaining traction. Do you guys see a point down the line (or even today) that you would ditch a MacBook Air or Windows ultrabook for a tablet? Do they even belong in the same product category at all? At what point does one leave the tablet at home and bring a laptop, or are we still waiting for another product category to merge the two in a practical way? My vote goes to the latter; I'm a  huge fan of the ASUS Transformer Prime form factor, and I think ultimately tablets with laptop-style docks with real keyboards and extra battery are going to be the way to go.

Source: NPD

Word has it that Samsung and Apple's mediated settlement talks were not fruitful, and that their patent dispute will be ongoing. This outcome probably seems a little obvious after Apple filed to ban the Galaxy Tab 10.1 from being imported to the U.S. the day the negotiations kicked off.  Samsung nor Apple have detailed exactly how the settlement talks panned out, but Samsung's CEO returns to Korea on Friday, at which point we can expect to hear a bit more on what's going on.

Samsung and Apple's patent disputes are extensive enough that the courts had to ask them to trim down the list of complaints so that there was actually a hope that they could resolve everything.  While I'll leave it to the judge and to figure out the technical merits of either side's complaints, this case is very likely to drag out as one side demands that another side's experts be banned from testifying, or claims that evidence is being spoiled, or any number of complaints that involve anything other than comparing patents and looking at prior art.

There is a definite sense of animosity between the two tech giants, which is to be expected considering how often Apple flat-out calls Samsung a copycat (which is funny considering Steve Jobs openly admitted to stealing great ideas himself). That said, I can't see Apple and Samsung settling out of court any time soon, nevermind wrapping up the case in a timely manner. How long do you guys think this patent dispute will last? Will it be worth the hassle for either party, or is this all just an extension of Steve Jobs' blood feud with Android? Can a patent case like this actually put a serious and lasting dent into Android? Anyway, I'm certainly curious to see what new evidence is brought to light throughout the case.

Source: Korea Times

In its patent case against Apple, Samsung had recently asked that some of Apple's experts be dismissed from testifying, and now they're asking that one more be banned.

Apple's damages expert, Terry L. Musika, writes in his report that 'Apple has built a considerable and at times a cult-like following to all things Apple.' That cult-like following apparently includes several experts who are appearing on Apple's behalf in this case, and may explain why they have cast aside established scientific methods and governing legal principles in favor of slavish adoration of their client and platitudes about its alleged magical and revolutionary products, issues that are of no relevance to the claims and defenses at issue.

It's fun to see Samsung get so catty about Apple culture, in any case. While I'm hesitant to apply the iSheep stereotype to all iPhone, iPad, and Mac users, it's clear that at least some of Apple's witnesses are lacking credibility due to their brand loyalty, and really don't belong on the stand. Generally speaking, how many iPhone, iPad, and Mac fans do you think have their judgement clouded by their predisposition towards Apple? How often are you willing to acknowledge that the competition is doing something right? Do any of your friends bust your chops for being an Apple fanboy?

Source: FOSS Patents

Late last week Apple filed a preliminary injunction against Samsung's flagship tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. The move comes shortly after an appeal which partially confirmed that Apple's design patent infringement complaint was valid. This might put just a slight damper on the settlement talks Apple and Samsung had scheduled for today. Apple proposed to give Samsung until May 25 (this Friday) to respond.

Such a ban might sting Samsung a bit, but they've dealt with a similar ban in Germany by offering a slight a redesign of the Galaxy Tab 10.1; even if such a ban comes quickly to the U.S., Samsung already has a contingency in place to put their Android tablet back on store shelves. We've seen a lot of this kind of activity on the smartphone side of things lately;  HTC was recently hit with a similar ban from Apple, and Apple might not even have to do anything to get Motorola phones off the U.S. market, since some of them are facing a ban after an ITC ruling in a patent case against Microsoft.

Although the iPad still dominates the tablet market, it's been gradually losing market share as a multitude of Android tablets have begun coming out of the woodwork. By attacking on legal fronts, Apple is at least delaying the competition's progress, if not securing its lead for the long-term. I'm not worried that Android's going to beat out Apple overnight, especially given the sky-high customer satisfaction of iOS devices, but it's hard to imagine how the current iPad will manage to stick out to consumers when surrounded by so many lower end, cheaper alternatives. (As to the 7-inch iPad, well, that's still a rumor for now...)

What do you think - does Apple need to litigate to keep the iPad in the lead, or is this just one of the many steps needed to take to kill and bury Android?

Souce: FOSS Patents

With court-madated settlement talks between Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung CEO Choi Gee-Sung scheduled to begin tomorrow, Samsung Mobile's JK Shin took a moment to discuss the potential for resolution. According to Reuters:

"There is still a big gap in the patent war with Apple but we still have several negotiation options including cross-licensing," Shin told reporters at Seoul airport shortly before his departure for the United States.

Asked about the prospects for Samsung's memory chip business, Shin said the 4G chip shortage was expected to continue until early in the fourth quarter of this year.

While Apple and Samsung are suing each other over patents, trade dress, and other infringements real and imagined -- Apple accusing Samsung of being mobile's biggest copy cat and Samsung fighting back on technology, and standards, grounds -- they remain massive manufacturing partners. Many of the components in Apple's mobile devices, and some in their computers as well, are made by Samsung.

Apple recently claimed Samsung was destroying evidence, while also trying to bar Samsung from entering Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs biography as evidence.

Although analysts had hoped Tim Cook might be a less fiery and litigious CEO than his predecessor, Cook turns out to be every bit as serious about patent disputes, and cold as ice.

For their part, Samsung has denied allegations that they're a copy cat, despite the uncanny similarities to Apple products that keep popping up.

Apple reportedly gave their manufacturing partner, Samsung, fair warning before going "thermonuclear" on their competitor, Samsung, in the courts.

Unlike Microsoft, which is seeking -- and in large part has obtained -- licensing fees from manufacturers in a bid to make Android as "expensive" as Windows Phone, Apple's goal doesn't seem to be financial -- they don't want Android looking or working like iPhone. They want to out litigate and out innovate the competition.

That might make it unlikely a settlement will be reached, unless Tim Cook does do things differently and shows a willingness to take money in lieu of design concessions -- or Samsung's patents force the matter.

Source: Reuters

Just in case we needed any more convincing that people love their iPhones, the American Customer Satisfaction Index has found through recent surveys that Apple's smartphones are leaving customers the happiest. The iPhone scored 83 on their system, compared to to Nokia, LG and HTC who are all tied at 75, Motorola at 73, Samsung at 71, and RIM at a sad 69. The ACSI also looked at U.S. service providers. Topping the list were regional carriers like U.S. Cellular with 76, then Sprint with 71, followed by Verizon with 70, and AT&T and T-Mobile tied at 69.

Lots of other studies have consistently backed up customer satisfaction for the iPhone, but it's always interesting to see just how much of a lead Apple has on the competition. The fact that the competition is nearly ten points suggests it will take a whole lot of work to bring Android and the other platforms up to snuff with iOS.

Do these rankings stack up with the sentiment you see among friends? Is Sprint really ahead of the other three major U.S. carriers?

Source: ACSI via Wired

Earlier this month, Apple filed a complaint with a California judge claiming that Samsung was intentionally destroying documents relevant to their ongoing legal spat. Apparently Samsung only handed over a small number of documents that they were ordered to provide, and Apple claims that deleting e-mails is standard practice for Samsung even when they're in the middle of a lawsuit.

Samsung’s ad hoc, unmonitored email “preservation” methods have resulted in the irretrievable loss of unknown volumes of relevant emails. For example, Judge Grewal recently compelled the deposition of Won Pyo Hong, the head of Samsung’s Product Strategy Team, in part due to an email in which Dr.Hong “directly orders side-by-side comparisons of Apple and Samsung products for design presentations." Apple and the Court cannot possibly know how many more emails Dr. Hong sent or received that would have supported Apple’s claims that Samsung copied Apple products had they not been deleted. The same is true for the many other Samsung witnesses who produced only a handful of emails, or none at all.

Samsung is due to issue a response by May 15, while the complaint is due to be addressed in courts on June 7, though Samsung wants both of those dates pushed back. Apple has previously lodged similar complaints with the ITC, so really, Samsung should already be in a position to address these concerns, but Samsung claims that there's a completely different set of patents and policies in place for for the district of California.

At this point, the patience of judges may be wearing thin; not too long ago, courts asked Samsung and Apple to pare down the number of patent complaints they were leveling at one another. If Samsung is blatantly acting in bad faith, it could easily color the outcome of patent litigation to follow.

Source: Network World

And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest mobile sites found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Mobile Nations was born -- to provide the coverage no generic tech blog could provide! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing several times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then—for now, the Mobile Nations ASSEMBLE!

BlackBerry World 2012

Our sibling site, Crackberry.com did a fantastic job covering BlackBerry World 2012. Head on over there to read all about it, or check out reading list below for Kevin Michaluk's round up. tl;dr version: They loved it. I watched the Keynote stream and... it was more of a mixed bag for me. When RIM should have rushed to adapt to a post-iPhone world, they took so much time they nearly destroyed their brand. When they should have taken their time to release a proper tablet, they rushed and let the PlayBook drop like stone. Now, when they're bleeding market share and user base each and every day, they're taking their time to get BlackBerry 10 as perfect as possibl. It's absolutely the right thing to do, but they simply may no longer have the time or technology left to do it.

They weren't expected to show anything at the keynote but they ended up showing just a little bit. It was interesting -- very much the PlayBook made phone. It's heavily gesture-based, which means discoverability will be a problem and it'll skew towards a more savvy, less mainstream audience. But that's exactly who RIM is targeting.

The new CEO, Thorsten Heins, apparently came off far, far better than his predecessors during the event. During the keynote, however, he tragically maintained the Regis Philben schtick of Mike Lazaridis -- constantly staying on stage and consistently interrupting during tech demos. Hopefully when RIM watches the replay, they'll stop that from happening again. They also have to stop RIM Australia from doing dumb, distracting stunts just says before their big events.

RIM has a lot of challenges ahead -- they're incredibly late to market, their developer platform is still remarkably unfocused, and what they showed on stage did not appear to be as far along as what Steve Jobs showed off in January 2007, some six months before the original iPhone launch. Steve Jobs, however, didn't send developers at Macworld home with prototype hardware. He also didn't pledge $10k paydays for certified apps. Hopefully both those things will help make up the difference for RIM.

Bottom line, though, the only thing that really matters now is shipping. They have to nail the BlackBerry 10 landing. And they have to nail it hard.

Samsung Unpacked

Android Central likewise killed it at Samsung Unpacked. Unfortunately, Samsung did everything they could to kill the event first. Sure, I'm used to the polish and precision of an Apple event, but there's just no excuse for a lot of what happened at Unpacked. It was as if no one bothered to rehearse the presentation before hand.

Samsung announced the hugely anticipated Galaxy S III to thunderous applause and the director immediately cut to the crowd -- where no one was clapping. Samsung announced their new, rain drop inspired audio tone, it sounded like someone peeing, and the Samsung rep herself looked aghast -- and called it "bizarre". On mic. Not only did they invoke Palm's river stone design philosophy, claim technically if not morally correct invention of Palm-like wireless charging, they managed to match the creepy lady motif of Palm's early, ill-fated advertising with truly strange videos all their own.

They also announced Samsung versions of Siri and iTunes Match, after earlier announcing a Samsung version of iCloud.

Given the build-up -- a build-up Samsung orchestrated -- it's understandable that there were a lot of heads shaking after the event. Last year Samsung blew HTC out of the water with the best Android phones on the market. This year, when compared to HTC's new One kit, they came up decidedly short.

Rumor repeats

Hey, did you hear? The iPhone 5,1 might have a newly redesigned micro dock connector and a widescreen display. It's been "confirmed".

And it sure sounds familiar. It's almost as if it had been reported months and weeks ago.

If you hear a rumor, and it's been reported before, telling your readers that lets them better assess the likelihood of the rumor. That's the job of a writer -- to serve the reader.

Features

Now for some original content.

• Best free iPad apps: Leanna leads team iMore in the presentation of 50+ awesomely free apps for Apple's tablet.
• Post iPhone ergo propter iPhone: Yours truly begins to explore the strategy Apple has used to try and continuously off-balance their competition and force them into a constant cycle of reaction.
• Pandora vs. Slacker vs. Spotify: iPhone music streaming app shootout!: Ally takes a look at the three most popular U.S. streaming music solutions, and helps you pick the very best one for you.
• iOS 6: Is it time for Apple to revamp the Home screen?: Yours truly again, this time taking a look at the iOS Home screen, how it compares in terms of usability and information density to competing platforms, and whether Apple needs to address any discrepancies.
• Siri six months later: Community report card: the iMore nation tells us they're just not using Siri and we try to figure out why.
• Apple’s next big thing: You know who, looking at Apple's accelerating device profits, and what product could possibly keep them up.
• How to use iCloud like a Dropbox or Google Drive-style cloud store: Gary goes all ninja on iCloud to try to make it work in as close to a Dropbox style manner as possible.

Reading list

• Five Important Observations From BlackBerry World 2012 by Kevin Michaluk. A list of what RIM got right at BlackBerry World.
• Why You Can't Trust Tech Press to Teach you About the Tech Industry by Anil Dash. A case study in how it can be frustrating when someone else misses something you wouldn't (though you'll likely sometimes miss something someone else wouldn't either).
• Apple Is Doomed: The Phony Sony Parallel by Jean-Louis Gassée. Why Apple wasn't like Sony before, so can't be modeled on Sony now. By one of the guys at Apple between Steve Jobs' two acts.
• What retail is hired to do: Apple vs. IKEA by Horace Dediu. An interesting look at why IKEA, like Apple, isn't getting their retail implementation copied.
• I'm leaving the internet for a year by Paul Miller. As stunts go, there doesn't seem to be a clear win here. In some ways, the longer it lasts the less interesting it becomes. Like groups who live without electricity, the line drawn always comes off as arbitrary -- i.e. why are you allowed fire but not lightning?! (I do know I wouldn't last a day. Maybe a week if I was locked in a harem. But that's it.)

The Avengers

Joss Whedon's Avengers was fantastic. Pretty much the super-hero epic I've dreamed about since I was a child. We're talking about it, with lots of spoilers, and the type of nit-picks only those deeply in love with a film can pick. Jump on over to our Movie & TV Forum to get in on the action.

If you haven't seen it yet, go now.

Last month we had learned that some iPad 2 units were being loaded with a new 32 nanometer version of the Apple A5 process, and as you might expect, testing results show that it is providing a significant increase in battery life. The new model, designated iPad 2,4, managed to squeeze around an extra hour and a half out of browser and gaming tests compared to a plain-Jane iPad 2 (15% and 30% gain respectively), and an additional two and a half hours of video playback (up 18%). The battery life compared to the third-generation iPad is even better, boasting an extra two and a half hours of gaming and browsing, and an extra four hours of video playback. Beyond eking out a bit more battery life, the 32 nm processor on these iPad 2 units perform just as quickly as the originals.

So how do you get one of these iPad 2,4 units? It's tricky, because the box art is exactly the same as any other 16 GB Wi-Fi iPad 2, so the only way you can find out the specific model number is by loading up a diagnostic app like Geekbench. iPad 2,4 models are preloaded with iOS 5.1, but aside from that, you might have to return a lot of iPads to the store if you're really on the hunt for one of these.

Those of you that recently bought an iPad 2, maybe thanks to the price drop when the new iPad came out, should download Geekbench below and see if they've got one of these elusive models. What's more important to you when it comes to your iPad experience; a bleeding-sharp display, or oodles of battery life? Would it really be worth the hassle to track one of these iPad 2,4 units down?

$0.99 - Download Geekbench 2 now

Source: Anandtech

Apple's iPhone 4S has been on the market for 6 months already and the Samsung Galaxy S III doesn't even hit store shelves until the end of May. Yet the iPhone 4S remains the best selling handset in the world and the Galaxy S III claims to be the best handset on the planet, period, so let's put them head-to-head, Mobile Nations style.

The Galaxy S III is curved and plastic, the iPhone square, glass, and steel

(Technically Phil is using a Verizon iPhone 4 in the video, but lack of a SIM-card tray aside, it's physically identical to an iPhone 4S, and that's the phone we'll be talking about here in the text).

It's immediately obvious just how much bigger the Samsung Galaxy S III is, with a whopping 4.8-inch, SAMOLED PenTile screen. The Galaxy S III is so big, it looks like you could hollow it out and use it as an iPhone case. For people who don't have a tablet, this is as close as you can get without become a... Galaxy Note. On the downside, some (yours truly included), far prefer the color and pixel perfection of a non-PenTile iPhone- or HTC One X-style LCD LED display.

