Apple Loses Lawsuit vs Samsung and Motorola

English: Samsung Logo Suomi: Samsung logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sure Apple won that lawsuit vs Samsung here in the U.s., but in German courts??  Well, in Germany Samsung and Motorola are victorious and Apple is found to have infringed on patents held by Samsung and Motorola.

What’s more is the German ruling follows court findings in Britain and in the Netherlands taking the same positions:  Apple infringed on patents and Samsung (and Motorola) were victorious.

This is a world-wide battle so look for more.

October 22nd:

Did you see this?  UK court overturns Apple victory over Samsung, ruling that Samsung is not “cool” enough to copy Apple!!??!!

Now, having lost the court verdict, Apple is requied to run advertisements on its website and in newspapers saying that Samsung did NOT COPY Apple.  WOW!

So here in the U.S. the courts have initially deterrmined that Samsung copied Apple and now in the UK Apple has to run apologies for saying that they did.  Amazing.

“Apple has lost an appeal against a ruling in a U.K. High Court that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab does not infringe the iPad’s design. The original ruling by Judge Colin Birss said Samsung’s tablets were not cool enough to be confused with Apple’s because they lacked the “extreme simplicity” of the iPad. That ruling has now been upheld by the Court of Appeal.

The original ruling also stated that Apple must run adverts on its website and in newspaper saying Samsung did not copy the iPad. Reuters reports that the Court of Appeal’s Judge Kitchin said today the notices must be in a font size no smaller than Ariel 14.”

Stay tuned cuz they ain’t over as we all know.  The UK suit has no whee to go, that was a ruling from the high court, the top of the wig-wearing courts.

And, technically it has nothing to do with U.S. court decisions, but still…

Read all about this stumming development HERE.

October 26th:

Win or lose doesn’t seem to impact Samsung as the company records their record profits in 3Q.  Sammy is making more money than anybody every quarter.  Apple may have stock that is more valuable than anyone else, but Samsung is making money just by turning around and by getting out of bed each morning.

June 5, 2013

The ITC, (International Trade Commission), a U.S. Trade Agency ruled in favor of Samsung yesterday.  If upheld, Apple will be unable to import iPhones and a variant of the iPad into the U.S.

The ruling applies to the iPhone 4 and to the iPad 2.  Check it out

At the same time Apple announced that it would increase hiring in the U.S., adding another 50% to their Silicone Valley workforce in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Wonder what they may be planning.

Apple will appeal.

Read the hiring article HERE

Related articles

• Apple vs. A.pl: Tech company sues online Polish grocer over logo (pcworld.com)
• Apple loses German patent ruling against Samsung, Motorola (fiercewireless.com)
• Samsung Will Add The iPhone 5 To Its Existing Lawsuit Against Apple In The US (androidpolice.com)
• Apple Loses German Court Ruling Against Samsung in Patent Suit (bloomberg.com)
• German Court Rules In Favor of Motorola and Samsung In Patent Case With Apple (thedroidguy.com)
• German court: Motorola, Samsung don’t violate Apple touch event patent (tuaw.com)

2012 Apple Hill Time in Northern California

Downtown Placerville (Photo credit: www78)

It’s still real warm in northern California, deep into September, but in the morning you can smell it.  Yes, you can smell apples in their crates inside of the barn.

No….I don’t live in a barn.  But I live in California and each year I love to visit Apple Hill near Placerville, also known as Hangtown, in Northern California.

You got to go and if not, you got to take a virtual trip and check it out.  It looks good, it smells good and it tastes damn good!!!

So check out the Association site and see what’s new for 2012.  Grab ourself a map & a guide if you need one.

What’s good there?  Well apples, of course.  Apples, apple pie, apple fritters, candy appled apples, apple juice & cide.

My favorite?  apple cider donuts.  Yum.

Plus BBQ lunches at some farms, train rides and fishing for the kids.  The smells and tastes.  A day out of the city.  Christmas tree tours, winery tours.  Pick ’em yourself farms.  Teaching the kids where their food comes from.

Petting zoos.

Filling up the car or truck with goodies to take home.  And even more goodies to give to famil, friends, neighbors.  Put in the freezzer.

The Blossom Trail Run at the other end of the season, usuall in April so mark your calendar.

And the Apple Hill Harvest Run, race day this ear is November 4th and the course is 8.5 beautiful miles and includes the Harvest Day 3.5 mile Run/Walk.  Check the links for info and to register.

But back to apple goodness…I am more about eating my way thru Apple Hill.  I don’t even do the wine drinking thru Apple Hill any more, so I eat.

And I look forward to it each and every year.

Related articles

• The Mountain and the Hill (thefrangels.wordpress.com)
• Apple Picking in New York State with Plus Lily (stacyknows.com)
• My New Favorite Thing – Homemade Applesauce (smileandwave.typepad.com)
• 17. Meanderings at Apple Hill (applehillcottage.org)
• Striking Gold On Highway 49 – Travel (motortrend.com)

The New iPhone 5 is The Actual iPhone 4S—And The Rumors For The 2012 iPhone 5

It took me a few days to get past my disappointment after Tuesday’s big deflated Apple iPhone 5 balloon (well, maybe I’m not completely over it).

So I am going to put my earlier post about my search for a new smartphone (HERE) to replace my old original Droid to bed.  I have started a new post about the Samsung Nexus Prime (probably my new phone) HERE and will wrap all things Apple up with this post.

So as you probably know from my other posts, I am disappointed that Apple was unable to deliver on a brand new iPhone and was in a place they moved forward with a refresh of the iPhone 4.  I know it will be a good phone, iOS5 alone will make it a good phone, but it will not be the phone that will replace my old Droid.  Instead, I think the Prime will be that phone.

But I have not yet completely closed that door.  Even though Siri does mean “buttocks” in Japanese!!

One of the things I wanted to add to my Apple rant and so will place here is this:

Many people prior to the Apple announcement were stating they knew Apple had a better device because they knew people will line up for days to get the new iPhone 5, as they did for prior iPhones.

In my original post I explained I did not expect that to happen because I did not believe the carriers would now allow Apple to pull back and only offer the new phone at Apple stores.

Now I see that I was right as you can sit at home in your undies and pre-order your new 4S from Verizon and other carriers online without standing in line for anything except your own PC (or Mac, as it were).

As new important information about the 4S and/or iOS 5 is released I will post it here but I will (mostly) avoid the rumors and even the “I told you so’s”.

October 7th:

AT&T reports first day pre-orders of the iPhone 4S exceed 200,000.  This is the largest first day of iPhone orders on Verizon EVER.  Of course, AT&T was shut out of the first iPhones, (as was everyone other than Apple,  so…..  But nice job Apple and AT&T!  Congrats.

Imagine what it would be like for the iPhone 5?  Although I am not sure I would have jumped to AT&T even for the Five.

An unlocked 4S won’t be available until November.  But it won’t support CDMA.  But, for you world-travelers, the article explains all.

October 9th:

Elektronica offers their take on the iPhone 4S and suggests that at this point an Android may be your best choice.

October 10th:

The Apple iPhone 4s sales exceed one million units in the first 24 hours on all available carriers.

The Top Five 4S disapointments from cnet.  Watch the video at the link!

OK, this is great!   Even you Apple dudes havce to admit it is great.

Am I right??  Great!!!

There is a cnet article out today asserting that the Apple 4S will woo tons of Android owners over to Apple.  maybe the iPhone 5 would have (maybe even will), but the 4S?  Wouldn’t they have jumped at the chance to buy an Apple 4 then??

This one is legit:  The Apple 4S has been benchmarked and apparently is even smoking the Samsung Galaxy S II (and it is slower than the  iPad 2, but what the heck…).  Read it at the link.

October 13th:

iPhone 4S Launch:  What Is Different This Time? 

“If it feels like a long time since theiPhone 4 went on sale, you’re not mistaken. The iPhone 4S, Apple’s follow-up to the iPhone 4, comes a few months later than Apple has typically released previous handsets, and it seems even longer given that leaks led to the world seeing the final design months before it was officially unveiled.”

More Carriers.  More Countries.  Unlocked version from the get-go.  More Colors.  More configurations.  New add-ons.

Are any of those things even important to you? Read more at the link.

Twitter and iOS 5:  Sharing made simple, check the link for details.

Where to buy an iPhone 4S in October?  Check the link for a full list from cnet.

