Windows Phone 7 Discussion- GOOGLE Buys Motorola for $12.5bn

[k.sankofa]

thanks much el, i knew you would come good!!!

yeah, the photon is a monster for size. my cheap a$$ can't get off sprint 'cus of my little discount. i think i'll wait for the gs2, if the rumours are to be believed, it comes out sometime this month. samsung within(the name floating for sprint's gs2) it is

One of my girls got one yesterday. Its actually not a bad phone. I thought it was huge but its about the same size as the vibrant and the screen looks nice. I like how its kinda unique in its design a lil. It isnt thin tho and im used to thin phones but i wouldnt advice against it after using it for the whole day yesterday. The OS is still Android tho..and thats a turn off for me.

Btw, the GSII for Sprint will be called the "Within" look for it.

comes out in less than 2wks(16th), ie, if apple doesn't block its release with a court injunction. apple seems to be aggressively going after samsung these days

and the name is epic touch 4g.

there seems to be so many phones coming out . . . i'm kinda confused, and i'm not even that crazy about phones

[k.sankofa]

***

[el Padrino]

Yeah. I don't know why they went with epic touch. But it looks like the best out of all the GS2 phones.

I've been meaning to write about the state of current patent wars going out between Apple vs HTC and Apple and that of Microsoft vs Motorola and Google.

Im not an apple fan. And I really thought they were being petty with their lawsuits. I have a Galaxy Tab at home and I don't see any resemblance towards the iPad. But I saw an ad yesterday for the GS2 white version and it is a blatant rip off of the iPhone 4. I was actually shocked when I saw it.

I doubt it will be an issue in the US though as they have modified the shapes enough to avoid confusion. The epic touch is a sweet looking phone tho

[k.sankofa]

it's all about protecting its market share. the competition is heating up. the gs2 for instance is said to have been very well received.

apple recently won a preliminary injunction against the gs2 in the netherlands so i'm assuming it will try to block the release of variants of the gs2 on the u.s. market.

i don't believe the scope of the injunction is that broad though and seem to cover something the samsung can easily change in future phones should a permanent injunction be granted.

[el Padrino]

Well the injunction is based on trade dress. Which means that Samsung copies the look and presentation of the iPhone and iPad. In the US, the GS2 is sufficiently different and Samsung will be incredibly dumb of they put them in iPhone like packages like they did in Europe.

[k.sankofa]

thanks el! i don't know much about these technical stuff. i assume apple ultimately wants to impede android's growth

[el Padrino]

U gotta understand that Android is stolen. So Apple is the least of Androids concerns. Oracle and Microsoft is the ones you should be worried about. Google took code that didn't belong to them and made it into Android and then decided that since they're giving it away for license-free,they shouldn't pay any licenses to anyone.

Well no one does anything for free. GOOGLE gets money from people USING Android, so basically they transfer all the blame to the manufacturers. That's why Microsoft is going after all the manufacturers and plucking them one by one like fruits.

To counter this, Google bought Motorola and their "22000" patents. Well guess what Microsoft already sued Motorola and looking like they're gonna win. So the next couple of months will be incredibly important for Android. There's a reason no one did what they did. Its costs money. Money Google didn't want to spend cos they thought they were too big And could fight whoever dared oppose them

[k.sankofa]

i see.

one would have thought it would have been more efficient to go after google and join these other companies in the suit rather than individual claims. and then again, in a suit against google, it'll be difficult to prove damages since google is "not selling" the technology.

it will probably be a good thing to read some about these issues. a little interest in tech in this age will go a long way.

[el Padrino]

Oracle is suing Google because they're the ones that stole the code.

Microsoft is suing the manufacturers because they are the ones making phones and making money. Google basically gives them the code and washes their hands off it.

This also works in Microsofts favour because they can get money from Samsung, HTC, Motorola, LG, ZTE, Huawei etc. Word is that the Entertainment and Devices division gets these "royalties" so Android is actually paying for Windows Phone development.

Another interesting fact is that Google before Google bought Motorola, Moto had planned on suing other Android makers for infringing on their IP. Imagine the kind of chaos this would have brought into the once happy Android family

I believe that was a bluff to get Google to move fast. Apparently, all Motorola's good patents have been sold off and they conned Google into spending money quickly without doing due deligence. Microsoft might have played a part too in feigning interest in Motorola for their "patents." Google is showing a lot of naivity in their negotiations. Its seems they're letting their coolness get to their head. Facebook, a similarly young company for example, is acting pretty maturely compared to Google.

[k.sankofa]

Samsung's Galaxy tablet computer pulled from show

BBC's Rory Cellan-Jones: Apple "is fighting very hard to stop others getting a share of that market"

Samsung Electronics will not promote its new tablet computer at one of the world's largest electronics shows after sales of the product were blocked in Germany.

