Court Will Take a Second Look at Galaxy Tab Sales Ban

Leading in to the drama that unfolded between Apple and Samsung in a California courtroom this summer, an injunction was granted on sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Now, as the landmark case makes its way through what will likely turn into a lengthy appeals battle, Samsung may have a chance to finally lift the ban.

Today, The Federal U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington allowed for reconsideration of the preliminary injunction granted to Apple, which blocked the sale of Samsung's Galaxy Tab in the United States. Judge Lucy Koh, who presided over the case, had previously stated her inability to act on the injunction, according to Reuters.

While Apple was unable to convince the court Samsung smartphones, like the Infuse 4G, required injunctions, Koh granted the sales stoppage on the Galaxy Tab. Apparently, the judge found it feasible that Apple had shown a "likelihood of success" in proving the Galaxy Tab as infringing on the company's patents.

But when the dust settled, and Apple walked away the clear victor with $1.05 billion in damages, the Galaxy Tab wasn't a focal point. While the jury found plenty of examples in regards to patent infringement, the alleged infringement to which Apple based the Galaxy Tab injunction -- an '899 patent -- was dismissed.

Samsung has since argued the injunction must be removed, as the jury didn't find a violation in regards to the Galaxy Tab. With today's move from the Court of Appeals, Koh should have the ability to reevaluate the sales ban.

When Apple's attorneys asked for the preliminary injection to be upheld, the court required Apple to submit a $2.6 million bond, in the event Samsung succeeded. Obviously, it's a fair bet Samsung's attorneys will ask for the court to withhold the bond, now that the Galaxy Tab patent infringement was found to be without merit by the jury.

Moreover, Samsung will more than likely ask for damages sustained as a result of the sales ban. Apple and Samsung are continuing to fight over patents in courtrooms across the globe, with each party taking its share of wins or losses. Most recently, Samsung has indicated it believes there was jury misconduct involved in the original trial.

 

Follow this article's author, Matt Clark on Twitter.

 

Tags: NewsApple v. SamsunginjunctionJudge KohSamsung Galaxy Tab sales ban Here's What You'll Get:The latest Apple news, reviews and how-tosThe hottest articles from MacLife.comYour recommended daily dose of awesome Also, send me e-mail announcements and special offers from Mac

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Black iPhone 5 May Scuff Easily, Still Beats Galaxy S3 in Drop Test

by Matt Clark 2Comments

The iPhone 5, like every Cupertino-designed device, is a real eye-catcher. While adding a reliable case is an obvious choice for protecting such a high-dollar product, plenty of users will forgo physical security in the name of sleek design and a thin profile. But if you're picking up a new iPhone in black, be forewarned the aluminum back may show wear rapidly.

When Apple decided to drop the glass backing of the iPhone 4S in favor of anodized aluminum, there were immediate benefits. Chiefly, the overall weight of the iPhone 5 dropped significantly -- around 20-percent. And that's not even to mention those unsightly, spider-webbed panels thanks to one clumsy fumble.

But as with most design decisions, there are pros and cons. According to some early reports, the black iPhone 5 is extra susceptible to scratches.

A forum user at Overclockers UK (via MacRumors) decided to test out the black aluminum case, by taking a key and SIM card pin to the finish. Looking at the image -- well, it's not pretty.

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New Toys from Samsung: The Galaxy Note II, Galaxy Camera, and Windows 8 Tablets and Phone

All in all, Samsung has pulled together a very nice suite of features. But we wonder a great deal about the efficiency of the Note's general size. We've had an original Note in hand for some time, but after the initial deep dive that goes with learning a new device, we haven't exactly put it through any blisteringly detailed use. Our own biggest problem is that it typically falls short in terms of offering enough functionality to make it a device of choice. And it is simply too large to just carry around as a smartphone.

 It will be interesting to see how - or if - sales for the Note II develop. We greatly applaud the "innovation" but we're not convinced the form factor is a winner.

The Galaxy Camera

Samsung next surprised us by debuting a new camera, and specifically an Android-driven camera. The idea of the camera is to marry both video and optical technology with some smartphone capabilities. To date, most smartphones from most vendors (with the possible exception of Nokia) have offered basic camera functionality along with some software capabilities for editing.

Samsung has opted to take a different approach here - start with a very high end camera concept and then add some mobile operating system capabilities to the mix, so that one ends up with a very sophisticated mobile camera. Hence the Samsung Galaxy camera, shown in the accompanying image.