October 14th:

Unboxing the new 4S and initial impressions:

More at the link but they certainly like the phone even though they do say it is identical to the iPhone 4.  Others have cautioned people “Don’t put your new 4S down right next to your friends 4” because there is no way visually to tell them apart.  And they love Siri…..

“Asking Siri for directions, what the weather will be like, to create and send  e-mails and text messages is incredibly simple and fun to use. The days of  fumbling around with a phone to get things done in a hurry are pretty much over.  Yet, Apple is calling Siri a beta, which really does make a mockery of other  voice recognition systems that have been on the market in final form for some  time.

Siri can even pronounce this writer’s non-Anglo name properly. When  I told her that ‘I love voice recognition,’ she responded encouragingly with ‘Good for you, Sanjiv.’ We think it is love, but she plays hard to get.

I  told her that, “I think I love you Siri.”

Siri responded with, “You  hardly know me, Sanjiv.”

October 17th:

4S sales crack 4 million over the first weekend.  Seems like a ton of phones to me.  More at the link.

cnet documents call quality on the 4S for each carrier.  Good stuff because even with texting, internet, email, games and apps….the quality of your phone call on your smartphone is critical.  What good is a multi-hundred dollar phone when your phone calls sound so shitty??

Read the results at the link above and you can actually listen to a call made on Verizon, AT&T and Sprint.  Very cool.

October 18th:

On the big Android day (yes, Apple, Mr Droid has a big day too) we also have:

Now that the iPhone 4s is out, when WILL Apple release the iPhone 5?

Does anyone actually care anymore?  Not me for sure.  Although I am happy for a little upgrade on the iPhone 4, I have decided to buy the new Samsung Prime.

But the indications right now are that the Apple 5 is…..well, hard to tell from the story  at the link.

cnet takes the 4S thru their litany of tests.  Does the “S” stand for speed?

October 29th:

So, here we go:  Samsung passes Apple in phone units sold.

This article states that it really has to do with timing (3Q) and the new 4S came out at the end of the quarter.

True, but that meaans Apple’s history breaking sales over that first weekend and week were included in that count.  And yet they sold 4 million fewer units thn expected(?)

It also means that Samsungs new phone (the newly named Galaxy Nexus) release date will land in 4Q and units will be included in those numbers, not in the quarter that pushed Samsung past Apple.  So, They may be able to keep their spot for one more quarter.

Anyway, I am not here to argue that issue.  Just wanted to present the issue because it is significant and we will see down the road how critical it is to Apple.

Where it is important, I think, is in the constant and tiring jockeying in the courtroom.  I think it will result in both companies pushing harder in their lawsuits instead of backing off.  Apple will think they have to sue more and try to win ground in the courtroom while Samsung may think they can defend this new turf if they get some courts too agree with their legal positions.

We shall see.

November 7th:

For those that have the new 4S or upgraded to iOS5:  A security report reveals there is currently a security hole that allows people to download dangerous items from the app store.

Read the review at the link above and make sure to check in for fixes.  Be careful about your downloads until you know things have been fixed.

“Apple reviews every app that is available in the app store to make sure it is safe to use. Forbes reported on Charlie Miller an Apple security researcher who found a way for seemingly safe app to turn evil. Miller created an app that was able to pass all of Apple’s review tests and was available on the app store. Apple has removed the app that Miller used as an example of the security hole, and has removed him from the Apple developer program.”

November 18th:

Not much on the 4s field lately…

…but here we have Apple rumors that even the Apple rumormill (actually I tend to believe the folks at NextGadgets) seem to question??

Or, at least they had gotten used to the relative quiet from the shores of AppleLand.

November 22nd:

I guess the Apple iPhone 4S is maintaining popularity out there, huh??  The graph here shows that the 4S has rocketed to second place among “camera phones”.  #1?    The Apple iPhone 4.

In fact, Apple owns 4 of the Top 5 spots on the list.  Nice job!

May 28, 2012:

Nearly a full year later and we may be nearing the release of the ACTUAL iPhone 5.

The rumors have certainly become nearly non-stop.

“These rumors have emerged  from a variety of sources around the net including iLounge, 9to5 Mac and iMove to name a few, but they have been pretty much covered by most of the technology blogs out there. However, in this article we are going to highlight the main ones covered on the Armenante Apple news blog.”

• a changed dock connector
• a change in the size and shape of the smartphone
• a change in the size of the screen
• and a higher resolution

The Armenante Apple News Blog can be found here

If you bought an Apple 4S just a few months (or even weeks or days) ago after waiting for the iPhone 5, how ya feeling right about now??

California and Fresh Fruit & Fresh Produce

Image by ScottSchrantz via Flickr

One of the best things about living in California is the abundance of fresh fruit and fresh produce and the length of our growing seasons.

For lunch I had a big bowl of red grapes, strawberries and watermelon all grown in California and picked fresh.  I added fresh pineapple to the mix but that probably came from Hawaii.

And for breakfast I had an apple turnover purchased yesterday at Apple Hill.  The apples were probably picked and ready for the baked goodies in just the past few days.

So in California we stretched the spring/summer strawberry season across the mid/late summer watermelon season and mixed it with the summer/fall grape season and just added in the fall apple season.  Cool!!

And very good for me because fresh fruit is my favorite thing.

Fresh California produce is important for me too.

Last night I made boneless country-style pork spare ribs and added fresh asparagus tips and fresh corn on the cob, both grown locally.  Unfortunately the local season for white corn is over so I had to use plain old sweet yellow corn.  The potatoes probably came from Idaho but we do grow potatoes locally, especially the small red and yellow potatoes which are my favorites.

I know all of you live in some really great places, but I don’t know what I would do if I did not live in California with all of our fruit and produce choices.  It makes most of our restaurant choices so much better too.

I used to have a Japanese girlfriend who had relatives in Hawaii, Las Vegas, New York City and Japan.  Every time someone came to visit us we would have to go out on buying trips to local farm stands and farmers markets and buy fruit fruit fruit and some produce.  They would just stuff themselves while they were here and then they would pack up their favorites and take it all home to share with folks back where they had come from.

It amazed me.  But if I lived elsewhere and visited California I would fill up a few boxes with fruit and ship it all back home!

I’m not as good as some of my friends who have produce gardens and fruit trees and can a lot of what they grow.  But, I am spoiled because here we always have fresh fruit in our stores and as long as you know which stores carry the best and freshest fruit & produce you are good to go.

Related articles

• How Often Do You Eat Fresh Fruit? (fitsugar.com)
• Get Fresh, Organic Fruits & Veggies Delivered to Your Doorstep (fitsugar.com)

Apple vs Samsung vs Motorola vs Windows vs Proview (in China)—Lotsa Lawsuits In That Damn Town

Apple is suing Samsung.  Apple is suing Motorola.  China‘s Proview is suing Apple.  Who is not involved in lawsuits with the giant Apple??

This post is a spinoff on what started as a post about my search for my next (still to be determined) smartphone.  That original post is now here.

I also moved that part of the old post that was related to rumors mostly about the upcoming Samsung Nexus Prime and the Apple iPhone 5.  That new post is found here.

This post will remain primarily about the ongoing legal wranglings and public relations maneuverings between Samsung and Apple.

And so, in this corner we have the Korean firm of Samsung in the blue trunks, and the U.S. firm Apple in the candy apple  red trunks:

September 13th:

Samsung sues Apple in France over patent infringement focused on design.  Samsung filed their suit in Paris, “claiming Apple’s iPhones and iPads infringed on three technology patents relating to its Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)”.

The complaint alleges that Apple products including the iPhone 3 & 4 as well as the iPad 1 & 2 violate these three patents.  Samsung was strict on the complaint that Apple violated patents on 3g technology, and not claiming design infringement as Apple had done in their lawsuit over Samsung products.

Holland lawsuits:  Apple sues Samsung over imitative product design and Samsung sues Apple over infringement on their 3g technology patents.  Of course, it is hard to believe either of these Giants is concerned about Holland (sorry Holland), rather this is just one battlefield in the Suropean war which later moves to Australia and nibbles away toward the U.S.A. shores.

Here is an interesting tidbit:

“Samsung is  one of Apple’s largest suppliers of parts for its products, though the latter has been trying to distance itself from its rival in past months, but it seems that the Korean company is willing to go on the offensive to defend its products against Apple’s legal onslaughts.”

The article that quote is from explains that Samsung is now preparing to sue Apple for patent infringement (as Apple has sued, and won, patent suits against Samsung) as soon as the iPhone 5 is released.  Check the article here.