The new Galaxy Tab 7.7 was pulled out of the IFA electronics fair in Berlin.

On Friday a Dusseldorf court granted a request from Apple to ban Samsung from selling the product in Germany.

The two rivals are locked in a global patent war over their smartphone and tablet products.

"Samsung respects the court's decision... and therefore decided not to display any more the Galaxy Tab 7.7 in the IFA," the company said in a statement, according to AFP news agency.

The new court injunction comes after a temporary ban on sales in Germany of another Samsung product - the Galaxy Tab 10.1 - by the court in August.

Ongoing battle

Apple claims that South Korea's Samsung has infringed its patents with the Galaxy line of smartphones and tablet computers.

It argues Samsung copied the design, look and feel of Apple's popular iPhone and iPad devices.

Samsung has counter-sued Apple, saying it infringed Samsung's wireless patents.

The two companies have been fighting legal battles in the US, Europe, South Korea and Australia since April.

In Australia, Samsung has already been forced to delay the introduction of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 twice.

Galaxy Tab

Samsung was planning on displaying its Galaxy Tab 7.7, as well as other new devices, at this year's IFA.

The electronics fair is one of the most important showcases for companies looking to attract European consumers.

The injunction means it will miss out on the opportunity.

However, Samsung said it would take "all available measures, including legal options" to maintain its presence in the European market.

A company spokesman was quoted by AFP as saying that the court ruling "severely limits consumer choice in Germany".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14783608

[el Padrino]

Those Germans.

Samsungs got a hill to climb. I really think this injunction is unfair. Samsung hasnt even had a chance to present a defense. Furthermore, i really really dont think the galaxy tab looks anything like the ipad. Matter of fact, Samsung can argue- and i assume they have lawyers who do their job, they will - that the Galaxy Tab is just the continuation of the design language that started with their photo frames.



Source: http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/04/sams ... oto-frame/
Thats was from 2006. Way before the ipad was even conceived. My tab looks almost exactly like that picture.

[el Padrino]

Some more news in these patent wars. HTC is in the process of buying a company thats suing Apple(S3G). Looks like the suit is legit and apple will be found guilty of infringing S3G patents. If they're successful, HTC will have a huge bargaining tool because Apples pretty much got them by the balls right now. Apple actually suggested to the judge that HTC has nothing to lose by being stopped from making Android phones because they are also a Windows Phone OEM.

That looks like Apple isnt scared of the challenge WP7.5 poses to it or its just looking out for its Frenemy Microsoft. Cos when it comes to patents in the mobile space. No one has more valuable patents than MS.

[k.sankofa]

i think the injunctions are all preliminary/temporary and meant to uphold the status quo until the cases are decided on the merits. for a prelim injunction, i believe apple just needs to show some probability of success on the claims and the likely harm it would suffer should samsung be permitted to sell the products in question.

i'm sure apple will try to block the release of the gs2 variants on the u.s. market, especially, with the iphone 5 schedule to hit the market soon.

[el Padrino]

Well its official, Apple has successfully upheld the injunction against Samsung thereby barring Galaxy Tabs from being imported into Germany. This ruling only affects Germany but its a dangerous precedent that has been set.

Apple vs HTC is ongoing too as Google has "sold" 9 patents to HTC and HTC has filed a countersuit against Apple using those 9 patents. Dont forget HTC is in the process of buying S3 Graphics, a company already suing apple for infringing on its patents. HTC really needs some of these to stick because Apple WILL NOT settle. They'll take a chunk of money and will deny a license. HTC will have to redesign the function of their phones to avoid infringing those patents.

In the most important(in my opinion for Android) lawsuit, the judge has ordered the CEOs of Google and Oracle to set down and work out a settlement. Its very very obvious that Google will lose this case and if it goes to trial, that could signal the end of Android as Oracle DOES NOT have to grant them a license. Moreover, Google will have to pay triple damages somewhere in the 10-11digit range. If this settlement agreement is to work, Google will most likely have to cut a very large check and will most likely have to agree to a royalty agreement where Oracle gets a cut of every android license and maybe part of Googles advertising revenue. This effectively will make Android, no longer "free"(as if it were to begin with)

In other small news, HTC has reportedly been looking to buy its own OS and Samsung is rumored to be dropping WP7 at the end of 2012. Samsung has always said Bada was going to be its OS for the future but it looks like MS isnt doing enough to change their mind. Sammy would be dumb to drop Android and i believe even with the taxes their soon about to pay, they still print money with those phones.


Apple has also been hinting that Andy Rubin came up with Android while working for Apple in the late 90s. That would effectively make Android an Apple property. I guess theyre just testing the waters for a future lawsuit. The shyts about to get real.