4.8-inches of Samsung SAMOLED PenTile display vs. 3.5-inches of Apple Retina LCD

Unfortunately, Samsung still seems to be clinging to their Hasbro-style plastic casings, which are frankly terrible compared to the glass and stainless steel feeling of the iPhone, not to mention the unearthly good plastics Nokia and HTC have been using these days.

The software side is a bit of a mixed bag for the Galaxy S III as well, with the latest version of Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich all loaded up, but hidden beneath Samsung's TouchWiz. While intended to give a more consumer-friendly (i.e. Apple-like) look and feel, it also gives a slightly out-dated, Gingerbread-esque vibe to overall experience. Pro users will no doubt prefer stock (and will no doubt flash to that, or something close to it, at their earliest opportunity). The rest includes some interesting, innovative features like talk to wake, accelerometer switch from texting to talking, as well as versions of Siri and iTunes Match once again cloned directly from Apple's 2011 keynote.

The iPhone 4S is still running iOS 5.1, which is either familiar and comfortable, or stale and boring depending on your take.

Samsung likens their Galaxy to a river stone in the rain; the iPhone is an homage to classic Braun and Leica

The bottom line, however, remains the same -- Samsung makes fantastic, futuristic, totally uninspiring devices. They can spin out specs so impressive they literally make your nose bleed, but they don't really know how to innovate. Every atom and pixel just sort of reminds you of something you've seen before from Apple or Nokia or someone else. They're mechanics more than artists. Of course, that matters more to gadget divas than to mainstream consumers. That's why Samsung sells tens of millions of these big boys, and why -- like Apple -- they're actually profitable.

Still, this time around I think HTC stole a step on Samsung. The One X just looks and feels like a better next generation Android phone. (I've argued the Nexus One was far better for it's time than either the Nexus S or Galaxy Nexus as well -- Nexus one was a look ahead to what Android could be, Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus were both summations of what Android currently was.)

Speaking of which, neither the Galaxy S III nor the One X are Nexus devices, however, so if/when Google announces Android Jellybean, it might well be a race to see who gets it first... or last... or never.)

Either way, we're going to have to wait until June to see iOS 6, and likely October to see the iPhone 5,1. Right now the new Androids are hitting the market against the old iPhone, which is a good bit of counter-programming. The more interesting war will be fought this fall, and Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry 10 might just make it a 4 way race this time.

As always, watch the video, check out the pictures, and let us know what you think.

Samsung's newness might give it an edge for now, but Apple's 2012 iPhone is still 6 months away...

Samsung has announced their next generation flagship Android phone, and as expected it's the Galaxy S III (no, they didn't go with "the new Galaxy"). Android Central is covering everything live from London and they've already gone over all the big stuff. On the hardware, Alex Dobie says:

The Samsung Galaxy S III is perhaps best summarized with three S’s -- sleek, sexy and shiny. It’s available in two colors -- pebble blue and pearl white, and both versions feature the same glossy plastic finish with a metallic trim around the side. It’s a fingerprint magnet to be sure, but the Galaxy S III certainly isn’t lacking star quality -- it looks and feels like a high-end device, and Samsung’s made a clean break with some of its older design language in this new flagship product.

Sadly, it doesn't look like they upgraded the plastic of their casing to match the Nokia Lumia 900 or HTC One X, which means I'm still calling Hasbro on the feel. However, everything else looks significantly great. As for the software:

The new design language is most evident in the new TouchWiz lockscreen, which ripples like a pool of water when activated. Audio cues, too, take on a more naturalistic approach, with droplet sounds punctuating UI interactions like menu selections and button presses.

Also, the TouchWiz launcher has been re-vamped, but the changes are largely cosmetic -- different icons, different chrome, but functionally very similar to the way TouchWiz’d ICS operates on the Galaxy S II. You’ve got seven home screens by default, customizable with the usual plethora of bright, vivid widgets (yep, TouchWiz is colorful as always). There’s a neat 3D transition effect when jumping from panel to panel, and thanks to the bleeding edge hardware inside the phone, all this visual finery flows off the screen at a buttery-smooth frame rate.

Android Central has literally a ton more coverage, including a monstrous gallery and a bunch of video.

• Samsung Galaxy S III gallery
• Samsung Galaxy S III software hands-on
• Samsung Galaxy S III hardware hands-on
• Live in London: Samsung Mobile Unpacked 2012!
• Samsung Galaxy S III specs

Head on over there now, drink it all in, and then come back here and let us know what you think. Will the Galaxy S III slow down iPhone 4S sales in the short term? Will it force Apple to raise the bar even higher for the iPhone 5?

comScore released their first quarter 2012 U.S. mobile market share numbers recently, and though Apple has had a solid climb to 14% market share, LG was still ahead with 19.3% while Samsung claimed 26%. The gap in smartphone platform market share with Android is widening, as Google's mobile OS snagged 51%, and iOS sat at 30.7%. Outside of the U.S., IDC's latest research shows that Apple was in second place behind Samsung among smartphone vendors worldwide. comScore went on to examine mobile phone usage; 74.3% of mobile owners sent text messages between January and March, half of them downloaded apps, 49.3% used the browser, 36.1% used a social network or read a blog, 32.6% played games, and 25.3% listened to music. It boggles me that playing music (even on dumbphones) isn't more popular. I just don't get why you would bother managing an entirely separate device when one will do just as well.

Despite still being in third place, Apple is enjoying the most growth out of all of the mobile manufacturers in the U.S. having seen a 1.6 point change in growth since December's report. Even though Android is likely to maintain its lead in operating system share, I really doubt any single Android manufacturer will come close to beating out iPhone any time soon. Research like this also serves as a reminder that dumb phones are still a big part of the overall mobile market, and that Apple would do well to offer something entry level that consumers could get on a prepaid basis. That direction would really make the most out of any Walmart presence Apple establishes.

Source: comScore

Samsung and Apple have made some pretty interesting evidence requests in recent joint court filings. Apple is specifically asking that Walter Isaacson's official biography of Steve Jobs isn't admitted as any kind of evidence, likely considering it illustrates Jobs' unbridled ire for Android, and that it would color Apple's complaints as founded on emotion rather than technology. Apple also wanted any and all Samsung logos in the courtroom (on TVs, for example) to be obscured, lest it subconsciously affect the jury. Apple also doesn't want their factory working conditions to enter into the conversation, which, though gaining a lot of press, aren't directly related to any patents in question.

Samsung has a few requests of their own, too. For one, they want all exclude all non-expert opinion from proceedings, including that of Apple-related blogs. I guess that means us, eh? Dang. Samsung also wants to bar testimony from Henry Urbach, who is an Apple expert on the cultural significance of Apple -- something Samsung feels is "not helpful to the jury". They also want to bar Sanjay Sood, an expert at Apple on consumer decision making, who would likely harp on Apple's DNA in design.

The case is scheduled to go to court on July 30, though that date is likely to be pushed back due to the sheer breadth of complaints Apple has against Samsung. Odds are good that this case will go on for a loooooong time, so get comfortable and grab some popcorn. Ii'm having a hard time picking a side on this, but my guess is that both sides will end up making compromises of some kind and ultimately. Anyone taking bets on who will end up on top?

If you haven't had a chance to read Isaacson's book, definitely take the time to check it out; it provides a very interesting look at Apple, where it came from, and where it's going now that Jobs is gone.

• iBooks link
• Amazon link

Source: FOSS Patents

Samsung has snagged the top smartphone vendor spot from Apple, a throne Apple had just claimed in Q4 2011. Apple's Q1 2012 smartphone market share sat at 24.2%, while Samsung enjoyed a slight lead with 29.1% of all smartphone sales worldwide. The quarter also marked Samsung's leap over Nokia as the top mobile phone vendor globally, which is a huge competitive and symbolic victory. The overall market has shipped 144.9 million smartphones in the quarter, which is a 42.5% increase over last year. IDC's senior research analyst, Ramon Llamas, said of the battle between Apple and Samsung:

The race between Apple and Samsung remained tight during the quarter, even as both companies posted growth in key areas. Apple launched its popular iPhone 4S in additional key markets, most notably in China, and Samsung experienced continued success from its Galaxy Note smartphone/tablet and other Galaxy smartphones. With other companies in the midst of major strategic transitions, the contest between Apple and Samsung will bear close observation as hotly-anticipated new models are launched.

Apple and Samsung have been butting heads in the courtrooms, despite plans to talk about settling on their patent dispute; some might even say the neck-and-neck race between the two giants is what's propelling their legal squabbles forward. As the leading manufacturer, Samsung also embodies the Android threat that Steve Jobs pledged to go to thermonuclear war against. There's more than just patents and market share at stake here - there are big egos and a lot of pride on both sides of the fence. It will be interesting to see who wins which battles, but this is shaping up to be a feud that won't be concluding any time soon.

Have you swapped out an iPhone for a Samsung device? Or, conversely, made the leap from a Samsung Android smartphone to iOS? How are you finding the switch?

Source: IDC

Samsung and a marketing team working on its behalf were reportly behind a flashmob protest at an Apple Store in Australia. The flashmob took place outside the Apple Store in Sydney; a bus full of protestors all dressed in black left the bus and lined up outside the store's window. They then produced signs that they held up against the windows with the words 'Wake Up’ emblazoned across them. The flashmob then chanted ‘Wake Up’ through the window at Apple’s staff and customers.

An Australian blogger just happened to be in the Sydney Apple Store at the time of the flashmob’s appearance and managed to capture it on video. Maybe a coincidence or maybe not, who knows but he certainly seemed to capture the action from all angles. This is not the first time that Samsung has targeted Apple's customers with its strange marketing tactics. We have already seen a few adverts which blatantly make fun of iPhone users.

Samsung looks like it will be announcing its latest Galaxy S III Android phone in the next few days. This sort of marketing is its attempt at creating some buzz for the launch, but also at hitting Apple in an area where it may really hurt -- the perception that Apple is "cool". It's a risky gamble. Some Apple or would-be Apple users might have second thoughts and consider Samsung. Others might just think Samsung are a collective bunch of jackasses and want nothing to do with their brand.

Samsung initially became the largest Android manufacturer in the world largely by making products as close to Apple's as possible without being made by Apple. If you wanted Apple but either couldn't get it, or were adverse to getting it, Samsung positioned themselves to be there for you. They brilliantly rode the wave of general smartphone awareness and preconceptions Apple established in the modern market.

Now Samsung has become bolder and are striking out with different devices like the Galaxy Note line, and are trying to distance themselves from Apple, aggressively, with their new marketing.

It's more interesting, more exciting, and more offensive. It's also likely transitional. After "we're just like Apple" and "don't be like Apple", the next phase has to be "we're Samsung" and that will be the one to really watch.

UPDATE: Samsung has denied that they were involved with the flashmob... Anyone taking bets on who else would want to do this? Maybe Greenpeace? They've had protests at an Apple store in London following on their iCloud report; maybe this campaign in Australia is a part of the same movement.

Source: The Next Web, SlashGear, YouTube

Apple and Samsung CEOs will be meeting in San Francisco within the next 90 days to hopefully put an end to their ongoing patent feud. This was partially forced by Northern District of California judge Lucy Koh, who ordered that both parties reexamine their availability for Alternative Dispute Resolution. Both want to look like they're being cooperative (even if they're not), so of course they've agreed to talk with a judge overseeing things. Samsung and Apple said in a joint statement:

As directed by the Court, Apple and Samsung are both willing to participate in a Magistrate Judge Settlement Conference with Judge Spero as mediator. At Apple, the chief executive officer and general counsel are the appropriate decision-makers, and they will represent Apple during the upcoming settlement discussions. At Samsung, the chief executive officer and general counsel are also the appropriate decision-makers, and they will represent Samsung during these settlement discussions.

Source: FOSS Patents

In a recent interview Samsung Mobile's VP of design, Lee Minhyouk, had a few things to say about Apple's claim that Samsung is "slavishly" copying their designs.

"I've made thousands of sketches and hundreds of prototype products (for the Galaxy). Does that mean I was putting on a mock show for so long, pretending to be designing? ... As a designer, there's an issue of dignity. (The Galaxy) is original from the beginning, and I'm the one who made it. It's a totally different product with a different design language and different technology infused."

Of course, there are some undeniable similarities between Apple and Samsung products, but since the initial lawsuit, there has definitely been a bit divergence, particularly when it comes to Samsung's wider variety of form factors. There are still a lot of lawsuits flying back and forth between the two giants, and as much personal affront as this Samsung designer might take to the allegations, I doubt things will turn out completely in his favor.

Samsung may have started off being very Apple-like in their design and marketing, but lately devices like the Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy Note show a different design language and philosophy. (They're hardly copying the Apple stylus, right?)

What do you guys think? Is Samsung a shameless copycat and this designer is just putting on a show, or is Apple's claim to originality overinflated in the face of a long history of mobile technology and interfaces before it?

Source: Reuters

As the patent battle between Samsung and Apple continues to drag on, Apple claims that they had tried to settle out of court between July and September 2010,  before this whole hooplah started.  This is important, because it would indicate that Samsung was fully aware of the patents it was infringing upon. The court filing where Apple claims these previous negotiations reads:

On or about August 4, 2010, Apple representatives met with Samsung in Korea and showed a presentation titled 'Samsung's Use of Apple Patents in Smartphones.' This presentation emphasized Samsung's copying of the iPhone and identified two of the patents-in-suit (the '002 and '381 patents), giving Samsung actual notice of at least these patents, and many more. On or about August 26, 2010, Apple sent Samsung an electronic archive file containing claim charts further illustrating Samsung's infringement of Apple patents. A presentationdocument that accompanied these claim charts identified the '002 and '381 patents as two patents that Samsung products infringed, and it substantiated these allegations with text from the patents and photographs of Samsung devices illustrating infringing functionality. Apple later presented these slides to Samsung at a meeting in Cupertino, California on or about September 9, 2010.

The disagreements between Samsung and Apple span design to 3G,  and even the slide to unlock paradigm. Even as some of these complaints are resolved, there's no doubt that these two wireless giants will be grappling for months (if not years) to come.

It's also interesting given the comments made by Steve Jobs in his official biography, where he said he considered Android “grand theft” of iPhone ideas

“I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong,” Jobs said. “I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.”

Jobs reportedly told then Google CEO and former Apple board member, Eric Schmidt:

“I don’t want your money. If you offer me $5 billion, I won’t want it. I’ve got plenty of money. I want you to stop using our ideas in Android, that’s all I want.”

So if Apple tried to negotiate, it likely wasn't for money but for Samsung (and other Android manufacturers) to stop using what he considered "Apple ideas". While Microsoft has been successful in getting Android manufacturers to pay them licensing fees, and they might have been amenable to working out a similar deal with Apple, simply removing functionality from their products could have been a deal-breaker.

Essentially, Microsoft seems content with merely making Android more expensive, while Apple wan't to make it less usable. Both want to make it less attractive, but Microsoft is targeting vendors, Apple is targeting their end users.

It's hard to see the negotiations getting settled if those were the terms.

Source: The Verge

The fine folks at Chipworks have taken a closer look at the new iPad, particularly at the upgraded A5X processor. The die size was apparently increased by 35% to accommodate the quad-core graphics processing unit. They were also able to confirm that the new processor was made by Samsung using a 45 nanometer CMOS process. Chipworks also looked at the parts iFixit pulled out from their Austrlian iPad, and identified particular RAM, Wi-Fi, LTE, audio, and power management chips; much like the 5 megapixel camera unit, a lot of these were recycled from the iPhone 4S.

It seems like although the screen is killer, there aren't a lot of dramatic changes under the hood of the new iPad. That said, I would love to see some up-close pictures of the Retina display's structure. We can see the difference in pixels for ourselves, but during their announcement, Apple had explained how the wiring was put on a separate plane in order to avoid signal confusion and cram pixels in together as closely as possible; seeing a cutaway or other close-up of what's going on behind the pixel layer would really showcase the biggest change in the new iPad.

Source: Chipworks

Sharp was supposed to be supplying screens for the new iPad, but they were apparently unable to meet Apple's exacting standards, and instead Samsung and LG will be making the Retina displays. iSuppli has suggested that it's only Samsung providing the panels, but other sources have said that LG is a part of the supply deal too, even though they may not be shipping screens until April.

The new iPad's Retina display is definitely a piece of work. It boasts a 2048 x 1536 resolution, which, as Apple said required the pixels to be elevated on a separate plane from the signal wiring in order to reduce interference. That might be what accounts for the added thickness, but at less than an extra millimeter compared to the iPad 2, I have a feeling nobody will really notice.

As for Samsung and LG's involvement with production, they've been supply partners with Apple for awhile, so it's no surprise to see they're still a part of the picture, but considering the ongoing legal spats Apple has been having with Samsung, Apple may be shopping around for alternatives.

