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Google Covering Defense Costs and Damage Awards for Four Patents in Apple/Samsung Case
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They started off very focused and what-not....I think most people today do not know what Google did (compared to many of their contemporaries) to get as famous (in a positive way; not in a Microsoft way) as it is, or more people would be more disappointed in them. They are not trending in a good direction with any of their products or tendencies IMO.
Speaking hypothetically, if something happened to their ad revenue I think they'd be as hard-pressed to survive as any internet startup. Their magic from the search engine days seems to be gone. Like Microsoft having shot their proverbial Windows+Office "wad", they now seem intent on failing dramatically in as many other markets as they can, while propping themselves up the stupid amounts of Google and YouTube ad-revenue. I was around before Google, I loved Google for what they were and how they did it. What they do and how they do it today, by comparison, is grotesque.
To me this sounds like a case of Google (being a cash cow) purposefully bankrolling and indemnifying the bold-faced copying of a domestic competitor's IP by a foreign company. IANALawyerOrCongressperson, but I'm surprised this is legal....even here in the US.
And yes, since you segued into Google's other ventures, it p***es me off that just because I used YouTube (i.e. have an account so I can subscribe to feeds and create playlists) that Google feels the need to dick with my account so I can be forced to have access to the rest of their services for which I have no interest AT ALL.
Why can't they be happy I'm paying them by watching ads on their damn videos? Not good enough why?
And why do their fans think I need to love all their stupid services or else I'm a Google-hater? That's just dumb.
Why bother with Google to search when duckduckgo does it just fine.
Agree...not bad results, much better privacy too.
For those not familiar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DuckDuckGo
I bought it new (2011) and still have this phone (iPhone 4) and have never once experienced the issue - with or without a case. (I stopped using a case about a year ago when I wore out the bumper case.)
I will posthumously second Steve and say you were holding it wrong.
It IS a non-issue.
It was only a real issue for those that get their income on a per-click basis.
Same for almost every sling the Googlsungdroid crowd has slung at IOS. (I can't think of any exceptions, but I guess there must be at least one.)
For all the bandied "catchup" that the Googlesungdroids like to tout, not one of those features has actually made the device or experience better - many made it worse.
It's not supposed to be a game of "whose list of features is longer." That's a sure path to junk software.
For My Own Two Cents
My 2nd Gen iPod Touch (2009) is by far my favorite of my IOS devices. Not coincidentally it also has the absolute least number of "catch up" features of all my devices.
- It turns on instantly -- I can get a fresh weather report from the AccuWeather app in about 2 seconds - including the time it takes me to pick up the Touch and turn it on! So I mean INSTANT.
- It never crashes. Nor do the apps.
- It multitasks everything I need it to (music/pandora in the background, etc.).
- Even after all the years it has crazy battery life. (Apple has not slouched in the battery dept...just had to throw this one in.)
I am only now (2014) beginning to wish for newer compatible apps, but there are still the tons I already have for it (and still use). If I were to add anything to it, I'd add maybe access to shared iTunes libraries and/or a built-in mic.
Obviously the market is still stuck in Wintel-mode and won't be making any user-friendly changes in the direction of this kind of simplicity and functionality any time soon....Apple-included, at least for the foreseeable future.
Instead we can look forward to a continuation of the "bigger is better" mentality.
I say too bad for us all.
-Matt
As a still-current owner of an iPhone 4, and someone who doesn't use a bumper or case whatsoever, I'll say it is occasionally an issue.
If I'm ever in an area with a weak signal, I'll have to hold it with my thumb along the middle of the left side, my index finger along the middle of the top, and my middle finger along the middle of the right. I call it the Eagle Claw Method, and it's the only way I can keep from dropping calls.
This is opposed to just popping it in the palm of my hand and holding it up to my ear, which is apparently "wrong".
We all know the symptoms from antenna-gate.
The point is that it's barely an issue, not that it doesn't exist. You would use a case (or switch phones) and cure the issue if it was any more than a non-issue.
-Matt
We all know the symptoms from antenna-gate.
The point is that it's barely an issue, not that it doesn't exist. You would use a case (or switch phones) and cure the issue if it was any more than a non-issue.
-Matt
Yeah, but there is a certain expectation of quality with Apple devices. When you spend X amount of many dollars for what you believe to be the best, having to rely on 3rd party work-arounds to fix a design issue is...well...sub par.
Though on the flip side, I do understand that mistakes do happen, and not everything can be 100% perfect 100% of the time. But I always thought it was strange that all the people who claim they buy Apple because of their reputation for quality are so quick to dismiss any substantial usability flaws.
Yes, it is clear that you're not a lawyer because it is clear that you don't know what indemnifying is, you don't know why Google is doing that, you don't know what patents are at play.
We all know the symptoms from antenna-gate.
The point is that it's barely an issue, not that it doesn't exist. You would use a case (or switch phones) and cure the issue if it was any more than a non-issue.
-Matt
It exists. Steve acknowledged it existed. Apple gave away free bumpers to silence the masses and put on a dog and pony show trying to throw other manufacturers under the bus as if it mattered.
You shouldn't have needed a case for the phone. That's a bandaid on a device that Apple prided itself on being "art."
Just because you didn't experience an issue or weren't affected by it doesn't make it a non-issue.
But that's neither here nor there. I brought it up not to discuss the issue as real or not. I brought it up to indicate how "helpful" Steve was in solving a customer issue. He wasn't. He blamed the customer. Me. And others.
Small or insignificant - it's poor customer service to respond the way he did. Better to not respond at all.
It's silly to try to single Apple out as having some need to be perfect.
They never have been perfect - only better than most/all their competition - so I can't say where a perception like that comes from. It's totally unrealistic. We can detail their imperfections going product by product starting back in 1977 if you like.
They design better products - even when all the flaws are accounted for - and that's what people buy them for. Simple as that. You disagree? You have to take it up with the people.
I'm glad I made myself so clear to you.
You must drink a glass of awesome for breakfast every morning.
Talk to the antenna-gate people about making a mountain out of a mole-hill. If it was anything other than a non-issue, it wouldn't be possible to go through the entire life of the device without encountering the issue as so many people have.
Definitely better not to respond at all. Without all the click-fest that was antenna-gate, Apple would probably have refunded money to a few folks for their iPhone 4's that were in really shi**y reception areas to begin with, everyone would have been happy, nobody else would have noticed. Just another minor bug on another cutting edge tech device....which hasn't been news since the 80's.
If someone wanted to be real about their criticism of the iPhone (or IOS, or OS X, or Macs, or Apple) I could make a real solid list to work from....but this B.S. antenna issue is not on it.
-Matt
Again - just because that's your use case doesn't make it a fact. No matter how many times you repeat the same comments.
I wonder if the CEO of Samsung or Google would do the same and directly respond with a resolution.
Btw...you were holding it wrong. I had a Skyrocket as well and was able to affect the cell and wifi signal when I wrapped my hand around the phone.
Affect and kiil the signal are two different things. I was never able to recreate the issue I had with my iphone with my S2 Skyrocket.
And again - it really doesn't matter if all phones do it to some degree - that doesn't excuse the 1st snarky reply nor can anyway say it's not an issue. It's an issue.
actually
They're both pretty damn American.
"do whatever we can at all costs in the name of the mighty dollar, and damn everything else"
I'm laughing so hard, there goes my ab workout for the day. I think it's important to understand how much of Apple products are made up of NON-AMERICAN innovation.