Update September 20th:

So on my post about Android tablets vs iPads, I added a September 19th update re: Samsung suing Apple for patent violations (et tu Brutus??)

Today we have an article (the link is here) describing the background of the Samsung/Apple or Apple/Samsung patent battlefield.

It looks as if things are about to get even bloodier.

Speaking of Apple vs Samsung and Samsung vs Apple,  a friend  shared this chart with me .  It is a 2010 chart, so when you take a look you can add probably a zillion more lines, by now it would become pretty convoluted.

It is titled Who Is Suing Whom In The Telecomm Trade?

It is real and it is oh so incredible.  It is from Information Is Beautiful (http://www.informationisbeautiful.net)

Check out The Next Mobile, part of The Next family of sites.  They have additional information in an article they call “Who is Suing Whom in Mobile”  and they use an eralier version of the same chart.

Many folks use this chart and some rightly credit the Information Is Beautiful website and David McCandless & James Key.  These two writers for the Information Is site have produced great articles together as well as individually and with other writers.  Check out their article on oil spills.  Excellemt stuff.

The site If you Can’t Convince, Confuse  on Tumblr, uses this chart as well and has this background:

thedailywhat:

Infographic of the Day: “Who’s Suing Whom In The Telecoms Trade?” — David McCandless & James Key expand on the Guardian’s “Who’s Suing Who” and the NYT’s earlier “An Explosion of Mobile Patent Lawsuits” infographics, which “generated more questions than they answered.”

[iib.]

(via pwnator)

The Convince, Confuse website is very good with a lot of interesting and even amusing graphics and videos.  I recommend it.

If you are interested in this subject of lawsuits check out The Guardian as well.  Their original chart is a good one, but you can see the effort McCandless & Key have put in when producing their version of the lawsuit graphic.

And you can see that the New York Times (NYT) chart is a very early effort at presenting a picture of the telecomm lawsuits.

September 23rd:

New lawsuits, this time Samsung sues Apple.  The CNET article explains that “The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Delaware, takes aim specifically  at Apple’siPhone,iPad, andiPod  Touch, along with Apple’s desktop and notebook computers, as infringing.”

Samsung also  filed a new suit asking for an injunction in the Netherlands.  Samsung’s  Lee Younghee, Samsung’s head of global marketing for mobile communications explained that Samsung promises to get even more aggressive against Apple, noting that Samsung has, and will not continue to be, “passive” and “respectful.”

For the moment it seems that Apple still is in the lawsuit lead.  Samsung’s Galaxy 10.1 Tab is still banned in Germany and Samsung must fear further wins in Europe and the possibility that the U.S. courts may eventually follow suit.  More bans would ultimately kill Samsung’s ability to sell Android phones, tablets, PC products.

These two companies have enjoyed a mutually beneficial business relationship until the first Apple lawsuit in Germany.  Now, with subsequent and future suits, as well as Apple buying up all the available Flash RAM & memory products to reduce Samsung’s developments and sales, it does not seem that relationship is repairable.

Scary thought, the world dominated by Apple.  Almost as bad as Microsoft domination.

September 24th:

Check Information Week here.  Samsung’s lawsuits in Netherlands against Apple include claims of patent infringement on “the use of standards-essential 3G wireless technology in Apple’s products.”  Standards-essential patents or technology have been agreed to have been accepted as “standards”  Nokia has sued Apple regarding these same standards.

Samsung seeks injunctions preventing Apple from selling iPhone 5, Phone 3gs,  iPad 1 and iPad 2.

September 26th:

Apple reduces patent infringements suit against Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, Samsung claims Apple infringes on 3g patents “structurally”.  See the article here from Next Gadgets.  The patent hearing in Australia is set for tomorrow.

However, the Australian judge says she “needs time” to study Apple Inc.’s patent-infringement claims.

This article states Apple may be selling iPad #9 by the time this lawsuit is settled.  That statement was prior to today’s reductions by Apple in the scope of their suit.  Those changes may allow the suit to be decided more quickly.  If courts can move anything along “more quickly”.

Verizon Wireless decides to back Samsung.  “Apple Injunction against Samsung will harm U.S. consumers”.

Next Gagets also reveals that the iPhone 5 update may be “bigger than expected.”    They are anticipating a thinner, lighter and stronger iPhone.  They are not expecting a 4G device.

Apple denied trademark for multi-touch in a decision handed down by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The trademark attorney pointed out that the term “multi-touch” has become generic in meaning and is “used by a wide variety of publications to describe the touchscreen technology on Android phones, tablets, and notebooks.”

September 27th:

Might HTC join the fray? as their official complaint against Apple gets investigated by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC).  HTC’s complaint is…..that Apple has infringed on HTC’s intellectual property.  Damn if that don’t sound familiar!!

“The Taiwanese handset manufacturer seeks to halt the importation of Apple  products into the U.S., as well as compensatory damages, and three times the  normal damages for willful infringement”

The HTC complaint follows on the heels of a ITC administrative las judge’s decision that HTC had violated 2 of the 10 patents that Apple had accused the Taiwanese company of infringing.

Read more at the link above.

September 27th:

Verizon filed a amicus brief (“friend of the court”) with the court in the Apple vs Samsung lawsuit, opposing any possible ban on selling Samsung phones.  Apple threw a fit, and filed a technical opposition arguing that the court should not accept any statement from Verizon in the matter.  Additionally, Apple argued to extend the time that they need to reply in case the court decided to accept the Verizon brief.

Read the Electronista article on todays activities here.

September 28th:

T-Mobile joins Verizon and backs Samsung in infringement case.  T-Mobile filed their own amicus brief with the court today.  Apple complains that T-Mobile filed the brief too late.  Actually, the article is saying T-Mobile is joining Verizon, actually the carrier is on it’s own here and doing what most carriers probably want to do:  stick up for  their righ to carry devices they believe their customers might buy.

That must be challenging as far as tablets because Apple holds such a significant market share.  However, you can make a good argument that that market share currently exists in a market that refuses to allow true competition.  The Galaxy 10.1 would undoubtedly take some amount of the tablet customers from Apple.  How many?  No one knows.

T-Mobile promises that “We will carry the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Tablet”.  Read more here.

Samsung Caves To Microsoft:  Microsoft and Samsung are cross-licensing their patents and Samsung agrees to pay royalties on every Android smartphone and tablet they make.  Samsung is also talking up their plans for Windows Phone (??)  This is all early yet, but the bNet article says that this shows Samsung “caving into Apple (and Microsoft) and that this spells bad news for Google.

We will have to see what happens.  If Samsung pays Microsoft why not (eventually) pay Apple for any patent issues on the hardware if Apple settles the Samsung software issues?

Or does the Microsoft partnership strengthen Microsoft in their battle with Apple?

Tons of questions here and we will see it play out as the Prime and the iPhone 5 get released.

Whatever happens at the end of this, this is a surprise event (at least to me).  I just did not see this one coming.  I knew from others out there that Windows was making their big push on the phone front (see my post about smartphones being primarily software and that Microsoft “gets it”), but I did not expect this.

Will Samsung drop Android as a platform and switch solely to Windows?  Will the buying public eventually be stuck with a mobile phone world that becomes 90% Microsoft and 10% Apple as we are with PCs?

Now I have to stick my brain in a bucket of cold water and stop the steaming.

Android Headlines reveals that Microsoft could earn some $444 million just this year from licensing agreements with Samsung.  That is a lot of $5-$10 license hits.

Also from  Android Headlines, an Executive says “Samsung can’t rely on Google for patent protection.”  The Exec also talked about the Samsung/Microsoft agreement saying “As long as Samsung builds devices running Windows Phone, it will benefit from Microsoft’s patents.”

This article from Tech Crunch is not specifically about the dueling lawsuits anymore than this article from Apple Insider is.  Rather, both articles are specifically about the Google & Samsung invitation to their October 11th event where it is surmised that the Samsung/Google/Nexus Prime and Ice Cream Sandwhich will be announced or even released.  But with that we get both sites providing their lop-sided views of who is right or wrong in the lawsuit wars.

I have a Droid.  I am thinking of getting an iPhone 5, but might get a Prime.  I am an end user who is not wedded to either product.   I want a good phone at a good price and the rest of this shit just doesn’t matter to me.  I do have my own POV about Microsoft, Google and Apple.  I lump them all together in the “evil product developers” bucket.   From the corporate perspective they each want to rule the world.  I want none of that.  I believe the public is suffering by all of this and I also know it will not end.  Even if each lawsuit gets settled tomorrow the war will not end.  Not until 2 of the 3 companies explode in a dusty plume of smoke.  And then it will start again with a new opponent.

