According to Samsung, “Apple claims that the iPad’s design is exclusively its own, but the design existed long before the iPad,” found in the The Korea Times. Following Samsung’s demands for a preliminary injunction against the new iPhone 4S in France and Italy; it seems that Apple’s iPad design rights in Europe have been filed for nullification. The application at hand was filed originally on August 9th at the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM).
If the whole ordeal turns out in Samsung’s favor, then Apple’s cases in Europe against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 would probably see a change in verdict. According to critics, Apple’s design rights were too basic and were mentioned to be applicable to a variety of different products including digital photo frames, TVs, and basically any item with a simple display around the border.
Regardless of what critics said though, the German courts awarded Apple an injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1. The injunction was initially effective across Europe but later ended up being an issue for sales in Germany specifically. The Samsung Galaxy Tab was found to be copying Apple’s registered iPad design, which is why a judge continued to uphold the ban.
Samsung seems to firing back by trying to block the sales of the iPhone 4S in European countries due to 3G WCDMA related patent infringement. It has been said that more injunction requests will be filed in the near future.
Furthermore, after many customers were complaining about the iPhone 4S, Samsung saw this as an opportunity to flaunt its Galaxy S II. The rival smartphone maker created a comparison sheet which compared the Galaxy S II to Apple’s iPhone 4S, as noted by the folks over at The Unlockr.
The comparison highlights the areas where the Galaxy S II comes out on top when being compared to the iPhone 4S which include the fact that the S II has 4G, an AMOLED display, a larger screen, a stronger front-facing camera, better video capture/playback, weighs less, has a removable battery, can be used as an HDTV remote control, has an external memory slot for a microSD card, and is boasting more affordable pricing with no memory limitations. The company also seems to point out that unlike Apple, it will begin selling the device on the T-Mobile network next week as well.
The topic of Apple being a “closed ecosystem” also came up and Samsung tried to flaunt the fact that Galaxy S II users have a choice to purchase music from a variety of different services, the choice to use multiple cloud services, and the option to use a variety of different video clients. All of which, can’t be done on Apple’s iOS platform as users are restricted to using the App Store and services such as iCloud.
With Samsung already seeking injunction against the iPhone 4S, the rival companies continue to complicate their relations with one another. I personally don’t think this back and forth between the two will get anywhere productive for the tech industry. Eventually one of the two will come out on top and as of right now, it seems like it will be Apple. As per Samsung’s spec sheet comparing its Galaxy S II to the iPhone 4S, I personally feel that hardware isn’t the reason why people go for the iPhone or Apple products as a whole, but rather the software and user experience – which I personally think is much better on the iPhone.
What do you think of the whole situation between Apple and Samsung? On another note, will you be purchasing the iPhone 4S or have you already gotten/plan on getting the Galaxy S II? Share your thoughts and opinions below!
Source: The Korea Times, The Unlockr
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