The Smartphone Patent Wars

As we’ve mentioned before on this blog, the mobile phone and operating system you choose is often quite a territorial decision. It’s a bit like living in London – if you are born and bred in Bermondsey, then Swiss Cottage might give you nosebleeds, whereas if you are from North of the river and get invited to a party in Elephant & Castle, you’ll probably use any excuse you can think of to avoid going that far South.

We’ve got Android, Apple, BlackBerry, and Windows users in the office, and Friday night drinks can sometimes get a little bit heated as we compare size, specs, and prices.

But we are going to let you in on a secret…

It doesn’t matter!

Or, rather, it only matters to the lawyers.

Android vs. iOS

There have been more than fifty lawsuits worldwide between representatives of Apple phones and Samsung phones, and whilst it is the patent suits between these two companies that usually get all the press, the very first suit in the so-called ‘Smartphone Patent Wars’ was Nokia vs. Apple.

The original federal complaint in the ongoing battle between Samsung and Apple was made in April 2011, against several Samsung phones and tablets. Specific claims included “patent infringement, false designation of origin, unfair competition, and trademark infringement.” 

Since then there have been a number of both vague, and specific, claims made by each company against the other.

Both utility and design elements have been called into question, for example the “pinch to zoom” function, which is now found on most devices, as well as methods of synching, and certain parts of the mobile infrastructure technology.

In one British case in July 2012, with Samsung demanding that Apple admit their Galaxy tablets were not iPad copies, a judge ruled in favour of Samsung. His ruling included the somewhat double-edged statement that the Galaxy tablets “do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design” and that Galaxy’s tablets “are not as cool.”

An end to the war

Thankfully, as of June 2014, both Samsung and Apple have signed an agreement to end all lawsuits outside of the U.S. 

This doesn’t mean that the suing and counter-suing will end, but it should simplify matters somewhat.

Going forward

Whilst the very nature of published patents means that your rivals can see what you’re up to, it also means that we – as consumers and enthusiasts – can gain access to the sorts of rumours that we love.

As well as the rumours regarding the upcoming Galaxy S6, some of the patents that have been awarded to Apple recently have seen speculations about the iPhone 7.

We know that Apple have been awarded a patent related to 3D GUI (graphical user interface), which might mean the inclusion of 3D capabilities in the new phone. There is also a patent which hints at Apple trying to combat the brittle screen problems they have had with past models.

For the best deal on your business phones, and for the latest information about mobile phones, visit Fivebars Mobile.

Image - metserve.com

The Rumour Mill

Last week saw Samsung announce that they will be holding their Galaxy Unpacked 2015 event on the 1^st of March, just one day ahead of the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2015 in Barcelona, from the 2^nd-5^th March.

Samsung’s press event will be focussed on their upcoming Galaxy S6, about which rumours have been rife for some time – particularly following the underwhelming sales of the Galaxy S5.

A bit of background

Historically, Apple and Samsung have been the Pepsi and Coca Cola of the smartphone world. Competitors, rivals, often litigants. You’re either an iPhone user or an Android fan. Windows is still fairly new to the party, and BlackBerry users are in a class of their own.

When it comes to comparing sales figures, it is important to remember that Apple only make the iPhone – there is more to Samsung than the Galaxy line. Nonetheless, when Samsung released the Galaxy S4 in 2013 it equalled the SIII in success – shipping 40million units in the six months following release. Apple have consistently outsold the Galaxy S-series during launch weeks, however, with Samsung releasing in April or May, and Apple in September.

The S5 sold 40% fewer units than the S4, whilst – thanks in part to Apple’s increase in screen size – the iPhone6 and 6Plus sold over three million units in the first three days of release (excluding pre-orders).

Given the disappointing sales of the S5, Samsung have reportedly gone back to the drawing board, giving the S6 a complete, ground-up redesign.

