Samsung will not follow HTC's lead and come to a peaceful conclusion to its ongoing legal battle with Apple, vowing not to negotiate with the firm.
HTC and Apple shook hands earlier this week, having decided to put all their patent disputes behind them, and get on with building smartphones instead. This was good news for us, as it’s one less lawsuit to hear about, good news for HTC, as it avoids any costly court judgements and finally, good news for Apple as it will make money from each HTC Android phone sold.
Samsung however, will not be following HTC’s lead, and will instead continue to battle it out with Apple both in stores and in the courtroom. In an interview with Yonhap News in Korea, Samsung’s President of Telecoms and IT, Jong-Kyun Shin said “we don’t intend to negotiate at all” when asked if Samsung would settle any dispute in a similar way to HTC.
The various legal battles between Apple and Samsung have captured headlines throughout the year, particularly regarding Apple’s $1 billion win against the company, and Samsung’s controversial win in the UK. Shin’s comments indicate we’ll be seeing more of the same in the future.
HTC has signed a 10-year licensing contract with Apple, believed to include a payment of around $6 to $8 per HTC handset sold, which could total up to a figure of approximately $275 million per year, based on HTC’s current smartphone sales performance.
It’s an interesting turn of events too, as Apple has long been viewed as the aggressive one when it comes to litigation, but this shows Samsung is equally committed to continuing the patent war in a courtroom setting.
Samsung has filed an appeal against its $1 billion judgement, which is currently being assessed by the courts, while Apple has asked for more damages, saying Samsung has harmed the iPhone’s “distinctive product identity.” As Samsung won’t be signing an agreement with Apple anytime soon, expect more legal fireworks from the pair over the coming months.
Apple's ongoing battle with Motorola over patent licensing has been thrown out of court.
Apple has been maintaining that the rate requested for Motorola (and therefore now Google's since the search giant bought out the handset developer) is too high and wanted a court to order a lower rate.
But District Judge Barbara Crabb of the Wisconsin federal court ruled that she does not have the legal authority to make the claims.
That said, Apple is still pursuing the case against Googorola in other US regions, with court dates set for next year to make sure it isn't liable to pay damages on devices with featuring Qualcomm technology, which uses Motorola patents in its designs.
No Crabb-Apples this Christmas
The case being dismissed in Wisconsin is a blow to Apple however, as it was looking to force down the price Motorola is asking to use its essential technology – the company previously said it wouldn't pay more than $1 per handset.
Google, unsurprisingly, issued a statement filled with understated legal glee at the dismissal, claiming that it has always offered what it considers to be a fair price to Apple for the patents.
The bad news for the consumer is that there's no notion of these constant patent wars being settled as the battles continue to play out over many territories and over a number of issues.
The upshot could be higher handset prices, especially in the Android camp, as the likes of Microsoft and Apple attack the OS – hence the reason Google is so intent on leveraging the core assets it has, many of which live within the newly-acquired Motorola stable.
Samsung may finally get some good news in regards to the lengthy legal proceedings the company has been party to alongside Apple in an patent battle that's extending well beyond a jury's August decision.
A United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Friday granted U.S. District judge Lucy Koh the power to rule on a sales ban she imposed on Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1.
That means it's now up to her to decide whether the tab can go back on sale in the U.S., a ban that went into effect at the onset of the trial.
Koh, who presided over the 4-week courtroom tussle between the two tech giants, previously ruled she wouldn't lift the sales injunction on the slate, saying it fell out of her jurisdiction as the matter had gone to the federal appeals level.
With Friday's ruling, the ball's back in her court.
Now that Koh has been granted the power to lift the sales ban, experts believe she'll do just that, bringing the Galaxy Tab 10.1 back on the U.S. market soon.
Despite this new potential positive for Samsung, the company isn't quite done with Apple yet.
On Tuesday, Samsung asked for a new trial against Apple, with claims "no reasonable jury" would have sided with Apple's infringement claims.
For its part, Apple is also bringing another lawsuit against Samsung, claiming the South Korean company damaged the iPhone brand, and hoping to gain another $707 million (around U£435,AU$676) from its chief rival.
Both companies are set to appear before Koh again on Dec. 6 to discuss more post-trial motions, such as other possible bans on Samsung products found to be in violation of Apple's patents.