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Samsung Galaxy Nexus Appeal Denied, Google Pulls Handset from Play Store

The folks at Google certainly aren't having a very good 4th of July after Samsung lost its appeal over a preliminary injunction granted to Apple, which effectively shuts down sales of the flagship Galaxy Nexus handset until a software patch arrives to address the infringement.

Last Friday, Federal Judge Lucy Koh put the smackdown on Samsung, granting Apple's request for a preliminary injunction against Google's flagship Galaxy Nexus smartphone. Samsung quickly appealed, but Koh fired back with a flat-out denial, effectively banning the sale of the Android 4.0 handset.

Although Google hopes to dodge the patent infringement issue with an over-the-air software patch that could arrive anytime, The Verge is reporting that the search giant has already pulled the device from its virtual store shelves on Google Play, where the Galaxy Nexus is simply listed as "coming soon" (as shown above).

But that issue may only be temporary, with Google now claiming the handset will start shipping again next week -- with Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" preinstalled, which presumably addresses Apple's complaints. The HSPA

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Apple Nabs Preliminary Injunction Against Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in U.S.

While it's not quite the final word just yet, Apple scored a victory in its efforts to stomp out Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet on Tuesday night, with a U.S. judge granting the iPad maker's request for a preliminary injunction against the rival slate.

Reuters is reporting that U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh has granted Apple a preliminary injunction against Samsung's Android-powered Galaxy Tab 10.1, one of the few real contenders to its iPad tablet throne.

"Although Samsung has a right to compete, it does not have a right to compete unfairly, by flooding the market with infringing products," Koh's ruling on Tuesday evening reads.

Apple must first post a $2.6 million bond before the preliminary injunction becomes effective, "to protect against damages suffered by Samsung if the injunction is later found to have been wrong."

And there's the rub: Samsung is likely to appeal the ruling in Federal court, which may yet have the final word.

"Apple sought a preliminary injunction of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1, based on a single design patent that addressed just one aspect of the product's overall design," Samsung said in a statement. "Should Apple continue to make legal claims based on such a generic design patent, design innovation and progress in the industry could be restricted."

Some analysts agree with Samsung, claiming that Apple is being too aggressive in trying to squash its rival.

"The relief being given to Apple here is extraordinary," said Colleen Chien, a professor at Santa Clara Law in Silicon Valley. "Preliminary injunctions are rarely asked for and rarely granted.

"That this was a design patent and copying was alleged distinguish this case from plain vanilla utility patent cases," Chien concludes. "Cases involving these kinds of patents are based more on a counterfeiting theory than a competition theory, so I don't expect this case to have ramifications for all smartphone disputes, but rather those involving design patents and the kind of product resemblance we had here."

Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter

 

Tags: NewsappealsApple Inc.Apple vs. SamsungGalaxy TabinjunctioniPadJudge Kohpatent warsSamsungSamsung Galaxy 10.1 Here's What You'll Get:The latest Apple news, reviews and how-tosThe hottest articles from MacLife.comYour recommended daily dose of awesome Also, send me e-mail announcements and special offers from Mac

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Does the Samsung Galaxy S3 Have the Specs to Outperform the iPhone 5?

We still don't know what the Samsung Galaxy S3 is going to look like, but we bet it's going to have the same thin form-factor as its predecessors.

Set to release at a press event in London on May 3, the Samsung Galaxy S3 looks to be the Android smartphone of the moment, packing a speed boost and boasting tight integration with Google's Ice Cream Sandwich OS, along with a few adjective-worthy features and specs. While it's sure to be enough to sell (or ship, rather) a few million units, it remains to be seen how it will stack up against Cupertino's juggernaut.

A source told Andrew Hoyle of CNET UK that the newest member of the ever-expanding Galaxy family will be an incremental update over last year's model, likely in line with the supreme Galaxy Nexus. But, with the iPhone 4S still making major strides and the iPhone 5 waiting in the wings, there are a few key ingredients the Galaxy S3 absolutely must have to keep the heat on Apple.

Display

The Galaxy S2 sported a 4.3-inch WVGA (800 x 480) Super AMOLED with Gorilla Glass display that was slightly improved upon with carrier variants until the Galaxy Nexus blew them all away with a 4.65-inch 1280

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