Source: Reuters, Bloomberg

If you though the iPhone was big in China, think again. Gartner says that despite landing a deal with China Telecom, Apple has only a third of Samsung's smartphone market share. Samsung currently holds 24.3%, while Apple currently commands 7.5% of Chinese smartphone owners. Gartner says that the situation won't change without support for China Mobile, the biggest carrier in the country (and the world, for that matter).

As is, Apple will be able to reach 34% of the Chinese market, leaving about 655 million consumers outside of their reach. Even without official support, 15 million China Mobile subscribers are apparently willing to live on 2G and Wi-Fi so long as they get to use an iPhone 4S.

Although it's unfortunate for Apple that they're missing out, they haven't bothered to make an AWS-compatible iPhone to address the entire U.S. market, so it's not entirely surprising that they aren't willing to make a TD-SCDMA iPhone either. Maybe once China rolls out LTE Apple will be able to address the entire market there.

Yes, Apple is still dominating in global profit share, but with Apple's margins, every point of market share brings with it a huge amount of profit share, and in China they're just not exploiting it to its full potential yet.

Source: Bloomberg

Just in case you weren't completely convinced of Apple's dominance in the world of tablets, the iPad has managed to beat out Galaxy Tab sales in Korea, which is Samsung's home turf. 1 million iPads have been sold in the region since November 2010, claiming 70 - 80% of the overall Korean tablet market. Meanwhile, electronics reseller Gazelle is reporting that Amazon's Kindle devices deprecate in value about 22% in faster than the iPad. It's a little unfair to compare the iPad to simple e-book readers; the real test for the Kindle brand will be how well the Amazon Kindle Fire will fare in the long haul.

It's still too early to see how well the Kindle Fire will do in the reseller market, but it's hard to imagine the thing going for much cheaper than the $200 it retails for. Gazelle's CEO explains that frequent price drops and releases of multiple models helps to accelerate reduced prices on Android devices. The iPhone, by contrast, is still worth 60% of its value after being available for a year, while top-of-the-line Android handsets are only worth 40% of their original price.

For all of the squabbling that Samsung and Apple do around the world, beating a manufacturer in their own country is a huge symbolic victory. Of course, Samsung still has a gigantic lead in a number of other industries, such as television, but even that might not last if Apple decides to make an iTV. During the iPad 2 launch in the spring Korean retailers quickly sold out, even though about two-thirds of the models being sold were Wi-Fi-only. Even as a homegrown company, I have trouble imagining Samsung building up that much excitement around their next tablet.

As for the resale value, that's good news for those who frequently upgrade, but not so great for those getting into the game initially. The folks at Gazelle warned that it's often not worth paying an extra $100 or $200 for extra storage capacity, if your main concern is selling the device later on. It sure would be nice if we could get a microSD memory card slot on these things, then memory denominations would be significantly less of an issue.

In any case, are any original iPad owners out there thinking of upgrading soon, or does this news of stable resale value keep you happy with your purchase?

Source: AppleInsider, CNN

At a recent trade show, Samsung product manager Chris Moseley commented on the recent rumours swirling about an Apple-made iTV television.

"We've not seen what they've done but what we can say is that they don't have 10,000 people in R&D in the vision category. They don't have the best scaling engine in the world and they don't have world renowned picture quality that has been awarded more than anyone else. TVs are ultimately about picture quality. Ultimately. How smart they are...great, but let's face it that's a secondary consideration. The ultimate is about picture quality and there is no way that anyone, new or old, can come along this year or next year and beat us on picture quality. So, from that perspective, it's not a great concern but it remains to be seen what they're going to come out with, if anything."

If you are fully submerged in the Samsung culture, I could understand that line of thinking, but in the grand scheme of things, it's hard to put Apple past setting a new bar for any electronics industry, regardless of how well-established it is in any particular field. Steve Jobs and Tim Cook both admitted openly that the Apple TV was little more than a hobby project, but what's going to happen when Apple takes TVs seriously? Are they just going to make another little puck, only have it not suck for a change? Or are they going to go all-out, producing an entire TV set?

While I certainly agree with Moseley that Apple isn't likely to oust Samsung's top spot in TV in the next two years, I would be really surprised if Apple didn't at least introduce some considerable competition in that timeframe. Competitors are offering some really smart connected home solutions, but if Apple doesn't have a real presence in the world of TVs, the Mac, iPhone, and iPad will have comparatively limited reach. I'm eager to see how Apple patches that gap in their strategy, but what about you guys? Would you pay a premium for an Apple-made TV? 50-inch Retina Display, anyone?

Lastly, we can't help but remember what happened the last time existing players counted Apple out of an established industry -- namely Microsoft's Steve Ballmer and Palm's Ed Colligan, who both believed Apple wouldn't get any significant market share -- when the iPhone launched in 2007.

Source: Pocket-Lint

Apple is increasingly playing defense against lawsuits from Samsung and Motorola that seek to take iPhones and iPads off the shelves and out of stores. Apple is trying to do the same to their competitors, of course, but there's a subtle difference -- Samsung and Motorola are suing Apple over FRAND (Fair, Reasonable, And Non-Discriminatory) patents and are apparently seeking licensing that's anything but fair and reasonable, and may in fact be discriminatory.

FRAND patents are typically typically pledged as part of a standard, which makes them essential to a technology, the organizations that govern those standards require them to be equitably licensed back to everyone. That's the whole point of having standards. If you want your invention to become a standard, you let it be used as a standard.

FRAND vs. non-FRAND

Apple doesn't play the FRAND game with the iPhone or iPad. They don't want their multitouch patents to be a standard. They don't want other companies using them. (Unlike Microsoft, they don't want to make their competitors' products more expensive, they want them to stop being Apple-like.)

Samsung and Motorola did play the FRAND game, however, and did want their wireless patents -- covering core 3G technologies, among other things -- to be standards. However, when Samsung and Motorola infringe on Apple's non-FRAND patents, they then demand outrageous terms from Apple to license their FRAND patents -- which Apple has to use for their products to work on existing networks -- hoping Apple will cave and cross-license their non-FRAND patents as part of the deal.

Put another way, it's like the owner of your local public pool refusing to let you swim there unless you let them swim in your private pool at home. Worse, it's like the manager of your local public pool demanding you pay him $1,000,000 dollars to swim in a pool you're supposed to have fair and equal access too, unless he gets to swim in your private pool at home. Worse still, it's like the manager of your local pool has made agreements that force anyone who wants to swim anywhere to get a license from his pool first, then demands you pay him a fortune for it, and give him access to your private, home pool. (In one case, in a swim-suit that looks surprisingly like yours. Only bigger.)

What can Apple do?

According to Florian Mueller over at FOSS Patents, this means Apple has to be careful, and iterative in their defense.

Apple won't get a deal that meets its needs unless Samsung and Motorola (or Google) are forced to recognize the fundamentally greater strategic and commercial value of Apple's non-standards-related patents, which are the fruit of independent innovation and independent commercialization as opposed to a company's ability to push its patented ideas into industry standards everyone is forced to implement after a collective of major industry players defines them.

Samsung and Motorola (or Google) would like all patents to be treated in more or less the same way. They give nothing more than lip service to their FRAND licensing obligations. They may hope that the law on this isn't sufficiently settled in major jurisdictions. They look for loopholes in the rules -- including certain opportunities in Germany, where the case law on this is more favorable to them than elsewhere. If they realize at some point that this strategy doesn't work out because of a combination of court rulings, regulatory intervention and Apple's determination to stand its ground, then -- and only then -- Apple will ultimately get the kind of deal it wants. Until then, Apple doesn't even have much to talk about with Samsung and Motorola (or Google).

Sure, you can say Apple is being selfish by not licensing multitouch to one and all, but they never agreed to in the first place. (Are you being a selfish by not letting everyone who wants to come swim in your private home pool?) Samsung and Motorola did agree to let everyone use their patents under FRAND terms so those patents would be become essential to the standard.

Enter the European Union

Now Samsung and Motorola are certainly free to do and to sue what and who they want... up to a point. The European Union has already announced they're investigating Samsung for FRAND abuse, and Motorola may not be far behind. With pressure from Apple on one side, and anti-trust action on the other, it puts them in a delicate position.

In the meantime, Apple can't give in to Samsung and Motorola's unfair, unreasonable, and discriminatory demands, and they can't risk injunctions like the one that was temporarily in effect in Germany last week, becoming permanent before the EU sorts everything out.

Whether or not there will ultimately be a settlement, like the one they achieved with Nokia over similar FRAND patents, only time will tell. All Apple can do for now is continue the careful, iterative defense.

Mueller's whole article, which delves into the patents and legal issues in great detail, is worth a read.

Source: FOSS Patents, x2

Samsung has aired another of their good-natured iPhone attack ads, which should be an occasion for merriment and ego-deflating good fun. Yet once again the commercial feels like it missed it's mark. Rather, the whole series of commercials still seem awkwardly in search of a mark. This one stars the latest in Samsung's broad-range of devices, each separate by a different Galaxy monicker and roughly 0.25-inches of screen size, the Galaxy Note. It's something that can't quite make up it's mind between being a phone and a tablet -- I'm not going to call it a phablet -- and that's either the best of both worlds... or the worst. The jury is still out. How big is it? 5.3-inches of HD Super AMOLED big, baby. (Yes, that's exactly inverse the iPhone's traditional 3.5-inches.)

It's also got a stylus.

Now, I'm not religiously opposed to a stylus -- I'm an artist by trade and I've used several types of stylus on the iPad since it came out. However, a stylus by itself is not a differentiator. It's what you can do with it that's a differentiator. It's all about the software. I'm also not going to deny that, for some things, a bigger screen is not just bigger, it's better. Hey, I've got a 9.7-inch iPad and Steve Jobs spent over an hour in 2010 telling us what that meant in terms of the type of apps it could run.

But Samsung never makes the case for either in their Galaxy Note commercial. They never show off a lick of innovative, compelling software in the whole damn ad. They're too busy, once again, making fun of iPhone users. (Not iPhones, mind you. iPhone users.)

This time we're giddily missing the Super Bowl (presumably on the west coast because it's still light outside) by standing in line for an iPhone launch (which never happens any time near Super Bowl time), and the massive size and pen-ly charm of the Galaxy Note makes us break out into the worst Van Halen-meets-the-Simpsons-style tribute number. Ever.

They're copying the spirit of the old Get a Mac ads without any of the substance. Shocking, really, given their history.

Samsung couldn't have used any of those multi-million dollar minutes to show us the advantages of the Galaxy Note having such a big screen? To show us how absolutely killer a stylus makes the mobile experience? They flashed some photos, doodled on the screen, and did the equivalent of a FaceTime call. The motorcycle jump got almost as much screen time as the software.

And that's disappointing. Google's Galaxy Nexus commercial showed you can highlight Android hardware and software features in a compelling way. Samsung shows you can mock iPhone users, call us baristas, and convert us to the world's biggest ass phone just by waving it at us.

The girl in the commercial sums it up best when she says, "I don't know what to believe anymore." As much as Samsung bashes the iPhone, they give no reason to believe in the Galaxy Note.

If you want to court iPhone users, don't do it by making fun of us or insulting our intelligence. Do it by making us jealous of your phone... er... tablet... er... phone.

Asymco has compiled the profits, revenues, and unit shipments among all of the major manufacturers, and as you can see in this graph, Apple is still kicking everyone's behind when it comes to smartphone profit share. Though the revenue share gap with Samsung is a bit smaller than the one for profits, Apple is still decidedly in the lead. After all is said and done, Apple is claiming 75% of the profit share, 40% of the revenue share, and 9% of the unit share of the mobile market (though that last number might be closer to 8%).

After Apple's monstrously successful first quarter it's no surprise that Apple is profitable. Heck, it's no surprise they're the undisputed God-King of the mobile industry, and they probably have a giant pool of money where employees can get all Scrooge McDuck on lunch breaks. However, the fact that Apple is pulling in so much money out of the entire industry really illustrates just how successful the iPhone has become. Of course, if you ask any Android fan, financial success doesn't necessarily equate to product quality (and I'm inclined to agree with them), but you can't argue with the results. There's another great graph here that shows just how much the iPhone's market share has increased on multiple fronts since launch in 2007.

With this much of a lead, how much does Apple really have to worry about? Will it suffer death by a thousand cuts from a bajillionty Android devices? Or will Windows Phone eventually come into its own and give iPhone a run for its money? Looking at this graphs, it's hard to imagine either of these things happening. The best the competition can reasonably hope for now is to get comfortable in second place. Let's put it this way -- what would the competition have to do to win you over?

Source: Asymco

IDC has released numbers showing that Apple has surpassed LG to become the third largest mobile phone maker in the world.

Apple jumped into the third spot globally from the fifth spot last quarter thanks to a record-breaking quarter of shipments. That represents the Cupertino-based company's highest-ever ranking on IDC's Top 5 global mobile phone leaderboard. [...] Device sales in the U.S. and Japan were particularly strong given extra sales days in the quarter and carrier distribution.

These figures represent overall mobile phone sales, not just smartphone sales. A lot of Apple's recent growth in the mobile phone market can be credited to their latest quarterly results, where they sold through more than 37 million iPhone units. The majority of iPhone sales fell under the iPhone 4S, so it's safe to say the iPhone 4S had a big hand in pushing Apple to the number three spot.

Although they're pretty far off from taking the number one position held by Nokia (with 113.5 million units shipped in Q4 2011, the majority being feature phones), the fact is the iPhone jumped almost 100 percent in year-over-year sales growth with nearly 100 million units sold throughout 2011. Samsung, on the other hand, only grew about 18 percent.

The question is, with no new iPhone until later this year, and lots of new Android phones expected by summer, can Apple overtake Samsung at number two spot any time soon?

Source: IDC

Strategy Analytics has crunched most of the fourth quarter results announced this week (including Apple's), and figures the iPhone maker is now the top smartphone manufacturer, but only by a sliver. In Q4 2011, Apple claimed 23.9% of global smartphone market share, and Samsung trailed only slightly, with 23.5%. That's just counting Q4, too; for the whole year, Samsung beat out Apple by a single percentage point.

Beyond smartphones, in the world of mobiles at large, Apple was relatively far behind. iPhones constituted 8.3% of the world's handsets, while Nokia still clung the top spot with 25.5%, followed by Samsung with 21.3% global market share. Although that shows the iPhone still has a long ways to go, it did boast the best growth out of the three; during the same quarter last year, Apple only constituted 4.0% of the global market.

The folks at Strategy Analytics stepped in for a few comments. Associate Director Alex Spektor said "Apple’s growth was fueled by intense demand for its refreshed iPhone 4S, as well as the availability of three generations of iPhones at a variety of price points at operators like AT&T in the United States," but there's a lot of promise internationally, too. Tom Kang, another director, said "China is becoming a key market for Apple this year, and we expect Apple’s share to grow rapidly in 2012, despite countless copycat rivals.” Nokia's having a rough time holding onto their top spot, despite generally positive reviews of their first Windows Phones. According to Executive Director Neil Mawston,  “Nokia’s global handset shipments declined 8 percent annually to 113.5 million units in Q4 2011. Volumes were buoyed by the sales of Nokia’s low-end dual-SIM models in emerging markets like Southeast Asia, but were a little soft overall, as initial shipments of Microsoft Lumia phones could not offset declining Symbian sales."

It's rarely a surprise to see Apple doing well in terms of sales, but they'll have to keep working hard in order to stay ahead of Samsung. We're seeing lots of different Android phones coming out of Samsung to address different price points, and though Spektor's right that there are older iPhones still on the market, they lack the forward-compatibility of many Android handsets.

It's worth noting that according to Strategy Analytics, the overall smartphone market grew 63.1% in 2011, versus 71.4% growth in 2010. Do you guys think smartphone momentum is starting to plateau, or is this just a slight bump in the road?

Source: Strategy Analytics via Apple Insider

Apple has successfully defended the second UMTS (3G) patent infringement claim from Samsung in Germany today, though the battle's far from over. The first complaint from Samsung was dismissed last week, and Apple promptly fired back at Samsung with a slide-to-unlock infringement claim. The Galaxy Nexus isn't one of the phones in Apple's countersuit, though there are still plenty more Android devices Apple's complaint does include. Even if Apple manages to chew through the other 3G-related complaints, Samsung has another two lawsuits lined up related to smiley emoticons.

Apple and Samsung haven't only been duking it out in the courtrooms, either. Samsung has been running a tongue-in-cheek set of ads that depict desperate, near-sighted Apple fanboys being faced with the grim reality that the Galaxy S II is plainly a better phone. Yeeeeeah, because we've all seen how Android's voice-to-action implementations are way better than Siri.

