Apple Granted Injunction Barring Sale of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in European Union

[*LTD*]

What a complete load of crap.

So what's the going rate for a judge these days?
Guess I should call Apple legal... they probably have a rate card for each country.

A complete idiot can tell the difference between the two tablets.
Guess these judges have defined a new standard for idiot.

Yeah, Apple buys off judges all the time.

 

[JamesKay32]

Things like the camera shutter button and the notification system are minor implications.

Wow, you really think you don't look like a raving fanboy? Sorry but that just shows your true colors.

 

[Matariel]

"play catch-up technologically" That's a good one

Android tablets have:
*Better LCDs (higher resolution, better colours/contrast, no light leakage)
*Better cameras (front and back, by a huge margin)
*Often better processors (New Android tablets are on the cutting edge of chip technology, the iPad gets a new chip once a year)

If all we're talking is hardware, Android is ahead in several places.
Form factor is the only advantage Apple has right now, but they're not suing for that.

 

[*LTD*]

Android tablets have:
*Better LCDs (higher resolution, better colours/contrast, no light leakage)
*Better cameras (front and back, by a huge margin)
*Often better processors (New Android tablets are on the cutting edge of chip technology, the iPad gets a new chip once a year)

If all we're talking is hardware, Android is ahead in several places.

Then why do they feel and perform like ass?

Anyone . . . ANYONE can toss in more nuts and bolts, bigger cameras and faster processors. It's easy. That does not a great product make, unfortunately.

 

[ghostface147]

So how does another company create something that isn't remotely close to looking like an iPad physically? Make a giant EVO?

 

[Drunken Master]

As extreme as it is, it really is about time that someone stood up to these asian idea thiefs!

Yeah! Why do people even bother making TV's? They didn't invent that! Damn chinamen! Same with DVD players! Or cars! Only Ford should be allowed to make cars!

 

[Matariel]

Then why do they feel and perform like ass?

Anyone . . . ANYONE can toss in more nuts and bolts, bigger cameras and faster processors. It's easy. That does not a great product make, unfortunately.

Whether it's "good" or not is not the issue here, it's the fact that Android *hardware* is better than an iPad, and Apple decided they have to sue them for it.

I have my own reservations on the merits of Android, mainly the strong emphasis on Java, but so far in this thread everybody has been saying that Apple aren't suing because it's an Android device, it's because it's a certain shape.
I disagree, since Apple has chosen to NOT sue manufacturers who make slate Windows/Linux PCs, and are instead singling out the Android manufacturers.

 

[chirpie]

Android tablets have:
*Better LCDs (higher resolution, better colours/contrast, no light leakage)
*Better cameras (front and back, by a huge margin)
*Often better processors (New Android tablets are on the cutting edge of chip technology, the iPad gets a new chip once a year)

If all we're talking is hardware, Android is ahead in several places.
Form factor is the only advantage Apple has right now, but they're not suing for that.

Wait, isn't this the same device Samsung had to delay releasing because they didn't think it was up to snuff? Were the improvements they implemented really that much better in the interim?

 

[*LTD*]

So how does another company create something that isn't remotely close to looking like an iPad physically? Make a giant EVO?

I guess it's time for the competition to step it up and out-Apple Apple.

Anyone up to the task? It's an entirely different ballgame in 2011 (and beyond, it seems.) The old methods no longer apply. IP law is serious business now and you'd better be able to stand behind what you produce.

There is no problem here whatsoever. Just a higher set of standards for everyone.

 

[TheSilencer]

Yes, Apple changed the market. We all know that. So did Henry Ford - yet, we still allow people to make cars with 4 wheels, doors and a steering wheel. One must have an Apple far up ones ass not to understand how silly some of you look on a daily basis on this board.

+1
Can we please highlight this?

Seriously...Tablets haven´t changed much over the 21 years they exists commercial wise, yet Apple acts as they have the only right to sell them?
Please take some time and look around at the Vintage Computer.
First commercial Tablet PC announced 1989, that linked one is later: GridPAD 2050SL
And general Wikipedia: History of Tablet Computers

So basically every Tablet since the dark ages of computers looks the same. One screen, bit of surrounding material.

