Tag Archives: Patent War
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Gartner – Android Rules the Smartphone Market Share in Q2 2012 [Report]

The Report comes from Gartner, a top research firm claiming that in the second quarter of 2012, Samsung’s mobile phone sale kept its ground intact and managed to win over both Apple and Nokia, making Android Phone being the grand dragon capturing 64% of the worldwide market share.

Worldwide Mobile Device Sales to End Users by Vendor in 2Q12

The report highlights that the demand for new Galaxy SIII was particularly strong, exceeding Samsung’s own expectations, with a reported 10 million units reached in the two months after its release. The Galaxy SIII was the best-selling Android product in the quarter and could have been higher but for product shortages. Even then, Samsung won over by 9o million handsets sales in the Q2. There is no denying Android’s dominance anymore. Android is winning.

Worldwide Mobile Device Sales to End Users by Operating System in 2Q12

Gartner analyst marks the date range for the statistic from April to June which admittedly was a golden point for Android while iPhone sales were starting to settle  down. The Samsung Galaxy SIII was launched later in May, and like we mentioned in our blog, The Q1 was winning with Android too, taking up a good chunk of Samsung’s haul. It was a lucky quarter for Android and Samsung both.

In the race to be top smartphone manufacturer in 2012, Samsung has consistently progressed its lead over Apple, and its open OS market share increased to one-and-a-half times that of Apple in the second quarter of 2012. As the report says, the iPhone sales were a bit down in the second quarter,(might be because of the iPhone 5 rumour :roll: ) Well, ofcourse, who would want to spend on a product  when the new one is expected to be just around the corner?

Apple’s best iPhone quarter was that of Q1 of 2012, where 33M iPhones were sold — an impressive accomplishment considering there are only a handful of models. Now, during Android’s best quarter, there were 98M units sold. There is simply no comparison. Good for our Android app  which has now more than 1250 Android devices support now. The iPhone 5 will likely make the Apple’s holiday quarter a bit better, but Samsung, Motorola, LG, and HTC combined Android units numbers will account for more units. In fact, Samsung alone might move units than Apple.

The game of patent war is still on. Its not just a fan boys game any more. Gartner analysts said the arrival of the iPhone 5 should provide the greatest upgrade opportunity yet as the expected new design with a larger screen and likely other stylistic changes to the form factor will certainly make a strong case for iPhone 4 users to upgrade. Until then, Android mobile platform has securely positioned itself  on the top of mobile mountain.

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Samsung vs Apple: Patent War Saga is still on!

samsung vs appleYet another episode of the patent war series between Samsung and Apple has made the headlines! This time, Samsung takes the battle to France. Back in April 21, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics filed a lawsuit in Seoul District Court against Apple over five patent infringements. Later on, two separate lawsuits were filed by Samsung against Apple in Japan and German Courts inciting two and three patent infringements respectively.

Overall, there are 19 ongoing lawsuits between Samsung and Apple. The recent addition to this patent lawsuits showdown is filed by Samsung against Apple for infringement of three of its mobile phone technology patents in iPhone and iPad tablets.

Apparently, this patent war is getting a bit over the top now. After suing HTC, Apple continued with its aggressive patent-building strategy. Last month, Rechtbank’s-Gravenhage (a Dutch court in the city of The Hague) imposed a EU-wide ban on Samsung’s Galaxy S, Galaxy S II and Ace smart series. Initially, the court banned the release of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 all over Europe as well but later on, the decision was narrowed to Germany only.

Do you know that Samsung is already enjoying the top position in the mobile phones market according to a recent report by comScore? As reported by Samsung, the sales of its Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 have been on the rise since it’s launch in France back in mid-August. The complaint was filed  in July and the first hearing of this latest patent lawsuit by French court is due in December.

What does Google has to say about this recent episode of patent war between Samsung and Apple? Since Android market is still going strong, we are yet to see whether it will leave any effect on Android if Samsung or Apple loses their respective lawsuits.

The cold war between Apple and Samsung does not seem to end anywhere in near future.  Even though, Apple has pouched more enforceable decisions in this series of patent wars, but Samsung is also not going to settle down for anything less here!

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Google buys Motorola for $12.5 billion – End of Patent War perhaps?

Indeed a very good day for Android. Google finally stepped up in the smartphones patent war, and announced today that it has acquired Motorola for $40 per share of Motorola or a lump sum of $12.5 Billion.

motorola_android_patentThe acquisition of Motorola Mobility, a dedicated Android partner, will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing. Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. Google will run Motorola Mobility as a separate business.

Larry Page, CEO of Google, said, “Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.”

Google was to pay $4 billion for Nortel’s 6000 wireless patents. So, acquiring Motorola, doesn’t seem to be a bad trade, but in fact with Motorola’s Mobility’s patents, Google can now easily fight back the lawsuits. Page called out that patents were the biggest reason of Motorola Mobility acquisition.

Truly we have seen how Apple was happy of having Galaxy Tab being blocked in Australia and Europe. Also, in United States Apple won a patent infringement case against Android’s largest handset maker, HTC. Furthermore, Microsoft played its part by squeezing out the patent licencing fees from 5 Android manufacturers. But, now with the Google having Motorola Mobility, end of patent war seems to be possible, providing developers more freedom on Android platform.

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