While Apple is duking it out in Germany, Dutch courts have sided with Samsung in Apple's design patent infringement claims against the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Patent squabbles are a natural part of the high-tech game, but Samsung and Apple in particular seem to really be going blow-for-blow against one another - although I'm sure Apple would be equally willing to attack any manufacturer siding with Android. Steve Jobs, as you might recall, had an intense loathing for the Android platform, and that mission will likely live on in Apple.

It sure would be nice if we could all just get along, if only to avoid having to figure out who's suing who for what and where.

[via FOSS Patents]

Apple had recently flung a slide-to-unlock patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung in Germany, but one very important Android phone was never on the list of complaints: the Galaxy Nexus. As you probably know, the iPhone has a signature way of activating from sleep mode, and many smartphones have since emulated and expanded it to sliding in any direction within a circle, sometimes to unlock directly into an app, as in the case with the Galaxy Nexus. A Samsung official commented, saying:

“We’re aware that there was a hearing involving Apple’s slide-to-unlock feature after our patent infringement case last Friday and a series of products in the Galaxy lineup were accused there, but what we’ve discovered is that the Galaxy Nexus wasn’t one of them.”

You certainly can't help but give credit to Apple for getting all of these smartphone manufacturers to reconsider how one unlocks phones, but it seems like things have progressed so far beyond simply sliding a bar at this point that Apple is going to have a real hard time suing the competition over it.

Source: Korea Herald via Android Central

The Court of the Hague, in the Netherlands, has denied an appeal from Apple to place an injunction on Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales on grounds of design patent infringement. The Dutch ruling took into account two out of six potential pieces of prior art, though they may take more into consideration later on. Apple has already been shot down once for this case in the Dutch lower courts, and having the appeal denied as well means this case is pretty cut and dry.

Apple's having some good luck against Samsung in Germany, but that's apparently not setting a precedent for the rest of Europe. It seems like globally, Apple is going to have a hard time enforcing these design patents, despite seeing varied success in a few regions. Even Australia, which had placed a ban on some Samsung products, eventually reversed its decision. Unless Apple manages to get consistent ruling internationally, it will be hard to avoid imports into the few countries that have a local sales ban on devices that look like the iPhone or iPad.

While I certainly appreciate Apple's classy design, it seems a little extreme for a company whose founder openly borrowed good ideas and made them better. You can find the full Dutch court ruling, ripe for Google Translating, via the source link below.

Source: rechtpraak.nl, FOSS Patents

Samsung has again launched an attack on iPhone users with its latest advertisement for the Samsung Galaxy S II Android phone. The ad starts with a line of people waiting outside what appears be an Apple Store in Austin TX.

The ad attempts to poke fun at the iPhone 4S as it has the same form factor as the previous iPhone 4 as well as the fact that it doesn’t come with any inbuilt satellite navigation capabilities. The tagline is "The next big thing is already here".

Source: YouTube

Samsung was hoping to nail Apple for 3G patent infringement in Germany, but a judge has already tossed one of them out the window. Six other patents are still being investigated, but details on that particular case are skimpy for now. Apple has in the same breath shot back at Samsung for infringing on a slide-to-unlock patent with the Galaxy Nexus. Apple had pulled out this patent against HTC two years ago, though it doesn't look like they won on that particular front.

Germany has been a bit of a hotbed for mobile patent cases lately. Apple has most recently attacked Samsung for design infringement on ten phones, and previously earned an injuction against Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales. Of course, Apple isn't winning all of their fights in Germany; Motorola recently won a case against Apple for 3G patents.

It's a messy web of companies suing and counter-suing over arguably broad claims to intellectual property. Rarely do these episodes conclude with the dramatic import bans that are initially threatened, and that's a good thing - we would probably have way fewer phones to play with if these lawsuits ended without some kind of compromise.

Source: FOSS Patents, x 2

Samsung's Smart Window doesn't run iOS but it's still pretty awesome! Soon, we shall be living in the world of Minority Report, and this "Smart Window" technology Samsung has at CES 2012 is going to help us get there. Ashley Esqueda checks out what's happening over at the Samsung booth and gives a little demo of the window.

ChangeWave has a new survey out indicating that 54 percent of near-term smartphone buyers are planning on picking up the iPhone 4S over competing devices.

The late December survey looked at smart phone demand trends going forward, and finds Apple iPhone demand remains incredibly strong more than two months after the iPhone 4S release. Among respondents planning to buy a new smart phone in the next 90 days, better than one-in-two (54%; down 11-pts) say they'll get an iPhone. Apple has never dominated smart phone planned buying to this extent more than two months after a major new release.

The survey, conducted in late December, studied 4,000 North American consumers with the results suggesting huge demand for the iPhone 4S even with it being more than two months old. Based on ChangeWave's history, this also advocates the iPhone 4S as being Apple's most popular release, as they've never covered the spread of planned smartphone purchasers this far after a major iPhone release.

In addition, Apple continues to lead smartphone satisfaction rates with 76 percent being very satisfied with their iPhone, compared to the nearest competition coming in at around 47 percent with Samsung.

Source: ChangeWave

We're sincerely flattered.

It seems Acer and Samsung didn't even wait for CES 2012 to officially start before announcing AcerCloud, PicStream, and SwipeIt, or basically what Apple announced in 2011. Acer was up first with a service called AcerCloud that sounds suspiciously like iCloud, even substituting PicStream for Photo Stream. Hmm...

And if that's not enough, Samsung -- who have made it something of a habit to copy Apple -- have now gone so far as it to create an AirPlay clone called -- I kid you not! -- SwipeIt.

About the only thing left is the race to see who will launch the first real Siri competitor. While third party attempts like Iris, Google's Majel project, etc. made some early noise, as did fake -- and now removed -- "Official" Siri for Android apps, it's only a matter of time before someone like Samsung or Google themselves go all in on a Siri-like service all their own.

Imitation is still the sincerest form of flattery, right?

Source: Android Central

ChatON is an instant messaging app that supports multi-platform chat across iOS, Android and Samsung Bada platform. Soon the app will also be available for BlackBerry and Windows Phone as well, so it will cover most platforms. What makes it really interesting is... the app was made by Apple largest Android rival -- Samsung.

ChatON is a Global Mobile Communication Service that enables you to have better relationships with your buddies or groups. ChatON brings together all of these methods of communication, expression, and sharing in one place.

• ChatON supports multi platforms and devices. Users can chat freely through ChatON.
• Currently, ChatON supports iOS, Android, Bada, Samsung Feature and will support Blackberry, Window mobile, web soon.
• ChatON provides multi ways to make your communication richer.
• 1:1 Chat, Group Chat, Broadcast, Drawing Message, Picture, Video, Voice, Location, Contact, Calendar.
• Using ChatON, create your own unique drawing message by hand drawing etc.
• ChatON provides group management feature for easy group chat
• ChatON provides Interaction rank which informs you how often you chat with your buddies.
• For every chat room, you can easily see all sent images and videos in a Trunk.
• Something to say for your buddies? Use 'Buddies Say'!

• App Store link

Samsung has seemingly stepped up its spat with Apple by releasing an ad that not only resembles an iPad ad but incredulously even uses one of the same girls that Apple has used in one of its ads.

The new Samsung ad is for its Galaxy Tab device, it shows a young girl using the device for various tasks like reading and gaming.  Apple used the same girl originally in one of its iPhone 4S advertisements. The Samsung ad is definitely shot in a very similar way to an Apple ad too. This is either one amazing coincidence or more likely Samsung is going out of its way to provoke and copy Apple. The iPhone 4S ad is below so you can see the same actor in both ads.

Source: TNW

According to BusinessWeek, Apple has apparently issued a notice of complaint against Samsung for patent infrignements tied to the cases Samsung uses on their tablet and smartphone devices.

Apple issued the notice of infringement to Samsung in Australia over the cases, and will file a statement of claim, Apple’s lawyer Stephen Burley said at a hearing in Sydney today. Samsung’s lawyer Katrina Howard said at the same hearing the company was served with the notice that the cases infringe at least 10 patents.

This comes hot on the heels of Apple loosing an effort to keep Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 off the store shelves in Australia last week. Samsung also recently dropped a bid for a temporary injunction that would have prevented Apple from selling the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPad 2 in select countries.

Apple is currently taking time to gather evidence before the case begins, but it looks like we can add another mark to the growing list of Apple vs Samsung disputes.

Source: Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Image credit: SlashGear

Apple has historically outsourced their A5 chip production to Asian manufacturing plants, however this has recently changed with a move away from offshore production lines and into the great state of Texas.

The A5 processor - the brain in the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 - is now made in a sprawling 1.6 million square feet factory in Austin owned by Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics, according to people familiar with the operation.

Samsung, makers of the A5 chip designed by Apple that sits at the heart of the new iPhone 4S and iPad 2, recently completed a $3.6 billion non-memory chip production plant in December which is now fully up and running, pumping out A5 chips at a full production rate to help Apple keep up with demand of their popular iOS devices.

Samsung added around 1,100 jobs to support the new chip production line, which is said to be equivalent the size of 9 football fields. Why Austin Texas? The reason for the move is said to be due to the high amount of educated workers fresh out of the gate from the University of Texas' engineering school.

Source: Reuters

Interesting comparison by Minimally Minimal of Apple vs. Samsung product strategies, including their current U.S. device lines. (Spoiler: 3 vs. 134). No doubt there's a debate to be had about when both lack of and way too much choice become frustrating.

Hit the link below for more.

Source: Minimally Minimal via Daring Fireball

The demands and counter-demands in Apple vs. Samsung are reaching tragically comedic, or comedically tragic levels:

In Federal court today Samsung counsel Cynthia Cochrane said her client would need the source code for the iPhone 4S and agreements Apple had with major carriers Vodafone, Telstra and Optus in order to make a legal case for a ban before the court.

Unlike Google's Android OS, which is openy-source, Apple's iOS is proprietary, though you gotta love the gumption of a company accused of copy-catting Apple to the best of their ability requesting the ability to copy it better. They also want to depose Apple SVP of Design, Jony Ive, and other "iPhone inventors". What's next, Phil Schiller's inseam measurements? Tim Cook's birthday cards? Samsung's non-Apple influenced design team member?

Maybe call in the big guns?

Source: Smart Office, Edible Apple

CNet reports that LG and Samsung may be met with production issues for Apple's rumored iPad 3 Retina Display.

They have production plans for 2,048x1,536 displays. Starting in November. But those are only plans at this point," said the source, referring to LG and Samsung. "It's not a question of making just one. That, of course, can be done. The challenge is making lots of them," the source said. "This is a quantum leap in pixel density. This hasn't been done before."

They refer to interim plans for a 1600x1200 resolution display, but given huge problems that would mean for developers, it seems unlikely.

TiPb previously heard that Apple was flirting with the idea of releasing an iPad 2 Pro or iPad 3 this year, but by August we heard production issues meant they were moving back to a spring 2012 schedule.

Source: CNet

Samsung's request to ban 3G Apple products was turned down by Dutch courts on Friday. We pretty much figured this would be the outcome considering 3G technology is covered by FRAND as an essential standards technology. Samsung can't refuse a license to Apple.

This will also make it harder for Samsung to win bans on Apple devices in the EU as well according to intellectual property expert, Florian Mueller -

"A win for Apple but also relief for the industry because the judge upheld widespread understanding of fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms in the use of patents,..."Apple will be taking French and Italian translations of the Dutch ruling with it. This makes it a long shot for Samsung that it could win an injunction in the EU based on its 3G patents,"

The judge simply ruled that the two companies should negotiate an agreement on the license and be done. Anyone surprised by this ruling? I know I'm not.

Reuters

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Google and Samsung are delaying their CTIA launch event, widely expected to involve the introduction of their next generation Ice Cream Sandwich Android OS, and Nexus Prime handset, in deference to the recent passing of Steve Jobs.

"We believe this is not the right time to announce a new product as the world expresses tribute to Steve Jobs's passing."

Classy.



Source: Android Central

Just a day after Apple announced the iPhone 4S, Samsung has filed two separate motions for preliminary injunctions to block sales of the iPhone 4S in Paris, France and Milan, Italy.

Apple has continued to flagrantly violate our intellectual property rights and free ride on our technology. We believe it is now necessary to take legal action to protect our innovation.

This move is an expected one, however, as Samsung has been holding their finger on the lawsuit button just waiting for the announcement.

What makes this one so interesting is that Samsung's patents are FRAND, which means they're licensed under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms. That means Apple should simply be able to pay the same bill any other manufacturer has paid for their use. It's also different from the design infringement and non-FRAND patents Apple is already suing Samsung over.

Source: Samsung

Not content with letting the Apple fanboys self-immolate over expectational depression, Samsung's Kim Titus has decided to spread some iPhone 4S talking points of their own in handy email form. I'll spare you the preamble and jump straight to the good stuff:

• Screen size benefits scale by AREA (length x width), not just diagonal; the AT&T version of the Samsung Galaxy S II has 42% more screen area and Sprint / T-Mobile versions of Galaxy S II have 58% more screen area than the iPhone 4S.

• The Galaxy S II HSPA+ network speeds are at least 50% faster with AT&T 21 MBPS and three times faster with T-Mobile’s 42 MBPS than the iPhone 4S’s 14 MBPS HSPA network.

• Galaxy S II continues to have the thinnest smartphone design with the fastest network speed on each of the networks carrying the smartphone (AT&T, Sprint & T-Mobile) including today’s announcement of the iPhone 4S specs for AT&T, Sprint and Verizon.

• Open Ecosystem – Consumers can use the Galaxy S II to buy music from Amazon, Rhapsody, or a variety of other music services, as well as multiple cloud music services supported such as Amazon, Google Music and multiple video chat clients available for use including Google Chat and Skype. The Samsung Galaxy S II is not limited to a single manufacturer’s storefront or app store.

Sure, the last point is quasi-BS, but the Galaxy S II is a gorgeous set of phones, no doubt about that. (Just check out Phil's review of the AT&T Galaxy S II on Android Central). And Android device makers have always been well armed in the spec fight. Still, iPhone 4S is no slouch in that department either, and with Siri it's fair to say they've taken user experience to a whole new level.

Is this Samsung seizing on perceived user displeasure over Apple's iPhone 4S announcement, or panicking slightly over what Apple's about to drop like Mjolnir on AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint?

Samsung doesn't copy Apple. Except for in-store iconography. And USB power adapters. And packaging. And dock connectors. And voice recording apps. And so on...

Source: Reddit via Daring Fireball

Samsung, who is currently embroiled in a patent war with Apple, looks to have scored a particular nasty own goal -- using icons which clearly belong to Apple in its advertising. The wall in the picture was taken in a concession store in Italy’s Centro Sicilia.

A concession store is basically a store within another store run by a separate retailer. In this one, the wall of apps clearly shows iOS icons for mobile Safari and the App Store. The icons are repeated across the wall at least three times. A strange one when you consider the shenanigans going on behind the scenes between these two companies. The last thing you would want is an embarrassing mistake like this to sway opinion.

It will be interesting to see if Samsung decides to make any comment on the picture. I am sure there is a totally reasonable explanation for the mistake, because Samsung does claim to have a commitment to innovation and distinctive design...

Source: AllThingsD

Samsung has already sued Apple over patent infringements and now they're attempting to get a full out ban of iPhones and 3G iPads in the Netherlands. They've sued Apple on infringement of four patents and not only want a ban but a full retail recall of any device that uses 3G technology.

The patents involved are standards-essential patents. They are incorporated as internationally excepted standards and the patent holder (Samsung) is obligated to grant licenses to third parties. Florian Mueller, an active patent consultant, believes that an injunction won't happen unless Apple refuses to pay up if royalties are owed to Samsung.

“Should it turn out that Apple entered the market without taking licenses to essential patents, then that’s indefensible and Apple should pay,” ..."However, it doesn’t justify an abuse of standards-essential patents. Asking for an injunction is an abuse unless the request for the injunction is limited to the scenario in which the defendant doesn’t accept to pay FRAND royalties.”

Samsung may be growing more aggressive with Apple due to the fact that Apple has taken some of their display business elsewhere. Apple was Samsung's number two customer last year so that could have a lot to do with why Samsung hasn't filed patent suits in the past.

But at the end of the day Apple will probably just pay the royalties if ordered to and there will still be iPhones and iPads equipped with 3G for all.

Macworld

According the Korea Times, rival smartphone maker Samsung is eagerly anticipating the Korean launch of Apple's next generation iPhone 5 handset -- so Samsung can try and sue it off the shelves.

`Just after the arrival of the iPhone 5 here, Samsung plans to take Apple to court here for its violation of Samsung’s wireless technology related patents,’’ said a senior executive from Samsung Electronics, asking not to be identified.