And hardware-wise? Does Samsung use an A4 chip? No? But it´s a CPU right?
Do they use the same flash memory as Apple? Yes, because Apple buys most of Samsung´s flash memory for their own products.
Oh right, they are using the same battery right? No? Awell, we can find a dumb german court which thinks so.
Same screen? No? But it´s a touchscreen, so yeah...
And so on.

While I liked Apple Computer Inc. I increasingly hate Apple Inc.

 

[*LTD*]

+1
Can we please highlight this?

Seriously...Tablets haven´t changed much over the 21 years they exists commercial wise, yet Apple acts as they have the only right to sell them?
Please take some time and look around at the Vintage Computer.
First commercial Tablet PC announced 1989, that linked one is later: GridPAD 2050SL
And general Wikipedia: History of Tablet Computers

So basically every Tablet since the dark ages of computers looks the same. One screen, bit of surrounding material.

And hardware-wise? Does Samsung use an A4 chip? No? But it´s a CPU right?
Do they use the same flash memory as Apple? Yes, because Apple buys most of Samsung´s flash memory for their own products.
Oh right, they are using the same battery right? No? Awell, we can find a dumb german court which thinks so.
Same screen? No? But it´s a touchscreen, so yeah...
And so on.

While I liked Apple Computer Inc. I increasingly hate Apple Inc.

Samsung isn't being sued (excuse me, BARRED from selling their device in a key market) over general likeness.

Whether it's "good" or not is not the issue here, it's the fact that Android *hardware* is better than an iPad, and Apple decided they have to sue them for it.\

No, they decided to sue them because they were in violation of Apple's IP.

 

[BlindMellon]

What burns is that the Tab is the better tablet. Had it been out at the same time, I would have gotten it instead of the iPad. At least then I wouldn't have a list of websites and file types that won't work.

 

[RetepNamenots]

The issue here I think is that Apple's physical design is not unique. It is an LCD surrounded by a black bezel and an aluminium back.

I would completely agree if the iPad's design was completely unique, but it isn't. The fact that it was the first on the scene means that it was the first to use this basic design.

The issue lies with the question, how much does Samsung (or any other manufacturer for that matter) have to change in order to avoid problems like these in the future?

A patent for the 'look and feel' in this case is too broad.

 

[Matariel]

Wait, isn't this the same device Samsung had to delay releasing because they didn't think it was up to snuff? Were the improvements they implemented really that much better in the interim?

It was announced in February, they gave away 5000 of them at Google I/O in May, US release was in June.
If there was a delay of any kind, this is the first I've heard of it.

 

[*LTD*]

What burns is that the Tab is the better tablet.

Except that it isn't. At this point, none of them are.

Had it been out at the same time, I would have gotten it instead of the iPad.

It wasn't, for a variety of reasons. Probably because Samsung on their own (without the existence of the iPad), could not have come up with the Tab. As we're plainly seeing now.

 

[rjohnstone]

Samsung isn't being sued (excuse me, BARRED from selling their device) over general likeness.

If you boil it down... yes, they are.
The "patents" Apple is claiming to be infringed are "design" and "look and feel" patents and they are complete crap.
They are so generic it isn't even funny.

See for yourself....
http://www.scribd.com/doc/61944044/Community-Design-000181607-0001


The fact that they seem to have a hard on for Samsung over the issue is really confusing given how many other tablets share similar design features.

Some even have a button on the front... hang 'em right!!!

Except that it isn't. At this point, none of them are.

Pure opinion, not fact.
Ones preferences are personal opinion, not a matter for public debate.

I've used most of the new Android tablets and the Galaxy Tab is smooth as silk compared to many out there, including the iPad. I would say it's no better or worse from a technical perspective than my iPad 2 (yes I own one, shocker I know). I think the iPad 2 is not all the spectacular. The display sucks beyond belief and it really isn't any faster than a Tab, I would actually say it is slower in many cases.
But I have a few apps that are iOS only, so I must use it.

 

[AaronEdwards]

Samsung is essentially the poster boy for copying in the tech industry. They literally had one Galaxy Tab 10.1 design, they showed it at a trade show, and as soon as the iPad 2 was unveiled they went back to the drawing board and instead made something that was as close as possible to the iPad 2. Granted, I don't think the Galaxy Tab 10.1 looks as much like an iPad as the Samsung phones look like an iPhone, but the fact that they changed their design after the iPad 2 unveiling shows that they want to look as much as possible like the market leader.