Both sites appear to be saying that the “opposition” has moved up the date of their product in order to compete with their favorite product, Android or Apple.  Well, whoa.  They really figured out that happens in the greedy “fuck the consumer” corporate world?  But they don’t believe that “their company” is guilty.  Well, it is guilty.  Guilty as sin.

Who was it that said “End-users don’t know what they want”?  I don’t like that management belief from any company and when it came to computing that is why I always built a clone.  I do know what I want, even if it’s not what I should want.

I am in satirical shock over here.

In the meantime by mid-October we should have either the specs and a release date for iOS 5 & iPhone 5, as well as ICS & Samsung Prime, or we will have the actual new devices and software.

And I will probably buy one of them.  And part of my decision may well be based on which company I find to be “less evil” even though it should be strictly based on which phone is the best for my needs.

Enough.

September 29th:

This article indicates that Steve Jobs contacted Samsung in an attempt to resolve the patent issues at the heart of the German lawsuit.  The article from Next Gadgets states “But even the famed Steve Jobs reality-distortion field would fail to persuade Samsung to “do the right thing”. In fact, the Korean conglomerate did what was right for them: They doubled down on Android with Galaxy-branded smartphones and tablets, sending Apple through the roof and prompting them to take Samsung to court.”

October 1st:

Both Verizon & T-Mobile are allowed to file briefs in the Apple v Samsung lawsuit

October 3rd:

Apple Rebuffs Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Tab deal in Australia.  Electronista reports that “Apple late Monday rejected Samsung’s attempt to compromise on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia.  The terms,  which would have primarily focused on changing software, were dismissed out of  hand as not addressing the core issues.  The American company saw the Galaxy Tab 10.1 as inherent violation and wanted it out  of the market altogether.”

Apple may face suit over “missing” iPhone 5.  “Sergio Calderon, the 22-year-old San Francisco man who accused Apple  employees of impersonating police officers while searching his house for an  unreleasediPhone, has hired a lawyer.

David Monroe, an attorney in San Francisco, told CNET this evening that he is  considering filing a lawsuit against Apple, but, for now, is still investigating  what happened.”

October 10th:

Today we have a change on the UI (user interface) front, not in the courtroom (yet).  Samsung issues a software update to the Galaxy S II which increases the icon size by 30%.  This gives the phone a 3×3 grid making the look of the phone completely different than the Apple user interface.  Read more at the link.

October 12th:

Apple’s 4S antenna may infringe on Samsung’s patents: 

“The iPhone 4S new dual-antenna design that switches between each other depending on how you hold your phone, could be infringing on the following Samsung patents:“Apparatus and method for stabilizing terminal power in a communication system and Apparatus and method for selecting an antenna in a communication system.”

Apple wins early in battle against Samsung in Australia:  “Apple scored a key victory late Wednesday after Australia’s Federal Court  granted it its desire for a preliminary ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the country.  The  ruling will keep the Android tablet off of the market in the country unless  Samsung wins in a trial.”

October 20th:

Samsung’s Won-Pyo Hong explains the Galaxy Nexus started development before Apple’s first lawsuit against  the South Korean giant began their work with Google on this phone and design was not in response to the legal battle.  So the development and design have nothing to do with attempts to avoid any look-alike or act-alike patent bumps between the Galaxy Nexus and the iPhone 5 (uh….4S).  Read about it at the link.

October 28th:

Apple & Samsung both eye RPO patents for new legal skirmishes against each other.

Next Gadgets says “RPO’s DWT technology records touch input from a finger or stylus by registering interruptions in projected beams of light that are invisible to the naked eye. Because it eliminates the need for a touch-sensitive layer, the technology is said to be more power efficient than current resistive and capacitive touchscreen technologies. RPO also claims its technology makes displays brighter than competitive offerings, with better contrast as well.

“Apple is expected to emerge as a top contender for the DWT patents and manufacturing equipment,” technology research firm iRunway wrote in its analysis of the auction. “The absence of a touch overlay would allow Apple to show off the full capability of their Retina display screens, which are currently produced by LG Display.”

And more at the link.

October 29th:

So, here we go:  Samsung passes Apple in phone units sold.  This is not a courtroom issue but it may well have impacts there.

This article states that it really has to do with timing (3Q) and the new 4S came out at the end of the quarter.

True, but that meaans Apple’s history breaking sales over that first weekend and week were included in that count.  And yet they sold 4 million fewer units thn expected(?)

It also means that Samsungs new phone (the newly named Galaxy Nexus) release date will land in 4Q and units will be included in those numbers, not in the quarter that pushed Samsung past Apple.  So, They may be able to keep their spot for one more quarter.

Anyway, I am not here to argue that issue.  Just wanted to present the issue because it is significant and we will see down the road how critical it is to Apple.

“Besides the Galaxy line, Samsung’s phones include Conquer, Replenish, Focus and Indulge. IHS estimates that Samsung sold about 40 different models during the third quarter. By comparison, Apple had just two – the 4 and the 3GS.”

There is just a flood of Samsung models out there.  I don’t even know most of these phones.  A lot of that has to do with carriers wanting their “own” phone and I actually like that Apple has been able to say “no” to Verizon, ATT and the rest and just make their phones.

When you come from a position of strength, you can do that.  If Apple loses that strength then what happens?  If Jobs still led the company I think the answer would be “Nothing”.  Now, I am not so sure.

“Even as Samsung sold more phones, Apple seems to be making more money on each. That’s one of the reasons Apple is now the most valuable tech company in the world, with a market value about three times that of Samsung.

Apple competes on – and dominates – the high-end smartphone market. By contrast, Samsung has both cheap and expensive phones available. That means Samsung can appeal to a broader range of customers, but the company has to settle for a lower profit margin on lower-end smartphones.

Sideco called both strategies good. Good, but different.”

Very different and a big part of the difference starts in the geolocation of both companies.  I am not even sure that all of the Samsung models listed above are sold in the U.S.The Asian market seems different.  They like and want the “new thing” but they want cheap phones, while Apple’s products are always the most expenive on the market.  Always.

I do believe it could be an issue that leaks into the constant and tiring jockeying in the courtroom.

I think it will result in both companies pushing harder in their lawsuits instead of backing off.  Apple will think they have to sue more and try to win ground in the courtroom while Samsung may think they can defend this new turf if they get some courts too agree with their legal positions.

We shall see.

November 4th:

Apple hit with an injunction!!  Samsung wins $……oh, wait.  It wasn’t Samsung and I will get sued 2x of I Say it was Sammy??  OK.  A Re-write here:,,Apple hit with an injunction for infringing on Motorola patents in Germany.  OK, you know that is almost better than the same old Apple vs Samsung shit.

The real deal story is at the link.  Really.  I promise.

November 27th:

I hope ya’ll had a great Thanksgiving!!

The Patent Wars:   Apple vs Samsung explained in an Infographic at the link.

Latest:  This month (November 2011) Apple was court-ordered to reveal the source code for the iPhone 4S as it appears so similar to the Samsung Google Nexus Prime.  The Australian case on Samsung’s infringement allegations (they are alleging that Apple infringed on Samsung rights related to 3G and wireless in the 4S and other Apple products) has been continued to March 2012.

December 6th:

Not a lot of recent news until this weekend:

“Apple Inc. won a small victory on Friday in its global patent battle with rival Samsung, after Australia’s highest court temporarily extended a ban on sales of Samsung’s Galaxy tabletcomputers in the country….

…The legal back-and-forth is all part of a larger, international battle over the technology giants’ competing tablets. Cupertino, California-based Apple struck first when it sued Samsung in the United States in April, alleging the product design, user interface and packaging of the Galaxy “slavishly copy” the iPhone and iPad. Samsung hit back with lawsuits accusing Apple of patent infringement of its wireless telecommunications technology.

The companies have now filed lawsuits in 10 countries. Courts in several nations, including Germany and the Netherlands, have issued rulings that favor Apple.”

More from this article can be found at the link above.

I am very happy with my US purchase of the Samsung 10.1 Tab.  I am not an expert on any of the patents these companies own or the legalities those patents spell out.

I own and use Apple products like the iPod Touch and have used iPhones including the 4 but not the 4S.