``For as long as Apple does not drop mobile telecommunications functions, it would be impossible for it to sell its i-branded products without using our patents. We will stick to a strong stance against Apple during the lingering legal fights.’’

While almost two dozen lawsuits are already pending between Apple and Samsung, Samsung remains a major manufacturing partner of Apple, though there are signs Apple is moving to diversify and diminish that dependence as well.

``Apple is Samsung’s biggest customer. Hewlett-Packard (HP), Nokia and Sony were Samsung’s previous big clients, however, Apple is now a primary one. From our perspective, we are not entirely happy (about the litigations),’’ Samsung CEO Choi Gee-sung said.

Apple originally took issue with Samsung, whom they dubbed a "copyist", over perceived similarities between Samsung Android phones and tablets and the iPhone and iPad. Unlike other Android manufacturers who established their own looks, Apple contends Samsung deliberately copies Apple to confuse customers and unfairly benefit from Apple's brand and marketing. Apple has already succeeded, at least temporarily, to get Galaxy Tabs banned from sale in German and parts of the EU.

While Microsoft, who is also going after Samsung, seems content on getting licensing fees to make Android more expensive to manufacture, Apple's appears to want to make Android less friendly to use, demanding removal of features, not licensing deals.

Patent portfolios are often compared to nuclear arsenals, held as deterrents. Of course, if everyone ever lets them all fly, everyone loses.

[Korea Times]

No, you didn't read the headline wrong -- Samsung is claiming their Galaxy Tab 10.1 couldn't be a copy of Apple's iPad because... it was copying the earlier movie prop from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Well, okay, not copying -- more like maintaining the design elements were commonplace in pop culture, especially science fiction. One of the ways to invalidate a patent is to prove prior art -- that someone had the idea before the company who was awarded the patent.

Since everyone from HAL's buddy Dave to the Enterprise D's Captain Jean Luc Picard used tablet-like devices, Samsung seems to be asking, how could Apple possibly have been granted the design patent?

Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents stops short of calling it either genius or a stunt.

It would be amazing if the court agreed with Samsung that this constitutes prior art for that particular iPad-related design patent. Whether or not Samsung will succeed, the mere fact that they proffer this kind of evidence is remarkable and will be exciting for many fans of movies in general -- and of that movie in particular -- to find out about.

Hopefully Samsung hasn't seen Dick Tracy or Apple's nano watch might be next!

[FOSS Patents]

LGD, the leading supplier of LCD panels, appears to be having some manufacturing issues when it comes to the 9.7" LCD panels that are used in the iPad 2. After receiving several defective units, Apple has reportedly pulled them until the issue can be sorted out.

LGD fell 1 million units short of their projected estimate of panel shipments. These defective units could have a lot to do with that. It will no doubt continue affecting them until the issue is resolved.

In the mean time, Apple will continue using Samsung and CMI for iPad 2 LCD panels. Apple has also had their issues with Samsung as well. But if you're in a tight spot, I guess you do what you need to in order to meet demand in the mean time. Digitimes' source seemed certain that LGD would remain the top panel supplier if the issue was rectified.

Digitimes

According to the German news agency, dpa, Apple has been granted its motion for a preliminary injunction against Samsung, resulting in the Galaxy Tab 10.1 being barred for sale in all European Union nations with the exception of the Netherlands. (Apple has a separate injunction awaiting ruling in the Netherlands.)

This injunction relates only to the design of the Galaxy Tab 10.1, which Apple alleges "blatantly imitate the appearance of Apple’s products to capitalize on Apple’s success".

Samsung must now remove all Galaxy Tab 10.1 stock and refrain from advertising in most of the EU, just one short week after the official launch.

Apple had previously filed trade dress as well as patent infringement lawsuits against Samsung, calling them a "copyist". However, this is still early days. The preliminary injunction may not become permanent, Apple and Samsung may come to a settlement, or Samsung may alter the design of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in order to no longer be found infringing.

More as this develops.

[dpa via FOSS Patents]

The US Patent and Trademark office just published fourteen new patents recently awarded to Apple. Among them are design patents for the MacBook Air, iPhone 3G, Apple remote, their battery charger design, and many more.

Considering Apple recently sued Samsung for copying the iPhone and iOS look and feel, these patents could end up with many other manufacturers in court. Lots of notebooks have recently mimicked the design of the MacBook Air or other variations of the MacBook line. None of the patents seem too design specific. If Apple has the ability to sue based on the overall appearance and design, I definitely think we'll see more lawsuits springing up sooner rather than later.

Patently Apple

Apple has apparently started testing display panels made by Samsung and LG for its next generation iPad 3 according to The Korea Times. The article claims that both companies are close to signing a deal with Apple.  The screens are thought to have a huge resolution increase over the current iPad 2 display which is 1024 x 768. The new panels are believed to be “Retina” displays at a resolution of 2048 x 1536; with the same 4:3 aspect ratio.

Apple’s upcoming iPad 3 will feature an improved display to support quad extended graphics (QXGA), a display resolution of 2048×1536 pixels with a 4:3 aspect ratio to provide full high definition (HD) viewing experience,’’ said a source close to the talks.

The display panels are said to be going through various tests at laboratories in China and should be complete in the third quarter of this year.

Now when you put this rumor alongside the recent story of a second iPad release this year; with a retina display, it all starts to make a little sense. If the panels pass all of Apples tests in the third quarter, we may well see the rumored release in October. Of course you never know anything for sure until it is officially announced. I still think it is a bit of a long shot and really don't think it's going to happen this year!

[The Korea Times]

Reuters is reporting that Apple is conducting trials with Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC for its next generation A6 processor; according to sources familiar with the matter.

TSMC has got all the authorization and details ready. Whether Apple puts in a formal order will depend on the yield rate, said the source, who was not authorized to speak to the media. The source did not provide further details of the orders.

The A6 processor will likely debut in the iPad 3 when it is launched next year. Apple tends to introduce new processors to the iPad line of devices first, then introduces them to the iPhone and iPod touch when they are updated.

[Reuters]

There have been a few interesting developments lately in Apple's ongoing patent disputes with HTC and Samsung, and a switch up inside their own legal team. First, Reuters reports that Richard "Chip" Lutton Junior, the man who was responsible for managing Apple's patent portfolio, is no longer with the company. Now, BJ Watrous, former deputy council for HP, is lists himself as the new guardian of iPhone, iPad, and Mac IP.

Lutton's voicemail was still set up at Apple on Monday, but he will be leaving Apple soon, perhaps in the next month, said the source familiar with the situation. Watrous was deputy general counsel at Hewlett-Packard in charge of IP licensing. An HP spokesman declined to comment. Apple's intellectual property team has been on a hiring spree lately, snapping up litigation specialist Noreen Krall from Sun Microsystems.

Meanwhile Samsung, whom Apple has sued for being a "copyist", thinks just one lawyer leaving isn't enough and, according to FOSS Patents now wants Apple's external lawyers disqualified over purported conflicts of interest.

Samsung's motion is 20 pages long. The gist of it is that Samsung wants the recently-founded law firm of Bridges & Mavrakakis barred from the case because at least five of its lawyers -- including one of its founders, Kenneth Bridges -- previously represented Samsung while they were with another firm, Kirkland & Ellis. Samsung then goes on to argue that this fact "taints all attorneys at Bridges & Mavrakakis through imputation". But not enough: Samsung additionally demands that Apple's two other law firms involved with this federal lawsuit (Morrison & Foerster and Wilmer Hale) "provide affidavits confirming they have not received any Samsung confidential information from attorneys at Bridges & Mavrakakis" while those firms were coordinating Apple's representation so far or, absent such assurance, be disqualified as well.

Apple's outside counsel, of course, deny any such conflict.

Lastly, a couple more salvos have been fired in the ongoing Apple vs. HTC dispute, with Apple filing a asking the International Trade Commission (ITC) to ban imports of HTC devices... again. The devices targeted this time are the HTC Droid Incredible, Droid Incredible 2, Wildfire, T-Mobile mytouch 3G, T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide, T-Mobile G1, T-Mobile G2, Evo 4G, Aria, Desire, Hero, Merge, Inspire 4G, Evo 4G, Thunderbolt, Thunderbolt 4G, and the HTC Flyer tablet. Apple's goal might be to get those new devices into litigation, and bring new patent infringement charges along with them. HTC was nonplussed.

"HTC is disappointed at Apple's constant attempts at litigations instead of competing fairly in the market," said HTC general counsel Grace Lei in a statement. "HTC strongly denies all infringement claims raised by Apple in the past and present and reiterates our determination and commitment to protect our intellectual property right."

For more on all of this, check out our special edition iPhone Live podcast from Saturday, World War Patents with guest Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents.

(And yes, I still think Judge Judy should be given juris-her-diction over all Apple and Android patent lawsuits. For our sake.)

[Reuters, FOSS Patents, AFP]

The escalation continues in the dispute between Apple and Samsung, with the Korean conglomerate now asking the International Trade Commission (ITC) to ban the import of iPhones, iPods, and iPads.

If the ITC agrees to investigate such a complaint (which is pretty certain to happen here), a final decision is reached within 16 to 18 months.

We've seen ITC complaints, both from and against Apple, several times already, and it seems like a fairly common weapon in the legal arsenal. Asking for and getting a ban are two very different things, however, and Apple could be considering an ITC complaint of their own.

Or, if Apple's "copy-cat" lawsuit pans out, maybe Samsung will succeed in getting their own devices banned as well?

Samsung and Apple remain partners on the manufacturing side. For now.

[FOSS Patents]

The judge hearing the Apple vs. Samsung "copy-cat" lawsuit has denied a motion by Samsung asking that Apple allow Samsung's outside council advanced looks at iPhone 5 and iPad 3. The judge had previously granted Apple's request for Apple's outside council to look at Samsung's upcoming devices, since Samsung had already shown off or given away previews to the press and public. Apple, however, keeps their stuff secret. But of course, it's not that simple:

Samsung is free to argue, for instance, that there is little likelihood of confusion because consumers will not encounter its products side-by-side with the iPhone 4 or iPad 2, but rather with Apple's next generation iPhone and iPad. Similarly, as to proximity, Samsung is free to argue that because the iPhone 4 and iPhone 2 will soon be outmoded and reduced in price, they are not being sold (or very soon will not be sold) to the same class of purchasers who are likely to buy new Samsung products. By choosing to allege infringement only of its current products, Apple opens itself up to these arguments.

Says Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents:

[Apple] might want to proceed cautiously and wait with a preliminary injunction motion until the iPhone 5 can be shown, or present only a tablet-related motion in the very near term and a smartphone-related one a little later.

We'll see how bold or conservative Apple is.

And Samsung. If they really wanted to have fun with this, their CEO should start dressing in jeans and black mock turtleneck...

[FOSS Patents]

When Apple next announces their financial results, they should have close to $70 billion in the bank, which according to Asymco will be enough to buy all their manufacturing competitors with the exception of Samsung. That includes HTC, Nokia, RIM, LG, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson. (Google and Microsoft aren't manufacturers, they're platform vendors.)

The more remarkable thing is that as market values of phone vendors continue to decline, Apple’s cash will continue to grow dramatically. Indeed, a time may soon come when Apple’s cash will be worth more than the entire phone industry.

I'll say it again -- North Carolina isn't a data center, it's a money bin.

[Asymco]

Apple has upped the stakes in their look-and-feel "copy cat" lawsuit against Samsung, taking the complaint from 38 to 63 pages, and now accusing Samsung of "products that blatantly imitate the appearance of Apple's products to capitalize on Apple's success." According to FOSS Patents, Apple goes so far as to quote the media to help set up its case:

The copying has been widely observed in the industry and has been mentioned in multiple articles reviewing Samsung products. For example, a writer for Wired wrote that Samsung's "Vibrant's industrial design is shockingly similar to the iPhone 3G." [...] "First Look: Samsung Vibrant Rips Off iPhone 3G Design." Another Wired writer wrote, "[L]et's settle one of the biggest arguments surrounding this phone. Yes, the Vibrant closely resembles a certain best-selling smartphone." [...] "Samsung Vibrant Looks Like an iPhone, Has Battery Life to Match." [...]

[A] Business Insider review of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 stated that, "[f]rom the front, it looks like an iPad." [...]

A recent CNET reviewer remarked: "Taking another page from the iPad 2's school of sexy tablet building, the 10.1 has one of the cleanest designs we've seen on a tablet. [...]"

[Fast Company:] "Samsung’s Anti-iPad 2 Policy" – "[To] Clone the Heck Out of It"

While the original complaint listed the the Samsung Captivate, Continuum, Vibrant, Galaxy S 4G, Epic 4G, Indulge, Mesmerize, Showcase, Fascinate, Nexus S, Gem, Transform, Intercept, and Acclaim smart phones and the Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet, the amended complaint adds Droid Charge, Exhibit 4G, Galaxy Ace, Galaxy Prevail, Galaxy S (i9000), Gravity, Infuse 4G, Nexus S 4G, Replenish, Sidekick, Galaxy Tab 10.1, and Galaxy S II (aka Galaxy S 2), Showcase i500 and Showcase Galaxy S. (For more on those devices, see our sibling site Android Central)

Says Florian Mueller:

In the very near term, Apple will have to decide on whether to request a preliminary injunction. Like I said further above, that's reasonably likely. If the court appeared to give serious consideration to this measure, it could put enormous pressure on Samsung and greatly increase the likelihood of a near-term settlement in Apple's favor. But this can also become another epic battle like the one between Apple and Nokia...

Samsung remains the manufacturer of many key components for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

[FOSS Patents]

According to This is my Next, after a judge ruled that Apple's outside council gets to see unreleased Samsung phones, Samsung has fired back demanding to see Apple's presumably upcoming iPhone 5 and iPad 3. Of course, part of the judge's ruling was based on Samsung having shown off or given away pre-release devices to the media and developers, and Apple absolutely does not breathe word one about their products until Steve Jobs or another exec holds them up on stage.

• Samsung says it has to see the next-gen iPhone and iPad because it believes those are the products that will actually be on the market against future Samsung devices, so it has to be prepared for Apple’s potential motion for a preliminary injunction. That’s kind of a stretch: Apple can’t really file for a preliminary injunction based on potential confusion with unannounced, unreleased products, so Apple’s lawyers will almost certainly focus on confusion with the company’s existing products.
• Samsung says that doesn’t matter because Apple tends to discontinue previous products when it launches new ones, and it has to be prepared for what might be in the market when and if Apple actually files its motion. This is also a bit strange, since Apple kept both the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS on the market after launching new models. You can bet Apple will point that out.

Apparently, Apple and Samsung negotiated for a year and couldn't come to an agreement before Apple launched their look-and-feel infringement suit, and there haven't been any talks since then. So chalk this up to Samsung trying to get some leverage. Whether or works or not, it could further delay what's no doubt going to be a long and protracted process.

So... countdown to Samsung outside council intern blurry cam shots?

[This is my Next]

Could Apple be going with Samsung AMOLED for the iPad 3 display? Rumor has it Apple COO Tim Cook recently visited South Korea to work out just that deal:

Apple wants to tap into Samsung’s AMOLED technology for an upgraded version of the iPad2, considered as many as the iPad3 [...] During Cook’s trip last week, Apple seems to have offered Samsung an advance for the AMOLED displays.

An AMOLED display on the next iPad would offer improved brightness, and reduce reflection and power consumption. This also adds more fuel to the rumor that Apple may end up releasing the iPad 3 later this year, effectively resetting the release cycle to better align with the holiday season.

But with Apple going after Samsung for copying aspects of the iPhone and iPad, do you think they'd actually be able to come to an agreement? Could Samsung even produce the millions of AMOLED panels Apple would need for a real Retina Display iPad 3?

Either way, would you want it?

[Asia News Network via OLED-Info]

Samsung has just announced that it will be demonstrating a new display panel for touch screen devices at the SID Display Week 2011 next week in Los Angeles. The display will have a huge resolution of 2560 x 1600 @ 300dpi and will be a 10.1-inch panel.

What is interesting to us is that the display may pave the way for the highly demanded Retina Display in the next version of the iPad. One of the reasons it failed to materialize in the iPad 2 was put down to power consumption. The new Samsung display uses a technology known as PenTile which is said to draw 40% less power consumption. PenTile has been developed by Samsung's partner Nouvoyance.

Because tablets are regularly used for viewing rich-colored images, the 10.1-inch 300 dpi display is ideal for applications that require extraordinary image and text clarity such as browsing the web and viewing high-definition movies, or reading books and spreadsheets. “In order to develop tablets with the form and function that consumers demand, a design engineer ultimately has to determine how to get the highest resolution display possible, while still fitting within the overall power budget for their design,” said Joel Pollack, executive vice president of Nouvoyance, Samsung’s affiliate company that developed the PenTile RGBW technology.