TechRadar has reached out to Samsung, and will update this story if and when the company responds to a request for comment.
The courtroom battle between Samsung and Apple continues as Apple seeks $707 million more and a Galaxy S3 ban while Samsung alleges juror misconduct.
The continuing saga of the Apple vs Samsung patent war is far from over. In the aftermath of the California trial which ended with a verdict awarding $1.05 billion to Apple, there have been various filings and motions from each of the combatants. It seems neither side was entirely satisfied with the jury’s verdict.
Apple wants more money
Apple filed a motion late on Friday, as reported by Reuters, asking for an additional $707 million on top of the $1.05 billion already awarded. It wants $400 million in damages for design infringement, $135 million for willful infringement of its utility patents, $121 million in supplemental damages, and $50 million of prejudgment interest on damages to see it through until December (we’re not sure where the extra $1 million comes in).
…and a sales ban
The Cupertino company is also seeking a court order for a permanent U.S. sales ban on all of Samsung’s infringing products. It wants the injunction to cover “any of the infringing products or any other product with a feature or features not more than colorably different from any of the infringing feature or features in any of the Infringing Products.”
Most likely it is hoping to extend the ban to cover Samsung’s Android flagship, the Galaxy S3.
But the judge may not grant any additional damage. Stanley M. Gibson, an experienced technology and IP trial lawyer at Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Mitchell, told us: “In terms of the Apple motions, the judge will have to look at those on a product by product basis and given the large verdict already it may be difficult to convince her to award enhanced damages… the more interesting and impactful part of the case will be whether she uses a permanent injunction and how the language of such an injunction is framed if one issues.”
Samsung wants a new trial
Samsung’s lawyers have also been hard at work filing for a mistrial due to juror misconduct. The allegations of juror misconduct focus on the jury foreman Velvin Hogan and his prior knowledge of patent law as a video recording patent holder. In an interview with CNET after the trial juror Manuel Ilagan said of Hogan, “He had experience. He owned patents himself…so he took us through his experience. After that it was easier.”
Hogan also appeared on Bloomberg TV and said of the jury, “Some were not sure of how prior art could either render a patent acceptable or whether it could invalidate it. What we did is we started talking about one… (I) laid it out for them.”
The jury should rely solely on evidence presented during the trial so Samsung will argue that Hogan could have affected the verdict because of his prior knowledge.
In addition to the juror misconduct claim Samsung is not happy about the time constraints applied by Judge Koh. It said, “The Court’s constraints on trial time, witnesses and exhibits were unprecedented for a patent case of this complexity and magnitude, and prevented Samsung from presenting a full and fair case in response to Apple’s many claims.”
Chances of success with this approach are not good for Samsung. According to Stanley M. Gibson, “An argument regarding juror misconduct will be hard to win. It also is not likely that the judge will reconsider her prior limitations on time and judges have wide discretion on these issues.”
The fight goes on
The two companies will meet again in the U.S. in a December hearing where Apple’s motion to get Samsung devices banned will be heard.
They are also engaged in various court battles around the world. Apple lost a case against Samsung and Motorola in Germany earlier this week that focused on its multi-touch patents. There was also a win for Samsung in Tokyo at the end of last month.
Anyone who thought the California verdict was decisive can think again because this one looks set to run on and on.
The mobile world has changed a lot since Nokia last put out a phone that truly wowed large amounts of people. Its tie in with Microsoft spawned some half decent handsets but despite Nokia's best efforts, the world was never truly set alight.
Cue Nokia World 2012 and the announcement of the Nokia Lumia 920. Make no mistake, this is more than a big deal for both Nokia and Microsoft, with both having a lot riding on their respective contributions. Many see it as Nokia's big throw of the dice: make Windows Phone 8 into a top OS and the rewards are huge... fail, and things look ropey for the Finns.
So the big question on everybody's lips is: just how does it shape up against its two current biggest rivals, the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the HTC One X?
(We'll be adding in the iPhone 5 when it's launched on 12 Sept - it's not really fair to use the iPhone 4S at this point)
OS
The Nokia Lumia 920 comes running Microsoft's latest version of its mobile OS, Windows Phone 8, complete with its interactive "Live Tiles" interface.