I view the Samsung UI as very different that Apple’s.  The look and feel are substantially different.

This war is not over.

January 17, 2012:

I hope each of you  had a Merry Christmas and a great New Year.

The calendar has changed to a new year but Apple’s desire to bloody Samsung has not change.

New lawsuits are filed by Apple.

“Just when it started to look like Apple was on a losing streak and their lawsuits were starting to die down, now they have fired another “salvo” in court at Samsung.  This time they are claiming “patent infringement” (what else) against the Samsung Galaxy SII, the Galaxy S Plus and eight other handsets.  This new volley was filed in Dusseldorf Regional Court which was the same place that Apple targeted (and failed against) the Galaxy Tab 10.1N. ”

Apple is persistent!  here is what these suits are about:

very vague) patents in the smartphone suit:

As the Android Police say:

” Yes, seriously – their patents are basically for a shape.”  And, yes, filing new suits in 2012 as Apple has had their previous similar lawsuits against the Samsung tablet tossed out of German courts, does seem a bit silly.  And until now I have not called the Apple claims silly, but it is beginning to appear thast their desire is to eliminate their primary competition.

Unless they have internal Samsung documents showing intent on Sammy’s part, or taped conversations by Samsung Executives discussing their efforts to “copy” or even mimic Apple products, they will probably see their newest suits kicked out of court as well.

more from Android Police:

“Nonetheless, the patents have been granted, and basically exclude – and I quote – “flat rectangular devices with rounded corners” and “the colors black and white.” I couldn’t make this up.”

Apple is suing over ‘rectangular” and ’rounded corners’?  I can understand multi-million or billion dollar lawsuits over ‘the colors black & white’, can’t you readers?  Oh, wait…I better change the color of my font here.

February 2nd:

Apples suits in Germany against Samsung, have been tossed out of court.  Again.

Apple had requested (again) that German courts BAN Samsung from selling their Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone products in Germany.

But will Apple stop suing Samsung???

February 3rd:

New study shows that iOS crashes more often than Android.

February 11th:

Apple keeps losing but keeps filing new lawsuits.  Sometimes I think this post will never close.

Now Apple has filed for an injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

“Apple is requesting that the Samsung Galaxy Nexus be blocked from sale in the United States“

The patents in question are:

U.S. Patent No. 5,946,647: a patent for data being used as a hyperlink

• U.S. Patent No. 8,086,604: a unified search patent
• U.S. Patent No. 8,046,721: a slide-to-unlock patent
• U.S. Patent No. 8,074,172: a word completion patent

Although the Nexus is Google in it’s guts, Apple is not suing Google, just Samsung.

“It’s time for Google to step in and put a stop to this bullshit. The first patent in question is the same one that was upheld against HTC in a move that shocked the tech community at large, essentially giving Apple the rights to the hyperlink — something invented over 20 years ago by numerous companies that aren’t Apple.

The other three are just as laughable, or would be if not for the fact that Apple was allowed to secure the patents at all. Every single one of them has existed as prior art long before Apple became relevant, yet a patent was granted each and every time.”

“…it’s cheaper to litigate away your competition than it is to out-innovate them.  And make no mistake — that’s exactly what’s going on here.  Apple wants Android to go away…” (bold is mine)

That is the truest statement here.  Apple is promoted as innovative and once upon a time it was.  Now it is just litigious, the new Microsoft.

February 14th:

Chinese company wants to ban imports of Apple iPads.  Not too surpising, right?  But they are asking Chinese courts too also ban EXPORTS of Apple iPads!!

“All of Apple’s iPads are manufactured in China, meaning global sales of the popular tablet computers might be affected if authorities agreed to enforce such a request by Shenzhen Proview Technology.

The dispute with Proview, which won a court ruling that it owns the iPad name in China, has resulted in authorities seizing iPads from retailers in one city. Proview said it has asked for enforcement in 30 other cities….

Apple bought rights to the iPad name in 2009 from a Taiwan affiliate, Proview Taipei, that registered it in various countries as early as 2000.

A Chinese court ruled in December that Proview is not bound by that agreement. It rejected Apple’s complaint that Proview was violating its rights.”

More detail about the Chinese lawsuit, confiscating iPads and pressure on Beijing from Apple can be found here.

The Chinese company which owns the trademark for the Apple name in China is in deep debt apparently.  Can Apple exert enough pressure about money & jobs to swing a vote their way when eveyone seems to agree that Apple is  in trademark violation there?  Or will Chinese law and traditions win, even though here in the West Apple clearly owns their name?

February 16th:

Apple wins one lawsuit.  The lawsuit against Motorola is over the “slide-to-unlock” feature.  I don’t believe it is something that even deserved a patent.  But they won’t let me make those decisions.  And, does it mean a slide to unlock feature that looks like and/or works like the Apple feature?  Or does it mean any feature that slides and unlocks any device?

“Earlier today, a Munich Regional Court offered Apple a permanent injunction  against several Motorola mobile products. The court ruled that the devices  infringe the iPhone maker’s slide-to-unlock gesture patent.

The court was tasked with evaluating three slide-to-unlock gestures, and  found that two of them violate Apple’s patent. A third, which is used by the  Motorola Xoom, was found to not be in violation.”

Apparently not every slide/unlock feture fits the bill.  But what about other devices?  Read more at the link above.

February 17th:

Can Apple just not help themslves?

Apparently Apple has filed a complaint against Motorola with the European Union (EU).

Remember that Motorola won an injunction against Apple in German courts.  The EU is already investigating Apple’s complaints against Samsung.  Now they have filed similar complaints against Motorola Mobility (in the midst of being purchased by Google). Apple has added 12 new patents to the complaint.

February 20th:

A Chinese Court has decided that Apple needs to pull the iPad off the Chinese shelves.  We will see if that actually happens or if some appeal or higher court in China decides differently in this patent & name war between Apple and the Chinese company that owns the name in China.

Everyone has been expecting that a financial settlement will clear things up and settle the issue without the court needing to make a decision.  Now we have the first (??) decision and we will see if perhaps it spurs Apple into check-cutting action.

February 22nd:

 Shenzhen Proview Technology sues Apple over the iPad name in Shanghai after the ongoing battle on mainland China.  The issue is one of an agreement that was reached between the two companies and the difference is just the site.  Apple contends that Proview has no rights in Shanghai because they have not been actively selling their own device under the IPAD name since 2009.

Of course, Proview argues that they still own the name even if they have not recently been selling their own device.

“The hearing adjourned after a fractious four-hour session which saw the judge repeatedly admonishing both sides to observe proper court protocol as they argued across the courtroom. No date was announced for a judgment or further hearings….

…Apple has appealed an earlier ruling against it in a court in Shenzhen, a city in southern China’s Guangdong province. The Guangdong High Court is due to hear that case on Feb. 29.”

Read the article at the above link for more on the Shanghai lawsuit.

February 27th:

The battle between an ailing Chinese electronics maker and Apple Inc. over the iPad name is just as much a tale of obsolescence in the fast-moving global technology industry as it is a legal row over a trademark.

When businessman Rowell Yang Long-san launched his own iPAD-branded device in 2000, a decade before Apple unveiled its hit tablet, he declared it received an “overwhelming market response.”  (bold is mine)

The Chinese company had the name a decade before Apple.  True their main product, the old cathode-ray tube monitor, is no longer viable they still had the iPad name long before Apple even thought about it.  And it appears that in China they still own the name even though they made some sort of deal with Apple.

Proview claims the deal did not cover mainland China and does not allow Apple to build iPads in China and export them tagged with that name.  And so far two courts have agreed with Proview.  Now more suits are about to be decided unless Proview and Apple can reach a deal.

“Just as Proview geared up to sell its “iFamily” line of products, including the iPAD, iTerminal and others, the dot.com bubble burst. Then came the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.”

March 4th:

German courts dismiss suits beteen amsung and Apple  “involving alleged patent infringements of the companies’ respective slide-to-lock technology on mobile devices.”

Apple made no immediate comment.  Samsung welcomed dismissal of Apple’s lawsuits but vowed to appeal dismissal of their own lawsuits against Apple.

March 6th:

 iPad dispute signals new era in trademark troubles.