The good news is that Retina Display type panels are starting to appear now and become a real possibility for future devices. How many of our readers would want a Retina Display on their next iPad? Let us know in the comments!

[MacRumors]

Apple is suing Samsung, in part for copying the look and feel of iPhone and iPad for their Galaxy S line of phones and tablets. The suit involves both patents and trademarks. This has led to some questions and some backlash.

Should Apple not compete rather than litigate? Patents exist to offer protection; trademarks must be defended or they're lost. Apple is a public company that has to represent the interests of its shareholders. While Apple has previously brought patent litigation against both HTC and Motorola, this is the first time they've sued for trademark infringement, the first time they've alleged that their look and feel has been stolen.

Didn't Apple copy the look and feel of Samsung's F700? No, of course not. While the F700 was announced at CeBit 2006, it wasn't shown until after the iPhone debuted at Macworld 2007. In any event, devices like the 2005 Palm LifeDrive predate both, and other devices used rows and columns of icons, and handheld formats going back further still. Apple's suit isn't about a rounded rectangle with a grid of apps, it's about a multitude of design decisions that they believe, taken together, cross the line into infringement.

What about Steve Jobs saying great artists steal? Jobs didn't say that, he quoted Picasso who said that. Neither were referring to copying, however. They were referring to ideas. "Make it simple" is an idea worth stealing. "Make it look like X" is not. Inspiration is one thing, the tiny details of execution another. Neither Apple nor Picasso were known to work in tracing paper.

Looking at the Galaxy S line and the TouchWiz UI skin, it's hard to argue Samsung didn't deliberately try to make their devices look like Apple's. "Knock offs" are a common strategy in many markets and across many product types. They work. Sometimes people even prefer them to the originals. However, they sometimes run afoul of the law.

Is the Samsung less a Captivate or Fascinate and more a Replicate or Duplicate? That's what the courts will have to decide.

Apple is suing Samsung, claiming Samsung's Galaxy line of phones and tablets copy the look and feel of iPhone and iPad.

"Rather than innovate and develop its own technology and a unique Samsung style for its smart phone products and computer tablets, Samsung chose to copy Apple's technology, user interface and innovative style in these infringing products."

Samsung's Galaxy line has been one of the most commercially successful range of Android products to date but have also been among the most iOS-like in terms of interface conventions, thanks to Samsung's TouchWiz. Ironically, Samsung is also one of Apple's more important manufacturing partners, producing components for iPhone and iPad both.

This is the third Android-based lawsuit launched by Apple, who sued HTC last year -- HTC has reached a licensing deal with Microsoft, ironically, for Google's Android -- and Motorola back in October.

UPDATE: More from Apple, and an illustrative image, above. [Mobilized]

“It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging,” an Apple representative told Mobilized. “This kind of blatant copying is wrong, and we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.”

UPDATE 2: As Jon points out in the comments, Apple is legally obligated to defend its trademarks or it risks losing them. Likewise asserting patents for a public company in a highly competitive market is the responsibility of of its management. When and against whom it chooses to litigate them, however, is interesting.

UPDATE 3: Samsung has a preliminary response [AFP]

"Samsung will respond actively to this legal action taken against us through appropriate legal measures to protect our intellectual property," the South Korean firm said in a statement.

"Apple is one of our key buyers of semiconductors and display panels. However, we have no choice but respond strongly this time," an unidentified official was quoted as saying.

UPDATE 4: Former Engadget editor (and lawyer) Nilay Patel gives a break down of the suit, and his thoughts. [This Is My Next]

Taken as a group, it feels like a remarkably solid case — Samsung can’t just up and countersue Apple with its own patents and hope to walk away with a handshake and a cross-license because of the various trademark, trade dress, and design patent claims. How the company decides to deal with those issues remains to be seen; there’s no question in my mind that Samsung designed TouchWiz to look and feel as much like iOS as possible, and then marketed it as such.

[Wall Street Journal]

Just as Apple brings us iPad 2, RIM finally reveals pricing and release information for the BlackBerry PlayBook and Samsung unveils new designs and lower price points for a couple of new Galaxy Tabs.

The 7-inch PlayBook Wi-Fi, which is available for order now from retailers like BestBuy and will be in stores on April 19, matches the iPad 2's storage and price points with 16GB, 32GB or 64GB at $499, $599 and $699. Do the features make the smaller size worth the same price? (And does the BlackBerry logo on the bezel annoy you as much as it does Rene?)

The Android Honeycomb Galaxy Tab 8.9 Wi-Fi, which is actually going to be cheaper than the iPad 2 at 16GB and 32GB for $469 and $569, and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi, which is the same price at 16GB and 32GB for $499 and $599. Oh, and both are thinner than the iPad 2 at only 8.6mm (Oh yes, it's on!)

Interestingly, Samsung is one of Apple's largest manufacturing partners. Now that they're competing so directly with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, could we see Apple try to separate themselves the way they did with Google after the Android launch, or is Samsung too big and too important for Apple to even think about cutting the cord?

Galaxy Tab video after the break. Watch it and let us know what you think, has the competition caught up faster than Apple expected, or are they still bringing specs to an experience fight?

[CrackBerry.com, Android Central]

Apple is rumored to have signed a deal with TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co) to manufacture the A5 dual-core processor found in the iPad 2. The deal is said to be a foundry relationship. Apple will use TSMC’s 40-nm process for the A5 and will work with TSMC on a 28-nm process too.

This new deal could spell trouble for Samsung, the manufacturer of the A4 processor found on the original iPad.; Samsung also manufacture the processor for the iPhone 4. It is now "unclear" whether Samsung will play any part in building the A5 chip for Apple in the future.

There are supposedly a number of reasons for this deal with TSMC. Apple considers Samsung a major competitor in the iPad and iPhone channels with their range of Android phones and tablets. On top of that, TSMC has the highest yielding 40-nm process in the foundry world and the most 40-nm capacity. This should enable Apple to ramp up the manufacturing levels of iPad 2’s, to keep up with the expected huge demand.

[EE Times]

Samsung is reportedly reconsidering the form-factor and price of their forthcoming Galaxy Tab 10 following Apple's iPad 2 announcement this week.

"We will have to improve the parts that are inadequate," [Lee Don-joo] told Yonhap News Agency. "Apple made it very thin."

The 7-inch Galaxy Tab was priced at nearly US$900 without a two-year contract from mobile operators, while the price of the iPad 2 starts at $499, with the most expensive model costing $829. Samsung did not announce the pricing details for the 10.1-inch tablet.

"The 10-inch (tablet) was to be priced higher than the 7-inch (tablet) but we will have to think that over," Lee added.

I'm guessing that wasn't a unique reaction by competitors and would-be competitors, and is refreshingly candid despite the fact that persistent rumors should have given Samsung et al reason to be reflective long before this week.

The reality is this -- even if Android OS tablets eventually outnumber iOS tablets (aka iPad) like Android phones do iOS phones (aka iPhone), they'll be split among numerous manufacturers making it unlikely any of them will individually ship more product than Apple. Since Apple can purchase and even pre-pay for components in huge volumes their economies of scale will likely far outstrip what separate Android manufacturers can manage. That, combined with COO Tim Cook's legendary supply chain management, will keep Apple's costs low and, even with their traditionally beefy margins, their overall price points low.

Likewise Apple has a Senior Vice President of Design -- how many other companies put that much emphasis on design? Apple's focus and the profits they make to feed that focus mean they are often far ahead when it comes to the build quality of the products they can field.

Given that Apple is already bringing iPad 2 to market before most are bringing their first tablet -- great artists ship -- Samsung is probably wise to consider and reconsider everything from price to package. But really, it's not iPad 2 they need to worry about. It's iPad 3.

If Samsung or Motorola or HTC can release their iPad 3 competitor within the next 6 months -- the way Google released the Nexus One 6 months into the iPhone 3GS product lifecycle -- then things will start to get interesting.

[Yonhap News Agency via Android Central]

Phil Nickinson, my counterpart over at sibling site Android Central has just posted his AT&T Android Captivate review and T-Mobile Android Vibrant review, the latest, greatest US GSM competition to our own iPhone 4. They're both Galaxy S-class devices, but one of the strengths of Android is the ability for manufacturers like Samsung and carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile (and Verizon and Sprint when their versions launch) to modify and customize the hardware and software to make their devices distinct.

Ally already posted her thoughts on the AT&T Captivate vs. iPhone 4, so if you're trying to decide between the two, or between them and the T-Mobile Vibrant, give Phil's a read to and then come back here and let us know what you think.

I’ll preface this by saying before this review, I’ve hardly laid hands on an Android device, let alone considered throwing my iPhone aside to completely delve into the OS and see if I could actually survive without my iPhone.  In my time with an Android device, the short answer would be that Android would be a perfectly passable everyday phone.  But would I make the switch and ditch my iPhone 4? Hit the jump to find out as well as see tons of videos and a gallery chock full of comparison pics!

Coming to the decision to give Android a try was the easy part.  Then came the tricky part, picking an actual Android device.  With the iPhone it’s simple, the best model is typically the newest model, and with Apple’s current product cycle, there’s only 1 a year to choose from.  Along with that, in the US you have one carrier choice, AT&T.  (Unless of course you want to unlock and use an iPhone on T-Mobile sans 3G.)  I decided the easiest solution would be to stick to AT&T and check out their Android selection.  This proved to be an easier decision on AT&T opposed to other carriers such as Verizon, which carries an abundance of Android powered devices.  My choices were between the HTC Aria and the Samsung Captivate.  Both of which run Android OS version 2.1.  I’ve never been a huge fan of HTC hardware, so I went with the Captivate, and I’m glad I did.

Hardware

The most obvious thing about a phone, and the first thing you notice is the physical design.  Both of these phones are built extremely well.  When comparing specifically the iPhone 4 and the Captivate, both feel solid in your hand.  The back of the Captivate is a brushed metal with glossy bands on the top and the bottom while the iPhone 4 is a solid slab of glass on the back.  To me, the back of the iPhone 4 may look better, but in everyday use, I somehow feel more comfortable setting the Captivate down on a bare surface naked and not worrying whether or not it’s going to scratch.  One of my only peeves with Apple products are hairline scratches.  The plastic backs of the iPhone 3G and 3GS held up well as far as the white version went.  The black version was a fingerprint magnet and you could see any tiny imperfection.  The iPhone 4 in black holds up better in my experience than the previous models as far as blemishes, but the fingerprints still madden me.  As far as feel, the iPhone 4 still feels more solid in my hand than the Captivate.

The Camera

Compatibility

I remember back before the iPhone when I used Blackberrys and we had to keep a PC laying around solely so I could back up my Berrys and be able to upgrade to the latest leaked OS, as well as sync my content.  Eventually 3rd parties picked up the slack for RIM, but it still wasn’t the most ideal solution.  Eventually RIM came out with a Mac client, but it was too little too late in my opinion.

I was hoping this wouldn’t be the case with Android.  But alas, I could not find an easy way to get my contacts and media on the Captivate.  I eventually asked some trusty folks on Twitter.  Instead of taking several hard routes, I created a new Gmail address and imported my contacts to that address for wireless sync.  Workable but not the most convenient method.  For media, several people recommended DoubleTwist.  It got the job done, but it was somewhat maddening that I had to go through a few different processes just to get content onto the device.  There are also programs like Missing Sync that work well, but a $40 price tag just to have better sync with Mac is somewhat ridiculous.  I understand that several years ago Mac users were a niche group and less than 2% market share.  This is by no means the case anymore, so software manufacturers need to stop leaving out Mac users.  By now, we should have compatibility right out of the gate.

With my iPhone 4, I sync to iTunes and I’m done.  I’m also a MobileMe user so I’ve never had to worry about that content being lost when switching from iPhone to iPhone.  I also found no easy way to get my iCal events onto my Android device.  To me, if I wanted to use the phone in the way I intend, it almost forces you to use not only Gmail but GCal as well.  Since I am a Mac user, the iPhone 4 obviously wins hands down as far as compatibility goes.

Battery Life

Applications

YouTube Link

This is one area I enjoyed exploring.  The Android Marketplace really DOES have tons of apps.  No, they don’t have the same ridiculous number Apple has, but I disagree with Apple’s representation of apps.  When I look at the number of apps a platform has, I want to know how many “quality” apps that platform has.  Leave out all the junk and apps that should have never been approved in the first place, and I’d say the iTunes app store has less than 40,000 quality apps.

I was pleasantly surprised with the selection Android users have.  Any type of app I could possibly want, I have at least 3 choices or more, which in most situations are more than sufficient.  The only area I saw a pretty poor selection in was Twitter clients.  This is probably just me though.  I have more Twitter clients on my iPhone than you can shake a stick at.  And I switch between them - frequently.  I’m flaky when it comes to Twitter clients and I get bored. For any normal person, Android’s growing selection would accommodate most non-mutants just fine.

Now let’s talk native applications.  Google put a lot of thought into basic everyday apps like the phone and texting app.  I absolutely love how you can swipe left and right in your contacts to call or message someone.  That’s ingenious and a really quick way to interact with your contacts.  I’m not sure if these features are unique to Android OS 2.1 or not, but they’re pretty frak’n sweet.  Clicking on someone’s picture within their contact card also gives you additional ways you can interact with that person.  The message app is also very easy to use and overall, I really enjoyed the interface of all the core apps.  The only thing I really did not care for was all the trial and bloatware that comes pre-installed on the device.  I spent 30 minutes clearing out junk before I actually dug into the marketplace and loaded the phone up with things I actually wanted.  This reminds me of the shiver that runs down my spine when you boot up a new PC and see a desktop loaded with nothing but crap.  Hey, maybe Best Buy can start offering Android optimization services as another form of highway robbery. (You can thank me later for the idea Best Buy, just know I’ll be expecting my royalty check every month.)

Once all the bloatware was thrown into a fiery hole of despair, you are left with a 4” canvas of AMOLED goodness to tweak and customize until your heart’s content.  And that leads me to my main focus of this article.....

Android OS vs iOS

The OS is probably the single most important factor when choosing a phone.  In my experience, I’ve found things about Android that I really like, and then things that I really don’t like.

The main screen on Android OS is pretty much a blank canvas for you to do what you will with.  You can drop icons and reorder them just like you would on the iPhone, but you can also create widgets and customize until your heart’s content.  This is one area Apple really has fallen behind.  My biggest gripe with iOS is the lack of a decent notification system.  In that area, Android wins by a landslide.

The Android OS also gives you a few choices when it comes to keyboards.  I was pretty excited to get to try out Swype.  While it seems to be pretty quick, it still has its quirks.  No matter what keyboard I chose, I found myself lagging behind how quickly I can type on my iPhone.  But to be fair, I have been typing on an iPhone keyboard for over 3 years now.

Android offers a lot of cool gestures and shortcuts in general I wish Apple would take a closer look at.  But there’s also certain things that seem to be overdone.  It seemed I spent a good amount of time figuring out alerts and sounds, as well as configuring general settings.  It seemed a little overwhelming that I could pick alerts for every little thing.  The option is nice but the settings panel is a little confusing.  Sometimes I felt like I didn’t really know what settings I was changing, I had to experiment.  It reminded me somewhat of the 80 billion alerts Blackberry users are presented with.  To me, it was a little overkill.

Conclusion

Thanks to my boss who took tons of excellent hi-res pics for me since I'm too cheap to break down and finally get a DSLR. And a special thanks to @kasperapd as well for lending us some iPhone 4/Evo4G comparison shots (apparently that phone IS rarer than a unicorn!) And as always, we encourage you guys to chime with your comments and thoughts!

One of the greatest tricks Apple pulled off at the iPhone 4 press conference was changing the dialog from death-touch -- a single point of antenna trouble on iPhone 4 -- to death-grip -- a device-wide point of antenna trouble faced by the entire industry.

Apple for their part did cop to making iPhone 4's point of attenuation very external and incredibly visible. Steve Jobs called it "x-marks the spot", but then Apple very quickly moved on from this death-touch to a wider death-grip and demonstrated it on handsets from RIM's BlackBerry to HTC's Droid to Samsung's Windows Mobile.

I initially thought this was a mistake on Apple's part -- that they were spending too much time deflecting onto the competition. Turns out I underestimated Apple, but not as badly as the competition. What Apple very neatly managed to do there was conflate their own widely reported iPhone 4 death-touch into the very real but widely under-reported death-grip phenomena that does indeed affect the entire industry.

What's more, by those very competitors responding that the death-grip either didn't affect their devices, was minimal at best, or wouldn't affect future devices, they cinched it for Apple. They became part of the problem. Why?