Both the One X and the Galaxy S3 run Android 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) with custom user interfaces; Touchwiz on the S3 and Sense 4.0 on the One X. Samsung has said that it plans to update the S3 to 4.1 (Jelly Bean) very soon. HTC has also promised its arrival, but has yet to name a timeframe.
HTC One X: Ships with Android 4.0 overlaid with HTC's newest version of Sense
Processor
Nokia have opted for a dual core Snapdragon S4 chip clocked at 1.5GHz, with Nokia standing firm on its belief there's such a thing as too many cores.
Why, might you ask? As Nokia puts it, "why put something you don't need at the expense of battery life?". However on the 'bigger is better' side of the fence, Samsung pops one of its Exynos 4412 1.4GHz quad core's in to Galaxy S3, whereas HTC plumps for the quad core 1.5 GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 chip.
However, in the US all three run the same Snapdragon S4 chip - so the power is pretty even.
Screen
In terms of size, all three devices are rather similar and rather large, with the Lumia 920 measuring in at 4.5 inches, the Galaxy S3 at 4.8 inches and the One X at 4.7 inches.
All three look great, with the Samsung's 306ppi being pipped by the HTC's 312ppi. On the Lumia 920, Nokia have put in 'Nokia PureMotion HD+' which is supposedly better than HD in terms of screen performance. It certainly looks great, but we still can't feel we weren't as 'wowed' as we were when looking at the Super AMOLED HD of the Galaxy S3.
Storage
In the Lumia 920 you'll find 32GB of on board storage, backed up by SkyDrive, Microsoft's cloud storage system.
The Galaxy S3 comes with microSD support on top of Samsung's 16/32/64GB internal drive, whereas HTC decided to only go for 32GB internal storage. However, the former comes with 50GB of Dropbpox of storage, and the latter 25GB from the same source.
Google users also have access to Google Drive, which is Google's answer to the cloud storage question.
Samsung Galaxy S3: Samsung's device comes with 3 different storage size options
Camera
Nokia is playing its trump card in the camera department. Long being known for fantastic camera devices, with Carl Zeiss lenses, Nokia is bringing its PureView technology first seen on the Nokia PureView 808. However, this is placed over the top of a more modest 8MP sensor, with a 1.3MP front facing camera.
It does come with a wealth of fancy features, such as being able to plug in camera apps and optical image stabilisation to help stop blur when you least want it.
Both the Android devices also come with 8MP rear sensors, burst mode for millions of photos per night out, and the HTC also has a 1.3MP front sensor. Samsung, however, has a 1.9MP sensor.
Connectivity
Believe it or not, being the latest breed of smartphones, all three devices come fully loaded with every type of connectivity; 3G/HSDPA, Wi-Fi, (for fast internet browsing on those mega screens), Bluetooth (4.0 on the Galaxy S3 and One X, 3.1 on the Lumia 920), GPS and NFC.
Near Field Communication: With NFC gaining traction, mobile payment is becoming more prevalent
Dimensions and weight
The Nokia Lumia 920 is the shortest phone at 130 x 70.8 x 10.7mm,but the heaviest at 185g. Samsung manages to squeeze in at a similar size of 136.6 x 70.6 but is the thinnest at 8.6 mm, and weighs only 133g.
The HTC, more akin to the Galaxy S3, is the narrowest and lightest at 134.4 x 69.9 x 8.9 mm and 130g.
Battery
Being unreleased, we have yet to have any battery comparisons for the Nokia Lumia 920, but with only a dual core processor, and a 2000mAh battery, we'd be surprised if it wasn't very competitive. Samsung debuted a lot of nifty battery saving tech in the Galaxy S3, and its 2100mAh (removable) battery managed to last a lot better than the 1800mAh (sealed in) offering of HTC.
Early verdict
We can't yet say for sure, as the Nokia Lumia 920 hasn't been released yet, and will hit American shores first in Q4 2012.
That said, Nokia seems to have a device that will continue the strides that the original WP7 Lumia phones made.
As for the other two, both are superb devices in their own right, garnering 4.5 stars each. Maybe you should check out the Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One X reviews to keep yourselves going until we bring your the web's most in-depth Nokia Lumia 920 review.
The battle for your budget tablet affections is really ramping up. Which 7-inch tablet should be commanding your attention?
