Although Samsung continues to supply parts for a range of Apple devices, making Apple the Korean company’s largest customer, the pair don’t seem to have the best relationship these days. They are currently involved in a number of legal spats which has seen Apple accuse Samsung of copying the iPhone and iPad with its Galaxy range of smartphones and tablets, but before the courtroom battles began, Steve Jobs gave Samsung the chance to put things right.
The back and forth between Samsung and Apple in the courts is getting ridiculous. For months, the two companies have been in the middle of a heated series of ‘copycat’ lawsuits, with Apple originally accusing Samsung’s Galaxy line of infringing on the Cupertino company’s patents and trademarks.
Whether or not Apple is right about all of its claims, it’s hard to deny that Samsung hasn’t received a little “inspiration” from Apple’s products.
Although much of the tech news bandwidth has been consumed with chatter about the Apple iPhone 5, Samsung has shipped 10 million Android-powered Galaxy S IIs smartphones — before touching foot on U.S. soil. Many expect the Samsung v. Apple battle to be the cage fight of cellular titans.
Samsung could wait even longer to begin sales of its Galaxy Tab in Australia. A Federal Court judge hinted she may okay a “brief” injunction while she studies Apple’s patent-infringement claims. The suggestion came during the start of a two-day court hearing on whether sales by the Korean tablet manufacturer should be halted in Australia.
Samsung is asking a Dutch court to force Apple to pay patent licensing fees or impose a ban on iPhone and iPad sales. The lawsuit announced Friday comes on the heels of the South Korean company warning it will be more aggressive with the tech giant.
Apple says Samsung's phones and tablets, like the Galaxy S above, rip off its designs.
Samsung, once regarded as a “frenemey” of Apple, is quickly turning into just an enemy. The South Korean chipmaker who also competes with the Cupertino, Calif. tech giant’s iPhone and iPad is now threatening to get medieval on Apple.
Chinese pirates beware: Apple has more patents and it knows how to use them. China granted the tech giant 40 patents covering the iPad, iPhone and even its retail stores. Long bedeviled by faux iPhones and retail location ripoffs, the Cupertino, Calif. company now has legal protection for its popular products.
In a bit of Silicon Alley schizophrenia, Apple is both suing Samsung in court and relying upon the South Korean chipmaker for the core of its upcoming iPhone 5 handset. Despite well-publicized flirtations with other chipmakers, the tech giant is tied to its rival — for now.
We’ve been pretty confident since Apple announced the iPad 2 that the next-generation iPhone would feature the company’s dual-core A5 processor, but in case you needed photographic evidence, here’s what is claimed to be an iPhone 5 logic board with that A5 processor built-in… But we’re not sure it’s really an iPhone 5.
Even before it has even appeared on shelves, the iPhone 5 already is set for a lawsuit. Samsung plans to challenge Apple in court to prevent the next-generation handset reaching South Korean soil, according to a Monday report.
If you keep up to date on your Apple news, then you hear the numbers. Market share, market share, market share. It’s always about comparing Apple and Android’s dominance.
We’re all familiar with how the big players are doing in terms of market share. Companies like Google, Apple, Samsung, RIM, Nokia and HTC make the headlines every day. But what about the 36% of the mobile market that doesn’t get mentioned? That chunk of the cell phone space usually gets dubbed as the “other” part of your typical analyst graph. The graphs basically say, “Nothing to see here, move on.”
Just who are these no-name phone makers that are outselling all of the industry’s ‘top dogs’?
The fallout from Apple’s lengthy battles with Samsung has started. The tech giant has inked a contract with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to produce the A6 and successors. The move ends an exclusive deal with the Korean Samsung to produce chips for Apple’s iOS devices, according to a Friday report.
The long-running dispute between Apple and Samsung has erupted again, this time in an unrelated insider-trading trial. The former manager of Samsung’s U.S. division told a New York City court he leaked shipment data of LCD screens destined for the iPad to a Calif. financial analyst.
