Apple Files Patent Suit Against Samsung Over Galaxy Line of Phones and Tablets

Re:Apple Files Patent Suit Against Samsung Over Galaxy Line ... by Perceval on Monday April 18, 2011 @06:07PM (#2460928)

Windows Phone 7 looks pretty substantially different from iOS. Unlike most of the rapid followers of the iPhone, it looks like Microsoft really tried to rethink a mobile interface. It looks different and fresh, even if it's not the best mobile operating system out there.

Samsung's design isn't just derivative, it's more or less a straight copy. Microsoft illustrates that there's no necessity built into the medium that requires an iOS-like interface.

Apple may forever be chasing "look and feel" violations in vain, but I think they have a point when they say that Samsung's interface is basically just a rip off.

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Re:Apple Files Patent Suit Against Samsung Over Galaxy Line ... by mcantelon on Monday April 18, 2011 @06:42PM (#2461043)

> I think they have a point when they say that Samsung's interface is basically just a rip off.

A grid of icons isn't exactly new. Palm did it before Apple. Windows 3.11 before Palm.

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Re:Apple Files Patent Suit Against Samsung Over Galaxy Line ... by Samuel_Michon on Monday April 18, 2011 @08:50PM (#2461291)

"A grid of icons isn't exactly new. Palm did it before Apple. Windows 3.11 before Palm."

Apple's Newton OS came three years before Palm's Pilot. Apple's Mac System came 8 years before Windows 3.11. They all used grids of icons, it's part of the desktop metaphor. If that were the only thing Samsung copied, I doubt they would be getting sued now.

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Re:Apple Files Patent Suit Against Samsung Over Galaxy Line ... by tvon on Monday April 18, 2011 @08:29PM (#2461248)

There seem to be more similarities than just a grid of icons.

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Re:Apple Files Patent Suit Against Samsung Over Galaxy Line ... by chc on Monday April 18, 2011 @08:26PM (#2461243)

Correction: It's Google's interface. Apple is suing all of Google's hardware partners, but the software Apple is complaining about is Google's. It isn't in the All Things D article, but TechCrunch's coverage includes the important fact that the suit includes the Nexus S, which is stock Android: http://techcrunch.com/2011/04/18/apple-sues-samsung-claims-i...

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Re:Apple Files Patent Suit Against Samsung Over Galaxy Line ... by Samuel_Michon on Monday April 18, 2011 @09:02PM (#2461311)

Samsung doesn't use Google's stock Android UI. It uses its own TouchWiz UI [1], which it also put on its proprietary OS phones and Bada phones.

HTC also doesn't use Google's stock Android UI. It uses its own Sense UI [2], which it also put on BREW and Windows Mobile phones.

Other Android handset makers also created their own custom UIs. Motorola has Motoblur [3], SonyEricsson has the 'UX' platform [4].

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchwiz

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_Sense

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motoblur

[4] http://www.xperiax10.net/2009/11/18/se-launches-nexus-ux-pla...

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Re:Apple Files Patent Suit Against Samsung Over Galaxy Line ... by chc on Monday April 18, 2011 @09:17PM (#2461344)

I know all that, but the Nexus S — which is included in Apple's suit — is completely stock Android as far as I know, so Samsung's modifications seem to be irrelevant to Apple's beef with the phones.

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Re:Apple Files Patent Suit Against Samsung Over Galaxy Line ... by Groxx on Monday April 18, 2011 @08:43PM (#2461276)

Phone vendors customize the default UI pretty heavily sometimes. In this case, it appears they customized it to make it look more like iOS.

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Re:Apple Files Patent Suit Against Samsung Over Galaxy Line ... by chc on Monday April 18, 2011 @09:18PM (#2461347)

As also mentioned elsewhere, the Nexus S — which is included in Apple's suit — is completely stock Android as far as I know, so Samsung's modifications seem to be irrelevant to Apple's beef with the phones.

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Re:Apple Files Patent Suit Against Samsung Over Galaxy Line ... by Groxx on Tuesday April 19, 2011 @07:22PM (#2464635)

/me looks around for Nexus S photos

Yeah, there there's too much of a difference (IMO), especially as the device itself looks substantially different. Android, I think, looks plenty different to avoid the suit - the Galaxy S in particular, though, doesn't. Not sure what their aim is there.

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