If you’re in the market for a small tablet (say around the 7-inch mark) then you are spoiled for choice right now. There are some great options on the market, persistent rumors about some impending new releases, and prices are getting competitive. Let’s take a look at the contenders, kicking off with the Android platform.
Our Nexus 7 review makes it pretty clear that Google’s 7-inch Jelly Bean tablet is a beauty. It’s cheap; it’s feature-packed; and it runs the very latest version of the Android platform. With a class-leading quad-core processor and a high resolution IPS LCD screen (1280 x 800 pixels), what’s not to like? The lack of a microSD card slot disappointed some people, and the Nexus 7 depends on Wi-Fi (there’s no mobile network option), but beyond that it’s an impressive piece of kit.
Kindle Fire
Amazon’s offering has been around for a while now. It’s a solid device and Amazon is able to link in a great selection of content, but specs-wise it pales in comparison with the Nexus 7. If you primarily want an e-reader then go for a cheap Kindle. If you want a tablet then go for the Nexus 7. The Kindle Fire simply isn’t the best at anything at the moment, though that may change this week. Amazon is rumored to announce a new Kindle Fire.
Nook Tablet
The Nook Tablet is almost identical to the Kindle Fire when it comes to specs, which puts it behind the Nexus 7 too. It does boast a microSD card slot and slightly longer battery life than its competitors, but is that enough? At the moment, it’s tough to beat the Nexus 7.
Other Android tablets
You may also consider the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) which is freshly available on Verizon’s 4G LTE network, but at $350 we think it has priced itself out of the market. You could pick an older entry in the Samsung Galaxy tablet range for less and there are other options out there including the Acer Iconia Tab range, but none of them measures up to the Nexus 7 when it comes to bang for your buck.
On the Android horizon
There have been various rumors about a Kindle Fire 2. It could be a larger tablet to compete with the iPad, or perhaps it will be another 7-inch tablet with upgraded internals. We’ll have to wait and see, but a Kindle Fire upgrade seems imminent. Amazon enjoyed enough success with the original to make a follow up a foregone conclusion.
We also know that Barnes & Noble is working on a new Nook device. The release date is uncertain, but we can expect something capable of carving out a niche in this competitive space.
iPad mini
Is the iPad mini fact or fiction? We still don’t know, but all those iPad mini rumors just won’t go away. If Apple was to release an iPad mini then there’s no doubt it would represent a real challenge for all these 7-inch Android tablets. The deciding factor could be pricing. Suggestions of superior specs and a comparable price tag simply don’t add up. If Apple was to drop an iPad mini for around the $200 mark and accept a slim profit margin in order to strike out at its competitors then it would certainly do well. We’re not convinced that’s really Apple’s style, though.
The wealth of iPad apps available and Apple’s legion of loyal fans would make it successful even at a higher price point than the competition.
BlackBerry PlayBook
RIM’s original tablet release didn’t set the world on fire, but the software has been updated since then, and the price has fallen. Check out our BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 review to get a feel for what it can do. The latest PlayBook supports 4G, but it certainly isn’t cheap.
What it offers over the Nexus 7: Well there’s a rear-facing camera that can record HD video, but not much else. The price of the U.S. version of the latest BlackBerry PlayBook has not been announced yet, but it could be north of $500 off-contract and that’s way too high to compete.
Microsoft Micro Surface
There were rumors about a 7-inch Microsoft tablet prior to the Surface being announced, but the new tablet turned out to be sporting a 10.6-inch display. The Microsoft Surface was unveiled but there was no word on pricing. If you look at the specs and size, you might wonder why it’s mentioned here at all. Well, Engadget reported that an anonymous source told them that the Surface would ship in October for just $200. That would mean Microsoft would make a loss on each one so it seems unlikely, but if it turned out to be true then the Surface would be a really strong contender.
What should you buy?
It’s a predictable answer, but if you want to buy a budget tablet tomorrow then it has to be the Nexus 7. If you’re willing to wait a while then the next Kindle Fire is likely to be worth a look and there’s always an outside chance that the iPad mini will make an appearance. It will also be interesting to find out what the Surface will cost.
We’ll make sure you know about it if something better than the Nexus 7 comes along.
