A German court Friday threw out Samsung’s patent-infringement lawsuit against Apple. The South Korean smartphone maker had claimed the iPhone maker violated a patent related to 3G wireless communications. Samsung had filed seven patent violation claims against Apple in Germany.
In the war between Apple and Android, there are no holiday breaks. That incessant back-and-forth could be seen in how many devices were activated during the Christmas weekend. According to a mobile analytics firm, Apple destroyed Android in places like the U.S., the U.K. and Germany, often spearheaded by the iPod touch and iPad.
Does talk of the Euro economic crisis make your eyes glaze over? Perhaps this will get your attention: The down European economy is costing the iPhone marketshare as consumers keep a tight hold on their cash. The bright side: the U.S. and U.K. love of everything Apple has become stronger.
Apple is unlikely to convince German courts to block sales of Samsung’s newly-revised Galaxy Tab 10.1N tablet. That’s the opinion of one report, citing comments that the device “has moved sufficiently from the legally protected design.” In this instance, looks are everything and the South Korean company appears to have dodged a legal bullet using cosmetic sleight of hand.
The courtroom battles between Apple and Samsung seem never-ending. The latest chapter: Apple now claims its South Korean patent pal is copying not just smartphones and tablets, but also their cases. During an Australian court hearing, Samsung’s lawyer said Apple believes the cases infringe 10 patents.
Samsung dropped its lawsuit against Apple in Germany after discovering a Qualcomm licensing agreement could shield the iPhone 4S from 3G patent-infringement charges. The South Korean smartphone maker later denied it was letting Apple completely off the hook.
In the ever-changing patent wars, somedays you are the windshield and some days you are the bug. After coming up roses Thursday, Apple finds itself on the losing side against Samsung and Motorola.
With every new iPhone, we know to expect a faster processor and faster GPU. However, a weird report coming out of Germany says that Apple isn’t just testing new CPUs and GPUs for the next generation of iPhone… they are also testing some truly bizarro resolutions that could indicate that Apple will radically redesign the iPhone in 2012 to be even higher resolution and with an entirely new aspect ratio.
Despite a preliminary injunction granted Motorola Mobility on Friday, Apple continues to sell products in Germany. The tech giant has a two-week window until it must argue why a court’s default judgement should be reversed, averting the possible stop of retail and online sales in the nation.
Since Steve Jobs passed away on October 5, we’ve seen a stack of awesome of tribute images created from MacBook parts, Minecraft building blocks, and even salt. However, this has to be one of my favorite: a portrait of Steve created with 4,001 Post-it notes.
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