In the current wave of patent wars, Google has become an arms supplier, buying technology from other firms to increase Android’s ability to fight back against Apple. In its latest purchase in the Silicon Valley’s version of an arms bazaar, the Internet giant snapped up 1,023 IBM patents.
Apple wants courts to pause lawsuits with Motorola Mobility, claiming the Schaumberg, Il. company transferred ownership of contentious patents to Google. The legal wrangling cannot be settled until the Android maker’s acquisition of Motorola is finalized, the Cupertino, Calif. company charges.
In the case of a German judge, looks are everything when deciding to permanently ban Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 in that European nation. “For the informed customer there remains the predominant overall impression that the device looks” like Apple’s iPad, a Dusseldorf court ruled Friday.
Japan is the next stop in Apple’s far-reaching attempt to stop the spread of Samsung rival devices. The tech giant has filed suit in Tokyo asking the court to suspend sales of the Galaxy S and Galaxy S II smartphones, as well as the Galaxy Tab 7 tablet. The Galaxy S is outselling the iPhone in this tech-obsessed Asian nation.
An Australian judge suggests Apple pony up some iPad sales figures to bolster its argument for barring sales of Samsung’s Galaxy 10.1 tablet. Although it is was only a suggestion, the tech giant may have to disclose sales in the UK and U.S. – something Samsung attorneys have demanded.
Apple has already overtaken Nokia as the smartphone leader when it comes to the number of units manufactured, but according to a forecast from DigiTimes, the Cupertino company could also overtake the once unbeatable Finnish phone vendor in shipments by the end of this year.
When HP killed its TouchPad, dropping the price to $99, the PC maker set off a firestorm of interest in the tablet that nobody previously wanted. Now HP said it will restart manufacturing for a limited time to meet what it says is “unfulfilled demand.”
In one of those rare Cumbaya moments in the wild-and-wooly wireless industry, Samsung wants all Apple, Android, and BlackBerry to join hands in messaging togetherness. Okay, moment’s over. Samsung, which is locked in a legal mud-wrestling match with Apple and eyes BlackBerry-maker RIM the way a hungry tiger looks at a wounded gazelle, plans to announce “ChatON”, a messaging service compatible with all major mobile handsets.
Let’s just take a few minutes away from the stories surrounding Steve Jobs and Tim Cook and talk about the iPad 3. We know it’s not going to launch this year — I’d have put money on that from day one — but according to one report it could go into production as early as October… without Samsung on-board.
Samsung had used the Netherlands as a loophole against an EU-wide ban on its products. That option is now closed after a Netherlands court rules the Korean company’s smartphones violate Apple patents. The decision could tie a knot in Samsung’s distribution chain, the latest win for the Cupertino, Calif. iPhone maker.
Despite a rumored delay to the launch of the third-generation iPad, Apple is continuing to piece together its iPad 3 supply chain, which is now said to include three primary LCD makers that will supply the device’s much-anticipated Retina display.
Samsung’s in trouble. The Korean electronics giant is being sued by Apple in just about every market for copying Apple’s iOS, iPhone and iPad designs… and Apple’s winning. Worse, Samsung’s biggest mobile partner, Google, just bought out one of their main smartphone competitors, Motorola, for $12.5 billion. Now that Google has an Android hardware team in-house, how much longer will third-party smartphone makers like Samsung be given equal access to the Android operating system?
It’s a tight spot, and Samsung knows it’s in trouble. Samsung boss Lee Kun-Hee reacted to the news of Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobiity by telling top managers on Monday to “boost software prowess, patent pools and talent,” as well as seek out opportunities for mergers and acquisitions. Samsung — probably correctly — thinks this will be a quicker way to boost the prowess of their own in-house mobile OS, Bada.
Well, bada bing, bada boom, because a huge acquisition opportunity may have just presented itself. After a single round, HP just threw in the towel on webOS, a mobile operating system they purchased along with Palm back in 2010 for $1.2 billion.
We’re just spitballing here, but maybe Samsung should buy webOS and the Palm business out from under HP? Here’s why it could be a good move.
