It was a busy week for Apple. The company suffered several setbacks in its legal battle against Android, or at least companies who are making Android products. For Apple's disputes in the U.S. and Australia, these are only minor setbacks since the loss was only in a request for a preliminary injunction. However, it's a big victory for Samsung since it means they'll be able to continue to sell their devices through the holiday season. During the show, we discussed these rulings and took an in-depth look at the arguments.
Along with that big news, we also discussed the possibility of the Nokia Lumia hitting T-Mobile. The carrier sent out invitations for an event on the 14th and we're 99% sure they plan on announcing the Lumia 710. We also got some leaked info on new BlackBerry devices coming in 2012 and we discussed the recent Dogfight Aaron posted with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the Motorola Droid RAZR.
PhoneDog Live Podcast #29
The crux of this topic was covered in the analysis linked above. Read that for an in-depth look at the U.S. case. Here are a few interesting and stand-out points that we discussed in addition to this report:
- Samsung appears to be using Apple's own design strategy against the company. Apple is known for using a minimalistic design for all of its products. Samsung makes the argument that "under this theory of design, ornamentation is stripped down to pure functionality, and therefore, … the D'677 and D'087 [iPhone-related] patents are invalid based on functionality." This is an interesting tactic for Samsung, but an effective one.
- When reading the arguments from Samsung and Apple, you can see how much their approach and views vary on crucial matters. Apple keeps talking about design: "Apple argues that product design is an important driver in consumer demand". The company says that design is what drives their success, design the most important thing to consumers, and that Samsung is harming them by diluting their design uniqueness. Samsung says "the ordinary observer buying an expensive electronics device will be particularly attentive to smaller details." Samsung focuses, not only on design, but other hardware aspects, features, and performance stats. However, despite what Apple says about design, the Court basically says the company has no evidence to back up its statements. Apple probably feels like the misunderstood artist.
- In the article, I discussed an argument that I've heard often: Sure both the iPad and Galaxy Tab look similar, but there is no other way to design a tablet. They'll all look the same just like all TVs, cars, and pens look the same. Here's another one I've heard: What about the difference in aspect ratio? The Galaxy Tab is more narrow than the iPad. Does that not account for anything? Here is a statement from the Court: "Even considering minor differences in the aspect ratio, the thickness, the brand markings on the bak of the tablet, and the existence of a physical button on the center screen, the Samsung product would be considered substantially similar 'in the eye of an ordinary observer' to the Apple products."
It has not been a good week for Apple but it's not over yet. The losses in the U.S. and Australia were simply related to requests for a preliminary injunction. Both companies still have to go to trial. So we don't know for sure how either one of these cases will end. Be sure to keep it on PhoneDog and we'll continue to update the story.
43:00 - Open Q&A