Because their devices absolutely suffer from the death grip. Instead of pointing out that yes, Apple was correct, the death-grip was an industry-wide problem but the death-touch was thus far unique to Apple, RIM BlackBerry, Samsung, and Nokia denied the death-grip, thus ensuring everyone with the issue -- or just an itch for attenuation attention -- would fire up YouTube and make a video clearly discrediting their statements.

HTC for their part just said they didn't have many reports of the problem. However, as David Chartier points out, HTC effectively white-labels their phones to Verizon and they didn't make it clear whether the number of complaints they reported included Verizon numbers. This is similar to Apple citing AT&T return numbers for iPhone 4, not gross Apple return numbers. It's what brought about the saying "lies, damn lies, and statistics".

My original take on Apple's press conference was that Steve Jobs should have just stressed that making the iPhone 4 antenna the way they did was a trade-off, better battery life and stronger signal in many cases in exchange for that single point of problem -- the lower left hand corner death-touch. Andy Ihnatko made the same point, if more eloquently. Arguably a modern smartphone has any number of tradeoffs -- AMOLED screens offer better color and blacks that utterly fail in direct sunlight. (Free sun-screens anyone?)

I still think Apple should have been crystal clear about that trade-off, but it's looking increasingly like they didn't have to. In their rush to get comments out in front of the media RIM, Samsung, Nokia, et al have let the conversation get changed from death-touch to death-grip, and they've let videos on their own handsets propagate across the web. One look at BlackBerry on Boy Genius, Nokia on Electronista, Samsung on InformationWeek, HTC on Engadget, many others via Daring Fireball, and even manufactures' own warnings against touching their antennas in their own manuals via 1FPS shows how they've become part of a story that last week was all about Apple.

Sure a few sites like Ars Technica and When Will Apple? will raise a fuss over it, but it's done. Competitors dove headlong into it. And since Apple has now effectively priced the death-touch problem as one free case per phone, all that remains to be seen is if competitor's denials + customers videos = free cases for other phones too.

So I underestimated Apple but they didn't underestimate their competition.

Note: this editorial is based on a Twitter conversation with Seth Weintraub from 9to5Mac who is absolutely right, one day college courses will be taught on these PR tactics. Check out his article on Fortune.

Update 1: Dilbert's Scott Adams comes to the same conclusion, which he calls the "high ground maneuver", and wonders if Jobs has had hypnotist training.

Update 2: I said above that while many smartphones have the death-grip, only the iPhone has the death-touch. Daring Fireball links to a YouTube video showing the Samsung Galaxy S having, if not the death-touch, then at least the death-finger. Again, from now on no smartphone is safe.

And the quadfecta is now complete, with Samsung responding to Apple over the iPhone 4 press conference's demonstration of the death-grip causing signal loss on an Omnia II.

"The antenna is located at the bottom of the Omnia 2 phone, while iPhone's antenna is on the lower left side of the device. Our design keeps the distance between a hand and an antenna. We have fully conducted field tests before the rollout of smartphones. Reception problems have not happened so far, and there is no room for such problems to happen in the future"

Apple must be ecstatic. Any company that stayed quiet would have ridden out the story pretty much uninvolved. Any company -- now all of them -- that spoke up guaranteed their phones a bump in YouTube demos and/or free case requests.

And that "problems in the future" bit? Sigh. Early reports already indicate Samsung's new Galaxy S-class Captivate and Vibrant are having the same problem. Here's a sample from InformationWeek:

I have both a Samsung Vibrant and Captivate on hand for testing purposes. In both phones, the internal antenna is apparently located on the back of the phone, towards the very bottom edge. When gripped around the bottom of the phone (with either hand) the signal strength drops almost immediately. The Vibrant went from three bars to zero bars in about five seconds, and the Captivate went from four bars to zero bars in about six seconds. When I let go, the signal returns immediately.

Sure, death-grip isn't the same as iPhone 4's single-point touch, but in a media frenzy no phone is safe.

Video after the break.

Update: Samsung Galaxy S suffering from death-finger in second video after the break [via DF].

[Samsung Hub via Korea Herald via Gizmodo, InformationWeek]

No starker contrast could be drawn between Apple's iPhone 4 strategy and Google's Android than this past week where iPhone 4 made its traditional once-a-year debut -- just as Motorola showed off a new Verizon Droid X, T-Mobile Charm, AT&T Flipout, and Samsung announced the Galaxy S-class Sprint Epric 4G, Verizon Facinate, T-Mobile Vibrant, AT&T Captivate, and an as yet unbranded US cellular Galaxy S as well.

Only some of these have been officially announced, but even that number dwarfs Apple's once-a-year iPhone release schedule. That they're coming out around iPhone 4 launch, and iPhone 4 is a strong contender in the market right now (1.7 million in 3 days strong) is interesting. That Google and their manufacturing partners could keep up this pace in 3 months, 6 months, and when iPhone 4 is starting to show its age in 8 months is... something else.

Personally I -- and most importantly my early-adapter-pained wallet -- enjoy Apple's annual cycle. I don't know how Phil Nickinson from our sibling site Android Central survives some weeks. To always have a new phone to look forward to is exciting -- and terrifying. Ask me again in January though, and I might be itching for that iPhone 5...

Do you feel you benefit as an iPhone user from Apple staying focused on that one, integrated, end-to-end handset you own for the better part of a year? Or do you think Google's approach of hardware partners launching new devices, on different network, all the time will lead to greater innovation in the end? Focus can lead to stagnation, fragmentation to loss of direction. Maybe having both approaches in the market, pushing each other, is the best thing for all users?

As part of their iPad keynote today, Apple took the opportunity to say that, with $15.6 billion in revenue last quarter, as $50 billion dollar company primarily focused on mobile devices (iPod, iPhone, MacBook), they were the #1 mobile device company in the world -- bigger by revenue than Sony, Samsung, and Nokia's mobile devices businesses.

Along with the financial figures Steve Jobs touted 250,000,000 (!) iPods sold, 140,000 iPhone/iPod touch apps, 3 billion downloads, and over 75 million iPhone and iPod touches (yeah, we underestimated!).

Jobs went on to say even he didn't believe it, and it wasn't how they think about Apple. But he sure did say it, and that's a shot across a lot of bows right there.

Many Bluetooth Headsets are beginning to make and market small, ultra-portable Bluetooth Headsets. Count Samsung as one of them because the Samsung WEP-500 Bluetooth Headset is a simple, stylish, and ULTRA-small Bluetooth Headset.

The headset itself is no bigger than a quarter, with such small stature does it sacrifice in performance? Or is the Samsung WEP-500 Bluetooth Headset the best of both worlds?

Read on for the rest of the review!

Design

The Samsung WEP-500 is a very impressive looking headset. It’s not the flashiest or shiniest headset around but I think that's a good choice by Samsung's Design Team. I think a lot of people will appreciate the WEP-500’s subtle style, it doesn't overwhelm you with bells and whistles. The headset’s color scheme is classy, with a matte black outlining a sleeker bluish black. It also comes in a version with muted silver outlining a tasteful black.

The Samsung WEP-500 is unique because of its circular design and of course, tiny size. Unlike other ultra-portable Bluetooth Headsets, the body of the Samsung WEP-500 is fairly thin. The indicator light is also unobtrusive but also can be turned off by holding the volume button. I definitely enjoy the overall look and build quality of this headset. Too many times, Bluetooth Headsets scream ‘Hey! Look at me!’. The Samsung WEP-500 is confident enough in its styling choices that it doesn’t feel the need to overcome any perceived shortcomings.

Usability

Because of the WEP-500’s small size, the button layout is rather simple. There’s a multifunction button and volume controls. I found the multifunction button to be much too easy to press and overly sensitive. I’ve hung up on a few calls while trying to adjust the fit and didn't know what hit me. The position of the button is expected but the button itself is just a little too sensitive for my taste; Samsung should have definitely made a stiffer, less obtrusive multipurpose button.

Another sacrifice in having such a small design is that it requires a charging cradle. I’m not a particular fan of charging cradles because it adds another item that needs to be carried. Luckily, the charging cradle doubles as a carrying case and the WEP-500’s battery life is better than similar headsets. Though 3.5 hours may be paltry to heavy users, for an ultraportable headset, it’s almost as good as it gets.

The fit is decent, the design is almost “in-ear” but it is not as bothersome as in-ear ear buds typically are. Though I did find a few instances where I felt as if the headset was about to fall out—the headset managed to stay fairly secure the whole time. However, I wouldn’t recommend running or even light jogging with this particular headset since there doesn't seem to be an ear loop option.

A notable feature on this headset is the addition of a secondary microphone. I found it very surprising for a device so small to have TWO microphones. And you know what? The addition of two microphones seemed to have helped and make this headset a standout performer. Callers heard me loud and clear, the echo cancellation really seemed to work. Even in noisier settings, the callers didn’t complain as much as they have in testing of previous headsets.

Incoming audio quality is also very impressive. It has similar technology as Plantronics AudioIQ, which essentially means it adjusts the volume to your surroundings. Specifically, it'll get louder in loud areas and quieter in quiet areas. Plus the in-ear design helps block out background noise, the incoming audio is really great.

Final Thoughts

Overall the Samsung WEP-500 is a solid performer. It combines subtle style with great audio performance, I am happy to use such a great piece of technology. The fit isn’t amazing but after a few times I’ve grown accustomed to it. The circular shape is unique in the world of Bluetooth Headsets and the indicator light isn't blinding.

My biggest gripe is the sensitivity of the multifunction button. Samsung really should have made it a bit stiffer, I have accidentally ended a call too many times. After a while I got used to the sensitivity and made it more of a point to handle the headset with care. If Samsung ever comes up with a solution to this minor problem, the WEP-500 will become an excellent headset that everyone should own. In the meantime, I can still recommend this to anyone looking for an ultraportable headset because it still works as advertised: great styling and great audio quality.

PROS

• Great Subtle Design, Classy Look
• Very Good Audio Quality
• Decent Enough Battery Life Compared to Similar Products

CONS

• Ridiculously Sensitive Multi-Function Button
• Charge via Charging Cradle
• Still Not Enough Battery Life

FINAL RATING: 4.3/5

Ouch. Seems Samsung and Sprint tried to bring an Instinct to an iPhone fight. At least that's how venerable Wall Street Journal columnist and "D" All Things Digital tech yoda Walt Mossberg made it sound in his iClonic "review" (to be fair, the still unreleased iPhone 3G gets more attention -- and love -- than the unfortunately release-timed Instinct).

How does Mossberg sum up his feelings, some several paragraphs and umpteen iPhone mentions, references, and comparisons down?

If you're a devoted Sprint customer, or want to avoid AT&T, the Instinct is an OK choice. But it's no iPhone.

Read

Pop Quiz: You're the brain trust up at RIM and Samsung. You know that Apple might just be dropping something hawt today, and last time they did that they set your profitable if complacent industry on its ear, and your execs scrambling to clone catch up. So, your on the precipice of the WWDC 2008 Steve Jobs Keynote -- the only thing anyone has been talking about of late -- what do you do?

If you answered stay quiet and wait for the hype to pass, you're now officially smarter than either RIM or Samsung. Absent something innovative and decidedly non-Apple of their own to announce, better not to announce anything at all.

Which, of course, is why the RIM all Touch-screen, all the time Blackberry Thunder iClone "leaked" via Boy Genius and and the Samsung's i900 iClone is all over Engadget.

Nice try, but buying a cheap knock-off of the prom queen's dress and showing up before her at the dance won't hide the fact that you're hairy dudes with three-piece clone-suits on underneath.

Overly harsh? Maybe, but it's an iPhone blog on Jobsnote day. They shoulda know betta. In fact, they shoulda saved their energy for their soon-to-be-launched iClone 2.0 initiatives...

(Though they did get some press, eh?)

Confession: The real reason I can't wait for the iPhone 3G to drop? So that at long last the rest of the smartphone industry will have something new to copy!

Today's offender is the Samsung SGH-i900, and boy does it run the iClone checklist: rounded rectangular slab? Check. Glossy black facade? Check. Silvered trim? Check. Job dropping interface or any sense of pride in innovation? D'oh! Not even close.

Sister site WMExperts.com offers up the usual suspects specs:

[O]ne of the upcoming batch of über-Windows Mobile phones - 6.1 Pro, 240x400 (weird) screen, 1500mAh battery, FM Radio, TV out.

Way to stand out from the crowd!

Not evil twin to theiPhoneBlog.com Week in Review, not an invasion by Fake Steve, This Week in Smart Phone Schadenfreude brings you all the feel-better news you need about the smartphone world outside Apple’s current media dominator. (Who knew there was such a world? We were just as surprised! Inelegant, interface challenged, keyboardy, crashy, single-touchy place — best not to linger…). Join us as we mock review the big news from last week at our sister sites. Everybody loves sibling rivalry!

In this week's edition: Windows Se7en, Great Googley Android, India's circling the RIM, the Treo 800w guest commentary, and no other news on Safari for Samsung...

Windows Se7en

Microsoft is still the only real game on the planet, especially when it comes to business, what with their whopping 90%+ share of the market. And as Bill Gates rides off into retirement, he can be justifiably proud at how close he came to his dream of a computer on every desktop and in every home. In that light, his swan song with longtime crony and internet "monkeyboy" dance phenom Steve Ballmer at the "D" All Things Digital was particularly poignant this year, especially given that they chose to use the event to showcase their next generation OS to the public for the very first time.

What groundbreaking new features did they show off? What killer new technology was highlighted? Was it WinFS, the revolutionary all-registry all-the-time file system they've been promising since the code-name "Cairo" vaporware of yore? Was it MinWin, the ultra-small, ultra-modular kernel that will return some long absent agility to the platform? Was it a complete revamp of the horrible mishmash that passes for an API stack, cleansing 8-bit fossils and 16-bit artifacts, providing something uniform for the 64-bit future? Was it a renewed focus on their core business users, streamlining bloat and minimizing eye candy in favor of virtualized compatibility and blazingly fast architectures moving forward?

Nah uh.

It was 10 finger multi-touch paint. 10 @#$%ing finger multi-touch paint! Are you kidding me?! From the team that brought us the big @$$ table, we get nothing of the future promised us for decades by Microsoft, nothing by way of making up for the titanic PR disaster that has been Vista, nothing that may convince consumers who are routing towards the Mac in ever increasing droves, and businesses who are stubbornly clinging to the terribly outdated XP or jurassic 2000, to hold out for a better tomorrow. No. We get 10 @#$%ing finger multi-touch paint and yet another in the endless string of failed Gatesian prognostications about interfaces, inks, and whatever else makes him think tablets have been a booming success for over a decade. (Word to Bill - the only thing even remotely resembling a tablet that's even approached a modicum of cultural penetration is -- wait for it -- the iPhone, and it wasn't made by Microsoft).

But what does Windows Se7en have to do with Smartphones, you may ask? (After all, WMExperts.com thought it barely worth a mock-mention). Unlike Apple, aren't Microsoft's mobile offerings similar only in that both have the word "Windows" grafted in front of them? Nope. They're also similar in terms of the minds driving them, the vision of the future those minds have, and the experience those visions seek to bring to us, the end users.

And right now both Windows Se7en and WinMob Se7en are driven by minds so drunk off their collectives posteriors that their futuristic visions are entirely consumer by 10 @#$%ing finger multi-touch paint.

Great Google-y Moogley: Android Gets Slightly Less Vapory!

Microsoft loses money on search, which is pretty much just a way to glue eyeballs to pages so said eyeballs can be blinded by flashing neon "hit the bouncing monkey!" banners. By contrast, Google's bouncing monkey banners net them somewhere near 8 kazillion dollars a year. Likewise, while Microsoft's busy showing off a 2010 desktop OS that really, truly hopes to be competitive with Apple's 2007 mobile OS, Google is readying an iClone that may just ship this year!

Confession: We thought the Google Android demo was right skippy. Caveat: We though the exact same thing when Steve Jobs did it at Macworld 2007.

Memo to Google: We know your CEO, Dr. Evil... er... Eric sits on the Apple board of directors. We've heard he recuses himself from iPhone discussions to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. Here's a thought: how about avoiding the reality of one as well?

Apple is all about the paradigm shift. The command-line in your home with the Apple II. The GUI on your desktop with the Mac. Multi-touch in your hand with the iPhone. It's what Apple does. The gloss, the shine -- the boom.

You need to embrace what Google does. All white screens with nothing but search boxes. That's what Google does. Forget about the overcrowded iClone market and embrace that. That's your niche. That's your Zen.

Circling the RIM: India's Never-Ending Ultimatum

Yeah, we thought this had been resolved too. Seems India's still demanding and RIM is still claiming it has a headache. Or whatever. Crackberry.com somehow retains the energy and interest to cover it. We just can't stop snickering over the fact that it's the Network Operations Center (NOC), pusher of all pushers, single-point-of-snooping, that let's India push RIM so hard to begin with.