“Given its penchant for “iproducts,” Apple’s current troubles in China over the iPad trademark are not its first, and are unlikely to be its last. China’s importance as a major consumer market is bringing fresh headaches for companies, and even celebrities, seeking to protect and claim brand names. That’s apart from the usual problems with piracy and other infringements….Apple and Proview are battling in Chinese and U.S. courts. Apple’s right to make and market the iPad under that name in China may hinge on a pending ruling from the High Court in Guangdong, in southern China. Over the past month, the conflict has escalated with Proview challenging not only Apple’s use of the mainland Chinese trademark but also the 2009 deal, which involved worldwide rights to the iPad name.

Whatever the outcome, the dispute highlights the rising stakes of the trademark name game in the increasingly lucrative China consumer market, one that most global companies cannot afford to miss out on regardless of the risks.”

Read the rest at the link above.

April 3rd:

Is this the BIG one?  Does this spell disaster for Android?  Is Apple about to take over the world??

“…today when a judge ruled and upheld (for the THIRD TIME) Apples’s touchscreen heuristics patent in a current Apple VS Motorola trial. This patent covers the ability for a phone’s touchscreen to recognize ANY user gesture on a screen that is not a straight line. Motorola has repeatedly fought this claim, but today the judge put his foot down. What does this mean? It means that if this claim is indeed finalized in July, any Android device (is Windows not affected?) with the ability to gesture a simple curve on any smartphone will be deemed as UNCOMPETITIVE. In other words, Apple has won the patent to make any curved gesture on a smartphone.” (the bold is mine)

What?  ANY gesture really on ANY smartphone?

The challenge is having judges who have no understanding about technology decide these cases.  He may be very knowledgeable about patent law and it may be the right patent decision.  But it’s not the right technology decision.  No way on earth should Apple (or any company) be ale to lay claim to “gestures”.

“Anaylist Florian Mueller from FOSSpatentsalso stated that the gesture in question should not be able to be patented at all. He went on to say in his blog:

“Motorola will realistically be unable to avoid a finding of infringement and will have to come up with some really good invalidity arguments if it wants to avoid disaster“.

This decision, if finalized, would leave Android, and all other smartphone makers, with two options:

1. pay Apple a lot of money
2. stop selling devices that are not Apple

Always wanted an iPhone or iPad?  Well, this may be your chance because that may be the only thing left on the market, according to this judge.

April 11th:

The Feds are after Apple and eBooks developers for conspiracy and for charging YOU the reader $2-4 per ook more than necessary.  And it wasn’t just that they charged a lot—they worked together, in concert, to rig the markettplace so that you could not buy books that published on the iPad unless you bought from them and unless you paid their outrageous fees.

Go get’em!!!

June 8th:

Recently Apple is after Motorola.

Samsung fights Apple move to block Galaxy sales.  Samsung’s ne Galaxy S III phone is scheduled for a U.S. release on a number of carriers later this month.

“Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday it will fight Apple’s move to stop U.S. sales of its new Galaxy phone in the latest flare-up of an intellectual property battle between the world’s top smartphone makers.

Samsung said it will vigorously oppose Apple’s request for a court to ban sales of the Galaxy S III smartphone and still plans to go ahead with the device’s scheduled release in the U.S. on June 21.”

That was in response to Apple’s U.S. District Court move on June 8th to ban the sale of the new Samsung phone.

The S III would give Samsung a step in front of Apple who plans to launch the new iPhone with a rumored September sales date.

The Samsung phone went on sale in Europe this month and is planned to be on 300 carriers worldwide.

It may be a challenge for Apple to argue the new Samsung phone infringes on the copyrights of an Apple phone still months from production and release.

June 21st

Catching up on Apple’s lawsuit trying to ban the GSIII from the shores of the USA.

First Apple decided to drop the lawsuit.  They said it was because their “core” suit could move forward quicker.  Their suit to block the Galaxy Nexus is nowhere near decided.

Apparently it has to do with the fact they would have been required to seek a Temporaary Restraining Order (TRO) to block the GSIII and they realized that they could not meet the legal requirements to win a TRO.  Cinsequently you will be able to buy a GSIII in NYC or LA or anyway in  between at the end of June 2012.  Yay!

The facts are that the Judge assigned to the ban case denied Apple’s motion.  And Samsung had vowed to launch the GSIII in spite of Apple’s attempt to block the sales.

This month Samsung also won a lawsuit against Apple in The Hague.  Dutch courts have determined that Apple owes royalties to Samsung.

Such fun this month.  Such a waste of time and money.

June 25th:

Perhaps Apple is suing because Samsung will sell 10 Million SIII units in July 2012!  WOW for sure.

“The South Korean company said the S III will be released by around 300 mobile carriers in 147 countries by the end of July, aiming for an early start before rival Apple announces a new version of the iPhone in the third quarter.

(AP) In this photo released by Samsung Electronics Co., Shin Jong-kyun, president of Samsung’s mobile… Full Image

The third version of the Galaxy S features a bigger screen – measured 4.8-inch diagonally – but is thinner and lighter than its predecessors and the iPhone 4S.

Samsung packed the high-end smartphone with a legion of new features including eye-recognition technology that keeps the screen from dimming. It also has voice command functions that let users schedule an alarm or adjust volume by speaking to their device.

Its near-field communication technology enables sharing of data heavy multimedia content among Galaxy S III users quickly. But activating the function – called S Beam – takes multiple steps.

Because Samsung customizes its flagship smartphone based on Google’s Android operating system, some of Samsung’s features overlap with those made by Google.”

June 27th:

Judge orders halt to Samsung sales of Galaxy tab:

This is a big decision, it is not a final decision but it happened in the U.S. Courts so it is a big decision for Apple and Samsung sure.  But it reverberates across companies like Google the developer of Android, and all of the other makers of Android tablets.  The companies Apple is taking on in other lawsuits and even companies who have yet to be sued.

This appears to be an utterly earthshaking (temporary) decision.

“(U.S. District Judge Lucy) Koh had earlier said the two products are “virtually indistinguishable,” but she declined in December to take the dramatic step of prohibiting sales of the Galaxy 10.1. She changed her mind after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit told Koh to take another look at Apple’s request for an injunction, ruling June 19 that it appeared the Cupertino-based company had a strong case. The Washington, D.C., court handles most patent appeals.

“Although Samsung has a right to compete, it does not have a right to compete unfairly, by flooding the market with infringing products,” Koh wrote in her Tuesday order. She said Apple would be “irreparably harmed” if sales of the Galaxy 10.1 continued.”

Read more here

July 2nd:

In the China Court:  Apple had to pay $60 Million to settle a dispute with a company in China which owns the iPad name.  The Chinese company, Proview, felt the lawsuit was worth more money but were under significant pressure because of debts and felt they had to take this offer.

“The case gave Chinese authorities a chance to show that their courts could impartially resolve intellectual property disputes but also raised the possibility that technology investors might be put off by a negative outcome for Apple. Chinese regulators said Proview clearly owned the mainland name rights under Chinese rules.Without a formal ruling, it will be hard for companies to draw lessons about how Chinese courts will handle such disputes in the future, said Stan Abrams, an American lawyer who teaches intellectual property law at Beijing’s Central University of Finance and Economics.”This is not the first time Apple has run afoul of Chinese law.  Apple violated Chinese trademark laws over the naming of the iPhone in 2007.  Read more about the settlement at the link above.July 20th:iPad goes on salein China after the lawsuit got settled.”Watched by security
guards, a few dozen shoppers waited outside stores in Beijing and Shanghai,
which opened on time at 8 a.m. That was in contrast to the chaotic scene outside
Apple’s main Beijing store in January, when some customers who wanted to buy a
new iPhone shouted and threw eggs after managers delayed the opening due to
safety concerns about the hundreds of people waiting…….Sun Xufei, a 32-year-old computertechnician who was the first customer in line in Shanghai, said he had put off buying an iPad so Apple had time to develop “a perfect one.” The 30 customers in line when the store opened were outnumbered by the reporters watching them.”I am very surprised to see there is nobody here waiting,” Sun said.”

July 30th:

Jury is seated in lawsuit over iPod & iPad patents in a San Jose Federal Courtroom.

My guess is that Apple has more sway in South San Francisco & San Jose than Google /Samsung do.

“A jury was selected Monday to decide the merits of Apple Inc.’s claims that Samsung Electronics Co.’s smartphones and computer tablets are illegal knockoffs of the iPhone and iPad.

Lawyers for both sides were expected to deliver their opening arguments Tuesday morning in a San Jose federal courtroom, followed by Apple calling its first witness, a company designer. The witness lists of both sides are long on experts, engineers and designers and short on familiar names. Apple CEO Tim Cook, for example, is not scheduled to testify.