I know a fair amount of back-and-forth copying is going to happen in the industry. So long as you produce enough innovation that your competitors want to use themselves then you can probably copy your competitors to some degree since you will either officially cross-license patents or you will just not sue one another because you don't want the counter-suit (this is probably protecting the HP TouchPad from Apple at the moment if HP acquired Palm's patents along with the company and Palm did not sell those independently).



If you are interested, go ahead and read this review from an Android developer. Probably the best, most level-headed review I have seen. I don't think Apple is scared of the Galaxy Tab, but scared that folks might associate the Galaxy Tab with the iPad and think the iPad is only as good as the Galaxy Tab.

Copying? You should google Dieter Rams, the man Apple has stolen most of "their" designs from.

 

[Matariel]

Except that it isn't. At this point, none of them are.

IF we're talking pure hardware, which Apple's complaint is based on, there are MANY Android tablets with better specs than the iPad 2.
The Galaxy 10.1 is one of the front-runners, but even the Motorola Xoom has better specs than an iPad 2.

The only thing Apple has as an advantage right now is the software, and Android is very quickly overtaking them in terms of software innovation.

 

[sittnick]

Am I the only one who is a little offended by the continual use or the word "Asian" before using "Thieves" and "Knock-offs", etc? I understand many of these companies are headquartered in Asia, but it just makes me a little queazy to hear people say that.

In the '80's the dig was against Italians (due to weak software copyright laws) that led WordPerfect Corp to state that they had no intention of making an Italian version because the company would "only sell one copy."

Go back to the late 19th century and Charles Dickens was ripping on the Americans who bought obvious copies of his works (only the names of the characters would change).

But you are not going to find an entire Apple Store rip-off in the U.S. or even in Italy. Right now, the lack of proper enforcement in Asia, mostly Red China and Taiwan, but also including large swaths of Russia and the C.I.S., makes a shorthand form inevitable. No one considers that the expression is a reflection on the population at large. Japan is not associated with it, nor are the countries too poor to play (e.g. Sri Lanka).

That said, while stealing code is wrong, I don't have the same propblem with "knock-offs." It would have been horrible if only one auto company could have made floor stick shifters for 17 years, and another one all of the column shifters. The QWERTY keyboard was not worth knocking off, but the designer of it collected no tribute, except indirectly as the original version, which often doesn't buy that much.

 

[RichardBeer]

Death to patents. Give me a free market and not this poor excuse for an aristocracy of pull based mixed economy. Patents crush competition and innovation.

 

[silusesMac]

get em' apple they deserve what they are getting

 

[wovel]

Yeah, because everytime I shop for a Lexus IS250, I think they are all only as good as a Chevrolet J-body because those had 4 wheels and a steering too.

Ridiculous notion is ridiculous. Consumers don't seem to have quite as much "confusion" in other product segments.

Do you really buy your own analogy?

Android tablets have:
*Better LCDs (higher resolution, better colours/contrast, no light leakage)
*Better cameras (front and back, by a huge margin)
*Often better processors (New Android tablets are on the cutting edge of chip technology, the iPad gets a new chip once a year)

If all we're talking is hardware, Android is ahead in several places.
Form factor is the only advantage Apple has right now, but they're not suing for that.

Don't forget no sales and no applications. Oh and every review calls them sluggish.

 

[Acorn]

what is apple pissed about. android software likeness of ios or the actual hardware design. it seems as if this likeness could have been pretty much aimed at anybody. almost all tablets pretty much look the same and many of them use android which is also very similar. what do they want to do sue everyone that competes with them.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

I thought this was quite interesting, from the FOSS Patents page:



The preliminary injunction doesn't mean Apple have won/will win the case; and it seems injunctions are awarded more freely under German law than in the US.

Does anyone know precisely what the infringement is? I'd have thought it's one of the least 'Apple-looking' devices in Samsung's stable.

to me that means the US system is better.

I am also of the opinion if granted an injunction and you loss then you should have to pay the company you got said injunction on all money loss on potential sells at full retail value.
Basically make it at least somewhat risky to demand one.

 

[TennisandMusic]

The courts, through IP law. That's their purpose. Seems like things are moving along nicely now. The system works. The wheat is getting separated from the chaff and we're getting a good look at where everyone stands after a re-shuffling of positions here and there.

Um, no. Everyone involved in the industry thinks the system DOES NOT work. It's a lawyers paradise yes but...