Features

We won’t know the full specs of the Galaxy S6 until March 1^st, nor the accompanying phablet release, the Galaxy S Edge. Nonetheless, hints, rumours, and trend-tracking by industry experts means that we can speculate quite well about potential features.

The Galaxy Note 4 had a screen resolution of 1440x2560 pixels, and whilst the S5 had a more modest resolution, it is very likely that the Edge will match or exceed the resolution of the Note 4. It is also likely that Samsung will up the resolution for the S6 – but at what cost to battery life remains to be seen.

Samsung are known for their consistently excellent cameras –the S5 housed a 13MP camera – but with improvements to Samsung’s own ISOCELL technology, we expect the S6 to include a 20MP camera.

In terms of power, leaked specs show that one of the new releases – probably the Edge – will be running Samsung’s own Exynos 7420 power chip, with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of ROM. If this is true, the newest Samsung will be one of the most powerful phones on the market, and their best chance yet of taking an even greater chunk of smartphone sales across the globe.

At Fivebars Mobile we love the iPhone, but we can’t wait to get our hands on the S6 and the Edge. If you are looking for the best mobile phone deal for your business, get in touch and ask about our free tariff review.

#TBT – The Nokia Communicator and Smartphones

Who remembers Nelly? The early 2000’s rapper who wore a plaster on his face. Let’s go back…

Dilemma

In 2002, Nelly released Dilemma with Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child fame. In the video we see Nelly and Kelly strike up a complicated relationship, and at one point Kelly appears to send a text:

WHERE YOU AT? HOLLA WHEN YOU GET THIS

She gets no response and flings the phone down in disgust.

Wait. Rewind. If we take a closer look, we can see that Kelly hasn’t written a text message at all; rather she has opened a spreadsheet. A spreadsheet. On a 2002 phone. Impressive!

The Nokia Communicator

A little bit of research tells us that Kelly is in fact the proud owner of a Nokia Communicator 9210. Clearly a trendsetter, Kelly was using a smartphone five years before Apple released their first iPhone, and the smartphone market exploded.

Launched in 1996, Nokia’s Communicator series were not the first smartphones – that honour probably goes to the IMB Simon, which incorporated mobile phone and PDA technology.

But the Nokia 9000 was ground-breaking. Its clamshell design allowed users a full QWERTY keyboard, and – on the 9210 at least – a 4.5in screen. Web browsing on your phone was no longer limited to text only. Phone calls, text messages, email, fax, calendar, word processing, and spreadsheets could all now be managed from a single device.

Given the functionality of the Nokia 9210, it’s hard to know why Kelly chose to write her message in the EPOC Sheet spreadsheet app. One Reddit user suggests that Nelly had – of course – set up a Sharepoint server, allowing the lovers to share illicit messages via shared Excel documents. Obviously.

2006 to now

It really wasn’t until the late 2000s that smartphones became cost effective enough to gain mass popularity. The market was initially divided between Nokia’s Symbian devices, BlackBerry, and Windows Phones as business-aimed models, and Apple’s iPhones and various Android devices with an entertainment focus.

Today –with the possible exception of BlackBerry – almost all smartphones allow users to switch between business and entertainment functions with relative ease. And the ability to sync devices means that your smartphone can be your desktop away from your desk, and your entertainment system on the move.

What does the future hold for smartphones?

Despite the drive in the 1990s and 2000s to shrink devices and eliminate the keyboard and stylus, the introduction of Samsung’s Galaxy Note in 2011 opened our eyes to the phablet (phone + tablet). As camera technology and screen resolution also improve, it would be no surprise to see dedicated photo editing phablets emerge.

There is also some interest surrounding Fairphone’s ethical smartphones – which seek to contain the minimal amount of conflict minerals, as well as attempting to ensure the fairest labour conditions for the workforce involved.

Whatever you’re looking for in your business phone, at Fivebars Mobile we guarantee to do our best to get you the perfect combination of phone and tariff to suit your business needs.