Apple filed a lawsuit against Samsung last year alleging smartphones and computer tablets made by the world’s largest technology company are illegal knockoffs of Apple’s popular iPhone and iPad products.

Cupertino-based Apple is demanding $2.5 billion in damages, an award that would dwarf the largest patent-related verdict to date.”

Lat month a U.S. District Judge, Lucy Koh, ruled also in San Jose that Samsung cease & desist in selling their Galaxy 10.a” Tablet and pull the product from the shelves “though she barred Apple attorneys from telling the jurors about the ban“.  Really?

“That’s a pretty strong statement from the judge and shows you what she thinks about some of Apple’s claims,” said Brian Love, a Santa Clara University law professor and patent expert. He said that even though the case will be decided by 10 jurors, the judge has the authority to overrule their decision if she thinks they got it wrong.”

More from the Bee article here.

“Samsung …counter-claims that Apple copied its iconic iPhone from Sony. Samsung lawyers noted the company has been developing mobile phones since 1991 and that Apple jumped into the market in 2007.

One thing that is notable is that this trial is happening at all,” said Love, the law professor and patent expert. He said that in an industry such as this where so many companies hold so many vital patents needed by all players, lawsuits are viewed as toying with “mutually assured destruction” and that most disputes are solved through “horse trading” and agreements to share intellectual property and royalties. ”

Also from the Bee article above.

August 23rd:

One billion dollars.  The possibility of three billion dollars.  That is the judgement of the jury in the U.S. patent war between Apple and Samsung.

So who lost?  Samsung?

No, they will appeal and appeal.  The judgement ma go up or down.  It’s a lot of money but it will not break Samsung.

The loser?  The public because the choices in the marketplace will be reduced.  Perhaps severel reduced.  Does Apple need the court to give them another monopoly.  No on can make products that compete successfull with Apple?

I own Samsung.  I own Apple.  I own Android.  I own iOS.  Hell, I own Windows.

“This decision should not be allowed to stand because it would discourage innovation and limit the rights of consumers to make choices for themselves,” Samsung lead lawyer John Quinn said. He argued that the judge or an appeals court should overturn the verdict.

Apple lawyers plan to formally demand Samsung pull its most popular cellphones and computer tablets from the U.S. market. They also can ask the judge to triple the damages from $1.05 billion to $3 billion.”

I should be allowed to choose the product that fits me best.  By stle, type, name, price…whatever.

The patent court is important and I can support a jury decision to prevent stealing of ideas or product configurations.

But I cannot support a patent jury or a patent court or a patent bureaucrat making a decision that gives one side or the other a monopoly in teh marketplace.

What company will be willing to compete against Apple if Samsung lost so substantially and so publicly?

“The U.S. case was the latest skirmish in a global legal battle between the two tech giants. Its outcome is likely to have ripple effects in the smartphone market. Other device makers relying on Android, the mobile operating system that Google Inc. has given for free to Samsung and other phone makers, may be more reluctant to use the software and risk getting dragged into court.”

What company will make new Android based products now?  And how many companies that currently make Android companies are reconsidering?  And what do the do?  Where do they go?  Windows 8?

Toda Apple and Samsung combined account for nearl one-half of all smartphone and tablet sales worldwide.

Will an company now create a new OS for phones or tablets or some new unknown product?  Knowing that court appearances could become their life?  And that billion dollar judgements become their death?

This is a sad day for the telecommunications and computing public.  Look around.  Soon it will once again be Apple vs Windows.  And it will be sad for me to be pulling for Windows.

“Samsung’s Galaxy line of phones run on Android, and ISI Group analysts viewed
the verdict as a blow to Android as much as Samsung.

If Android lose any ground in the mobile computing market, that would hurt Google, too. That’s because Google relies on Android to drive mobile traffic to its search engine and services to sell more advertising.”

Read more from AP HiTech here.

August 26th:

Jurors grappled with the tough patent issues in the Apple v Samsung trial.

Having been on a few juries, I am sure this one was not easy,

“The decision Friday by this panel of people from many walks of Silicon Valley life was one that experts say could dramatically alter the future of computer tablet and phone design if the verdict stands. But the case also is part of a trend that has accompanied an explosion in the number of patent infringement cases, especially in the technology sector….

…Deliberations in the Apple v. Samsung battle were far more challenging than most. The jury was confronted with hundreds of questions on a 20-page verdict form that was more complicated than a U.S. tax return. They had in the jury room more than two dozen electronic devices at issue, 12 patents to decipher and 109-pages of instructions from the judge on rendering a verdict.

“This case is unmanageable for a jury,” Robin Feldman, an intellectual property professor at the University of California Hastings Law School, said before the verdict. “There are more than 100 pages of jury instructions. I don’t give that much reading to my law students. They can’t possible digest it.”

“The trial is evidence of a patent system that is out of control,” Feldman said. “No matter what happens in this trial, I think people will need to step back and ask whether we’ve gone too far in the intellectual property system.”

Read more from AP on this case here.

Here is a short Q & A for owners of Samsung devices or consumers considering Samsung.

“Despite being a driving force in phone development since the iPhone was launched in 2007, Apple has only 19 percent of the worldwide smartphone market, according to IDC. The high price of the iPhone keeps it out of the reach of many consumers. Meanwhile, Android phones have 64 percent of the market.”

—

Related articles

• David Gurteen: Australia Appeals Judge Questions Fairness of Samsung Tablet Ban (businessweek.com)
• Apple vs. Samsung: The Patent Wars, Explained [INFOGRAPHIC] (mashable.com)
• Australia Appeals Judge Questions Fairness of Samsung Tablet Ban (businessweek.com)
• Apple vs. Samsung Patent War continues (thedroidguy.com)
• Apple, Samsung Take Smartphone War to First U.S. Jury – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
• Samsung Accuses Apple of ‘ambush Litigation’ in 3G Patent Trial (pcworld.com)
• Samsung, Apple Even At Odds Over Where they Will Sit at Trial (allthingsd.com)
• Apple, Samsung Take Smartphone War to First US Jury – Businessweek (businessweek.com)
• Apple pursuing over $2.5 billion in upcoming Samsung trial (electronista.com)

Rumors Galore for iPhone 5, Droid Bionic & Samsung Nexus Prime

This is a spin-off,  a stepson, of the old post that began with  my quest for a new phone and the question I posed on the original post:  Buy A New Droid or A New  iPhone?? which you can find by clicking on that link.

The original post will continue to be updated as I am still in search of my next phone and the choice is still Droid (probably Prime) or iPhone (probably 5), unless I leave Verizon since they piss me off way too often lately.

I wish there was a carrier with good 4G service combined with quality phones and good choices and top-notch customer service.  I know…that’s just a dream.

This post will solely be limited to the latest rumors about the upcoming Samsung Nexus Prime and the iPhone 5 as well as a few other highly anticipated phones.

It doesn’t matter if you call the Prime the Samsung Prime or the Nexus Prime or the Google Prime or any combination of Samsung, Nexus and Google with Prime.  Or just Prime by itself which is what I usually call this phone now.  It will still be the Droid that will do battle with the iPhone 5?  Who will win?  Who will have the best phone?

I have no idea, it’s all just guessing right now, but I do know this:  both phones will be steps ahead of their current siblings.  And the ‘steps ahead’ will be 90% software with some minor hardware improvements.

I have also split off the information related to the ongoing lawsuit war and public relations war between Samsung and Apple involving both their tablets and their telephones.  Click here for that post.

Now….on with the rumors!!!

Update  September 16: 

Nice tidbits from 4chan via Ausdroid, explaining that 4chan is claiming they have “hands-on” time with the three big ” Unicorns” of the cellphone world:  They are all about the Android, so no iPhone stuff at that site.

1. Samsung Galaxy S III (yes, 3)
2. Nexus Prime (which they call the Galaxy Nexus)
3. and Ice Cream Sandwich or Fudge Encrusted Waffle Cone or something

This link takes you to the article with Prime specs you have mostly seen:  4.65 AMOLED screen, ICS, 1 gig RAM, 16gb mem, 8.8mm metal body etc etc.

Galaxy S III will be revealed at the 2012 Mobile World Congress, 1.5 gig RAM, 32gb mem, 2250mAh battery, Ice-Cream Sandwich with Touchwiz 5 overlaid, 10 meg camera, 10mm glass & metal body.

The Sammy S III specs are truly insane.