Big brother FTW!

So You Think You Can Smartphone?

Okay, so we've been giving the Treo 600... er... 800w a bit of a hard time around here. Fair point. Certainly opinions must vary, and much like we had special guest quotes from Windows Super Siter Paul Thurrott a few posts back, in the spirit of equal time we turn this segment over to TreoCentral uber-editor Dieter Bohn. Go ahead, boss. Tell us all how great the 600 v3 is:

Look at it. It looks cheap. It looks cheap. I'm like secretly hoping that this isn't the final casing. That they have a secret casing and this is just the stuff they're sending out to the beta testers. [...] It doesn't look professional. I mean recessed screens are so 2003. Whatever. Right? [...] The way it's recessed looks chintzy. The soft buttons underneath the screen are just sort of randomly there. Nothing about it speaks like... It doesn't speak like... to being solid or futuristic. [...] A business phone should project an aura of power. [...] This is just not good looking. I've been saying for a long time now that this is the year you've got to cut Palm a ton of slack, and I've been cutting Palm a ton of slack, but this looks like cr@p. [...] It does not look great. This needs to look great. They should have one great phone this year and this does not look great. This looks the opposite of great. [...] I tell you what, [when This Week in Smartphone Schadenfreude put up an image of the Treo 600 as the Treo 800w] I didn't notice. Somebody had to point out the joke to me.

Score!

For those truly interested in the complete, uncensored, Treo 800w curbing, check out the podcast (spoiler: in the name of all things merciful and nostalgic, Mike pulls Dieter off and holds him at bay until the Smithsonian can show up and cart off the old girl's mangled, circuit board-strewn corpse. NOT for the squeamish).

And in No Other News

Speaking of maulings, some Executard or PR flack over at Samsung, in a fit of drunkful-thinking, shot up a release stating the notly anticipated L870 S60 slider (honestly, do they pull these names off of pseudo-random password generators?) would have not just a WebKit browser, but the full on iPhone Mobile Safari king-of-all-mobile browsers. Absent, you know, an OS, UI, or the basic design and engineering skills to support it.

Riiiiiiigggghhhhhttttt...

Not evil twin to Phone Different Week in Review, not an invasion by Fake Steve, This Week in Smart Phone Schadenfreude brings you all the feel-better news you need about the smartphone world outside Apple's current media dominator. (Who knew there was such a world? We were just as surprised! Inelegant, interface challenged, keyboardy, crashy, single-touchy place -- best not to linger...). Join us as we mock review the big news from last week at our sister sites. Everybody loves sibling rivalry!

Official: RIM's Finally Flipped!

What, you thought we'd go straight to the outage double-header? Come on. While we certainly agree there's no better time to hit a mobile than when it's (service is) down, even we have some small modicum of mercy. (And by mercy we mean it happens so often it's not really considered news anymore...)

So we're switching gears, just as Crackberry.com tells us RIM has flipped out. Good news, RIM has taken a short break from trying to iClone the Apple iPhone. Bad news, they've decided to clone the Moto RAZR instead... StarTac much?

Seriously though, we applaud diversity and innovation, and can't wait to see Blackberry's next exciting form factor. The brick? The suitcase? The rotary-dial booth? Sarcastic minds want to know!

Storm Warnings

Remember that short iCloning break we mentioned earlier? Neither does Blackberry, apparently. Not content with merely copying the iPhones silver bezel and rounded slab factor, Crackberry.com tells us they've now got their sites set on the touch-screen too.

Known as the Storm -- or not -- RIM affectionately refers to it as the Apple Killer because, as we all know, being able to murder fruit falls right below HTML email on the feature list. Box, consider yourself checked!

No specs or date or anything but desperate promissory vapor yet, though. When exactly did RIM become Microsoft?

Speaking of Microsoft and iClones...

As Redmond gets the Mobile OS X 1.0 competitive WinZuneMob 7.0 ready for beta sometime around two-thousand-and-never, hardware partner HTC is picking up the iClone slack with not one but two little "Inspired by Apple in Cupertino" numbers.

First up, running version 6.6.6 (or 6.1, it's so hard to keep track!), is the Sony Ericsson branded XPeria (proudly sporting a VISTAperia Capable sticker, no doubt). WMExperts.com expects it to ship mid-September, and in typical Windows fashion it will try to compete with the similarly expected iPhone 2.0 by throwing in every feature they can think of, including a slide-out kitchen sink.

Second up is the Diamond Touch or Touch Pro or Out of Touch or whatever millionth derivative of the Touch trademark they're overcompensating with next. Similar specs (though smaller screen -- c'mon HTC, we know if you try really hard you can iClone Mini your way into a postage-stamp 720p!) hampered by the same OS.

Looks like it might just be rocking a "squircle" control there, doesn't it? Could this be the fabled Zune Phone? We're one Monday morning Monkey Boy dance away from knowing for sure...

Microsoft Kills the Digital Stars

Does MSN Music play on WinVistaZuneMob devices? We don't really know, since we don't really know anyone who uses MSN Music... or WinVistaZuneMob. But if they did, and you do, they won't for much longer.

Proving once again how Digital Rights Management (DRM) is all about enhancing consumer enjoyment (TM, RIAA), Microsoft has announced it will soon be enhancing the amount of time consumers will enjoy no longer listening to their MSN purchased music.

As of August 2008, turns out MSN Music will be turning off, meaning no more authorizations. Sure, you can keep on using any machine you already authorized, provided you never, ever, change it or its OS. (No worries there, though, hey Vista sales numbers?)

Hmm, maybe this is why Microsoft tossed the "PlaysForSure" name last December. After all, can't call it "PlaysForSure" if it doesn't anymore, right? So what did they rebrand the new, non-working name to? Oh, right... "Certified for Windows Vista"...

All Access Pass

Typical bonanza week for Palm news...

So, anyway, Dieter Bohn (the man who totes more smart phones than the FCC) caught up with Access, formerly Palm Source, formerly Palm, the makers of Palm OS Garnet, (which has literally shipped on every Treo since the stone age), Palm OS Cobalt, (which has literally never shipped), and now the Access Linux Platform (which is only taking slightly longer to develop than Longhorn at this point).

His conclusion? Things are going better than he previously thought. (Of course, any long time listener of the Treo Central Treo Cast knows how low a bar that was to crawl over...)

And In No Other News...

Remember last week:

Our Norfinwedish friends over at Nokia may have convinced Sony BMG to join Universal Music in offering the "unlimited" Comes-With-Music-And-Hefty-Price-Bump market-fart. Maybe. It's been delayed until mid-2008, probably to get the DRM working extra-poorly. At least that's all Engadget can Google-translate for now. No doubt they're preoccupied getting a post ready for when the service goes bye-bye, the DRM locks down, and everyone's stuck with "unlimited" Can't-Be-Authorized-Again-Silence...

Sounds even better after the MSN Music debacle, doesn't it?

Apple Insider's Prince McLean, whose pieces often seem.. ahem... Roughly Drafted... brings us an in depth look for what we might see in the next generation, 3G iPhone, and in a word, it's hardcore.

McLean begins with a profile of Imagination's Open GL ES 1.1, PowerVR MBX that powers the current iPhone (and many other mobile devices), and then gets into the next generation, 2.0, PowerVR SGX -- which brings the shaders, and the VDX core with its mobile HD video codec.

Putting the pieces together, including an unprecedented Samsung announcement that it will be manufacturing these technologies, Imagination's mysterious unnamed licensee, and the flexibility the newly acquired PA Semi gives them, design-wise, McLean (through some assumptive leaps, to be sure), paints a glowing picture of Apple's future gaming and video potential:

By gaining access to exclusive new generations of mobile graphics technology, Apple can differentiate its products from other smartphones and mobile Internet devices with an edge in performance while offering full support for industry standard OpenGL ES graphics. [...]

Whether this theory is ultimately proven true or not, I think the SDK event -- and its clear focus on games -- showed that Apple finally might just be taking the space seriously. What do you think?

Not evil twin to Phone Different Week in Review, not an invasion by Fake Steve, This Week in Smart Phone Schadenfreude brings you all the feel-better news you need about the smartphone world outside Apple's current media dominator. (Who knew there was such a world? We were just as surprised! Inelegant, interface challenged, keyboardy, crashy, single-touchy place -- best not to linger...). Join us as we mock review the big news from last week at our sister sites. Everybody loves sibling rivalry!

Outages Online

CrackBerry.com's near-constant updates on Blackberry outages not enough for you? Need the latest, greatest, up-to-date-est news on RIM's downtime in near real-time? Well, apparently so does the guy behind DataOutages.com. (Yes, we realize the domain name doesn't explicitly convey that the site tracks RIM/Blackberry outages, but it's with extra special schadenfreude we point out there really isn't any other kind, b'okay?)

Amazon Pays People to Order Blackberries

We knew the mindset was shifting to Apple, the cool kids were all Cupertino-bound, the status simple was no longer cheap-plastic black but aircraft-grade aluminum, but -- wow...

According to Crackberry.com, Amazon was actually paying people to take Blackberries off their hands last week. You read right. $75 big reasons to stick yourself with a tiny screen, tic-tactile keyboard, and all the outages you can eat.

Yeah, still too expensive for us as well...

India or Indiana?

No update on the great Indian crackberry crackdown this week, but in related news American GSM RIM-bounds have discovered their MyCingular.BlackBerry.net email is now being blocked -- nay, permanently disabled -- as well. Crackberry.com claims it's some pre-announced corporate branding transition thingy-thangy. Sure. C'mon. Like they couldn't try to come up with an even somewhat believable cover story?

Someone steals the White House Blackberry recycling box the very same week and we're supposed to just accept it's a coincidence? (Good thing they'd already switched to iPhones. Yeesh...)

Balmer: Can Has Moto Q for $99?

Yes you can, and I'll cede the soap-box for a moment so John Gruber can tell you how that works out:

Motorola’s quarterly results: 27.4 million phones sold and $7.45 billion in revenue. But the bottom line? A $194 million loss. What matters is profit; market share and revenue only matter insofar as they lead to making money. Motorola sold 16 times more phones than Apple for at least 8 times more revenue — but is there a person on the planet who would trade Apple’s phone business for Motorola’s?

Epic failure there, Steve. No achievement points for you. What? You've got the RROD anyway?

Karma.

Hit up WMExperts.com for the grisly details...

Palm Dumping Unlocked 750s?

Massive markdowns on the ancient handset, at least according to TreoCentral.com. Will that help? Probably not. They need to take a page from RIM's book and start paying people to order them? $1000 a pop sound about right?

Treo Tips and Sightings

Brian has branched out his excellent Tips column to TreoCentral, with a handy, dandy gem for contact lookups. By accident, however, he seems to have included screenshots from the 1999 vintage Palm V PDA's app instead of the latest, greatest Treo 2008 version. The 2-bit, non anti-aliased interface is a dead give a--

What? Those are screenshots of the latest, greatest Treo?

Gulp! Moving on...

Seems Jennifer found Treo's showing up all over TV. At first I thought that, what with the writer's strike and all, the networks were so desperate to fill slots they used stuff from the History Channel. Turns out they were new episodes. For something called "Ugly Betty".

Harsh.

And in No Other News

Our Norfinwedish friends over at Nokia may have convinced Sony BMG to join Universal Music in offering the "unlimited" Comes-With-Music-And-Hefty-Price-Bump market-fart. Maybe. It's been delayed until mid-2008, probably to get the DRM working extra-poorly. At least that's all Engadget can Google-translate for now. No doubt they're preoccupied getting a post ready for when the service goes bye-bye, the DRM locks down, and everyone's stuck with "unlimited" Can't-Be-Authorized-Again-Silence...

Not evil twin to Phone Different Week in Review, not an invasion by Fake Steve, This Week in Smart Phone Schadenfreude brings you all the feel-better news you need about the smartphone world outside Apple's current media dominator. (Who knew there was such a world? We were just as surprised! Inelegant, interface challenged, keyboardy, crashy, single-touchy place -- best not to linger...). Join us as we mock review the big news from last week at our sister sites. Everybody loves sibling rivalry!

Blackberry Out of Outages?

Given CrackBerry.com's near-constant updates on RIM's outages, unscheduled, scheduled, re-scheduled, and beyond, I thought there would be no way RIM could top themselves again. Boy, was I wrong. This week marked the first time in a long time (long time being the history of this series, 'natch) that RIM was complete out of outages!

Talk about poor supply-chain management. Sure, they've had infrastructure and service failures before, but a failure failure?

Brain trust in Waterloo: get on it!

India to RIM: Push This!

Those hoping RIM would conceded to India's desire to invade the privacy and security of every user in the nation -- by, for example, setting up proxy servers the way they have in China and Singapore, or just giving Indian security agencies the keys to encryption-city -- tough luck!

Crackberry.com tells us Sriprakash Jaiswal, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, has gone and forced carriers to block any and all Blackberry to Blackberry messaging.

India and RIM will meet again soon, but the carriers aren't wasting any time in fighting back themselves. Expected this week: new advertising campaigns, boasting the first Blackberries in the world with equally good email and media handling!

Microsoft: Gotta Get You Some! (Taste, That Is!)

While WMExperts.com was all over the WinMob news this week (doubtless yet another iterative handset or 3rd party patch for missing OS functionality), I really couldn't follow it after exposure to Microsoft "leaked" "internal" "moral-booster" video for the troops. Blind and deaf, yet unmercifully not amnesia-tic, I'm left to wonder why they insist on releasing things the world can never un-experience?

(Poor Paul Thurrott was so traumatized he blamed the interwebs for not getting the "joke", not realizing there are levels of joke, and failing at a joke this spectacular becomes an even bigger joke -- laughing at it, not with it, b'okay Paul?)

Treo 800w -- Beta!

You're Palm. You revolutionized the handset industry only to fall so far behind you can no longer see the competition. You've saddled yourself with a monstrous OS almost as dated as your design specs. And due to chronic mismanagement you have no hope of releasing your own product or updated OS in the foreseeable future. What do you do?

Drop the beta bomb.

That's right. Treocentral.com brings us word that Palm is looking for a few good beta testers. Beta, of course, implies unfinished, unfinished demands forgiveness, forgiveness leads to understanding when the inevitable shortcomings and delays follow.

So the company that should have innovated us an iPhone-class device 5 years ago may manage to release a single, dated device this year. In beta.

Ladies and gentlemen, Joe Rubenstein!

And in No Other News...

Zip. Zippo. Ziltch. You'd have better odds getting Motorola's software and hardware divisions working together. Seriously. It's getting to the point where you just want to give Samsung a gesture alright...

Let's see, another day, another trade show, another shameless iPhone knockoff...

We've covered (and recovered) the disappointing iPhone-esque stylings of the new Blackberry, and the interwebs have pretty much beaten the Meizu into a sparking, frying pulp, yet it seems the mobile design world just can't get enough of Poppa Jobs' little industry revolutionizer.

It's been over a year since Macworld 2007, and what has Samsung been cooking up? Something totally unique, original, and game changing all their own? Something to keep pushing the industry forward? Er... not so much. Gizmodo brings us a quick look at the "new" Instinct, set to rock the Sprint network, in all its iPhone "homage" glory:

Samsung's Instinct may be the best stab at the coveted title of iPhone killah this CTIA.

Oh, really? Stalwart Apple pundit site Daring Fireball retorts:

I enjoy how in this initial report, based on a press release and press screenshots, Gizmodo dubs it a “decent iPhone competitor”, but then when they actually got to see one firsthand it ends up — surprise surprise — that it’s buggy as hell. Plus the web browser, despite the magic bullet of 3G networking, is “painfully slow”.

And provides a Twitter post from Macworld editorial director Jason Snell, both pithy and profound, to sum things up:

Dear writers, announcing an iPhone knockoff is not "upping the ante." It's not even calling. It's putting your watch into the pot.

So, is imitation the sincerest form of flattery or just a sign that no one else in the industry has any of their own Big Ideas anymore? Are you sticking with your iPhone, or just dying to rush out and snap up an iClone? What do you think?

According to DigiTimes [via IntoMobile], Apple has poached Samsung Executive Scott Huang to fill a slot at Apple Taiwan. Huang was VP of Samsung's Mobile Communications unit and seems to have his finger on the pulse of the Taiwanese smartphone market. Hint: it's seriously poised for some serious growth, seriously.

Given how gigantic their splash in the US has been, it's sometimes easy to forget that Apple is just getting started in the global market. They may be the #2 smartphone state-side, but worldwide they have a lot of work to do. Expect a lot of hires like this in the near future as Apple realizes that different countries have different issues to be dealt with -- the folks that have grokked how to dominate the US don't necessarily know how to dominate other markets, and it's a good sign that Apple gets this.