The Samsung Galaxy S3 was the first smartphone in forever to overtake the iPhone in terms of sales. The Galaxy S4 looks to capitalize on the success of its predecessor and is expected to sell 10 million units before the end of May.
And with Android firmly entrenched as the world’s most popular mobile operating system, things suddenly aren’t looking great for Apple.
Well, instead of feeling sorry for itself, Apple is going to innovate, expand, and release a lineup of new and exciting products that will win the hearts and minds of consumers all over the world. Just kidding. Apple is trying to defeat its enemies by throwing its piles of cash around in courtrooms.
Apple recently filed a lawsuit against Samsung and its Galaxy S4. Specifically, Apple is trying to convince federal judges and juries to ban Samsung’s flagship device.
Why, Apple?
Last year, Apple won a court battle against Samsung because the Samsung Galaxy S3 looked kind of similar to an iPhone. Apple won that battle and Samsung had to pay over a billion dollars to Apple.
This year, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is significantly larger than the iPhone and looks noticeably different. So instead of attacking Samsung based on the physical characteristics of its devices, Apple has gone after the GS4 for its software – specifically, Android’s Google Now service violates 5 Apple-owned patents regarding Siri, the semi-popular voice search tool on iOS devices.
The 5 patents are:
- U.S. Patent No. 8,086,604 : “Universal interface for retrieval of information in a computer system” (filed in 2004)
- U.S. Patent No. 6,847,959 : (identically named … creative) (filed in 2000)
- U.S. Patent No. 7,761,414 : “Asynchronous data synchronization amongst devices” (filed in 2007)
- U.S. Patent No. 5,666,502 : “Graphical user interface using historical lists with field classes” (filed in 1995)
- U.S. Patent No. 5,946,647 : “System and method for performing an action on a structure in computer-generated data”
First of all, Google Now wasn’t even created by Samsung. It was created by Google. And second of all, most of these patents were filed over a decade ago. They don’t mention voice control, nor do they mention voice navigation. Instead, they use bizarre terms like “asynchronous data synchronization” and stupidly general terms like “interface for retrieval of information in a computer system”.
As if the current state of patent law wasn’t enough of a joke already, this just re-emphasizes the point. I’m starting to think Apple is just trolling Google, Samsung, and the millions of Android users around the world.
Anyways, I wish all the best to Samsung in this battle – the future of smartphone innovation may be riding on it.