Here is an interesting tidbit:

“Samsung is currently one of Apple’s largest suppliers of components for its products, though the latter has been trying to distance itself from its rival in past months, but it seems that the Korean company is willing to go on the offensive to defend its products against Apple’s legal onslaughts.”

The article that quote is from explains that Samsung is now preparing to sue Apple for patent infringement (as Apple has sued, and won, patent suits against Samsun) as soon as the iPhone 5 is released.  Check the article here.

Upate September 17th: 

Well, the eventual Prime smartphone will tell the truth here, but the latest Nexus rumor is that the Prime may carry the Jellybean Android OS instead of  the anticipated Ice Cream Panini.   That would be a good thing because there were reports last week that Google was putting off highly expected OS changes from ICS to Jelly Belly Bean.

Check the rumor article here.

And…..A Samsung Rep shows some dude his Prime???  Really?

I’ll show you mine if you show me yours!!

Later on September 17th:

Rumored release date for the Prime is November 3rd.

Update September 18th, 1:30 am:

The Prime continues to be tagged a “Beast” on the Korean tech site Electronic Times where it is said to carry a Krait-based dual core Snapdragon processor which “will have the ability to run at an amazing speed of 2.5 GHz per core at the least, which will make it more than 100 times faster than a normal ARM-based CPU.”

This site lists their Top 5 smartphones that will give the Samsung Galaxy S II a “run for its money”.

This article calls the Google Nexus an ATT device on Thanksgiving (still confusing with the Google Nexus, Samsung Nexus, Samsung Prime or wuteva) a “revolutionary” smartphone.  Here are their 5 reasons

1. the device camera
2. the operating system
3. the screen dimension
4. the processor
5. other notable features

The rumor mill is so mind bendingly ass-scratching confusing.

Update late September 18th:

Notion Ink outs the release date for Ice Cream Sandwich–late October.  Click here for more.

And here is the Notion Ink blog.

And the Android Central article is at this link.

So, October for the Prime 4G with ICS would make me snatch one up quickly.

We will see what tomorrows rumors bring.

Update September 21st:

So is the Apple really about to give birth to #5 as soon as October 4th?  Here is the article with AllThingsD giving away a new release date.  True or no??

My only iPhone rumor is that there will be a new iPhone rumor tomorrow.  Take it to the bank.

Also, today Apple is spending big big bucks (many zeros please) buying up flash orders in order to reduce the need for Samsung products.

Of course, Apple would like to have the ability to reduce their dependence on Samsung even for something as generic as their flash products.

And now they are swallowing up flash memory and RAM from Japanese suppliers, as the two companies are engaged in ongoing lawsuits.

Devious?

“Apple could have the freedom not just to avoid vulnerability to Samsung but to  punish the company by depriving it of what’s often its largest customer.”

October 22nd:

I guess it must be true, huh??  Al Gore says the iPhone 5 will be released in October.

“Gore spoke Wednesday at the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.”  You have been waiting for that verification, haven’t you??

Al Gore is on the Apple board, so he would certainly have some (limited) information about products and maybe even timeframes.  But even if, he would be under board member expectations to keep his fucking mouth closed.

Some peeps just can’t help themselves.

Later on September 22nd:

My friend of the Who is suing whom? fame (check that post and the excellent article out here) now has shared an amazing article with me with a link here saying that Samsung has now unveiled a FLEXIBLE Android phone.  Like my friend said, “WHAT??”.  The article says “Do you think a flexible phone is just science fiction?”  To what I say, “Well, hell yea!”

Apparently Samsung has unveiled the Samsung Galaxy Skin, slated for release in the 2nd quarter of 2012.  Samsung insists that the Skin can “take on different shapes and take on even hammer blows”.

I gotta see this, until then my good old skeptics (aka:  bullshit) antenna is at full height.

Check out the article and keep your ears open.

Scary thought:  Imagine  the world dominated by Apple.  Almost as bad as Microsoft domination.

Android Central has a forum on “Is the Prime a Better Phone Than The Bionic”.

Check it out here if you are wondering.

September 24th:

This link takes you to a TON of info on iPhone (why you should by a 4 instead of a 5), the Prime, and the Nokia Windows Phone plus a few other juicy tidbits.  This is a UK site called Fone Home by VodaFone.

cnet has more rumors today that indicate the iPhone 5 release will be on or before October 10th.  Today they use iundications from Twitter events and vacation days as pointing toward the October 10th release date for iOS5.

They say the possible iPhone 5 announcement date will be October 4th (see the Al Gore stuff above).

Apple is not allowing any employee vacation days on and around October 5, 2011.

September 24th:

Global sales of the Samsung Galaxy S II hit 10 million units.  I wonder if Verizon is rethinking their decision to say “no thank you” to this great phone??  Yes, they will have the Prime (eventually) and they have the Bionic (finally) but the S II is a top seller world-wide, stymied in the US by threats of Apple lawsuits and wuteva.

Everyone seems to be repeating the same October 5th iPhone 5 announcement date, so it seems it is a bit truer now.  Maybe a new iPhone in mid-October, an early Christmas present!!

The HTC Amaze 4G has some leaks including press photos and is scheduled for T-Mobile, on par with the Samsung Galaxy S II.

Today Twitter schedules an October 12th meeting to discuss iOS5 integration.  Hard to believe we are reaching the finish line.  Then we can start the countdown to iPhone 6 and iOS6!!

September 26th:

Samsung:

Since Samsung is a Korean company, it makes some sense that Korea is the first to get their hands on the Samsung Galaxy S II LTE and HD LTE.  See them here.   Nada for the U.S. markets yet, but at least these beasts have been released somewhere.  If they were released here I would have toswitch carriers because Verizon so politely said “No thank you” to the S II handsets.

Google:

Google continues to take steps toward their dream of becoming a carrier.  (of what, you say?  I won’t make any carrier jokes).  Today they lauch a MVNO (mobile virtual network operator ) trial in Spain.  Click here for details.  You find Google as a mobile carrier hard to believe?  Remember their purchase of Motorola Mobility?  They can do a lot with that company and the assets, but it would make a great start toward establishing a service at some point..

What Google is missing is the needed infrastructure.  Hence the MVNO.  it positions you a little higher up the food chain than a simple reseller of mobile services, but you don’t need to build an entire network.  The example used is Virgin Atlantic Airlines and their Virgin Mobile.

Nexus:

Going to the Open solutions conference?  Sprint will give away 1,500 Nexus S 4G’s at the conference.

Check it out here.

The following is from my Lawsuit post, but is of interest here:  Apple reduces patent infringements suit against Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, Samsung claims Apple infringes on 3g patents “structurally”.  See the article here from Next Gadgets.

In the midst of their lawsuit against Samsung related to the iPad and Galaxy Tab 10.1, Apple has cut supply orders for the iPad 2 by 25% in the last two weeks,  according to JP Morgan.  Check the Business Week article here.  Watch for possible movement on the stock market.

CTIA Conference:

So some digging by intoMobile reveals that there are two unannounce awards to be presented for two also unannounce devices, tablets or cellphones.

On the CTIA website there is a Holidays Award List with those two empty holes and intoMobile is suggesting (or hoping???) that there could be two Samsung devices that plug right into the list.

• the Samsung Galaxy S II 7.7″ tablet
• and, the Samsung Nexus Prime

The holes in the list say “A product to be announced from Samsung Mobile, Samsung Telecommunications America.”

They actually have a copy of the list on their website at the link above.  Check it out if you are interested.

Samsung Galaxy S II:  If you click this link  it will take you over to AndroiodCommunity and you can watch a little video of a guy unboxing an AT&T Galaxy S II and booting the phone up as he walks thru the basics of the device.  It sure does look sweet even with the AT&T logo on it and their screens.

iPhone 5 features may have been leaked and if the data provided by 9to5mac is true, the “5” will be a beast to contend with.  “Apple’s dual-core A5 processor like the iPad 2 for even faster performance, better gaming, and drastically improved graphics. Apple didn’t stop there though. Unlike the iPad 2, the new iPhone packs 1GB of RAM”.  The biggest change will be a software feature called the Assistant.  “Assistant taps into many aspects of the iPhone. (…) Assistant allows users to set reminders for the iOS 5 Reminders application, it will use the user’s current location via GPS and provide directions, (…) it provides  the ability to create and send an SMS or iMessage with just your voice. One of the key elements of Assistant is the conversation view. The system will actually speak back and forth with the user to gain the most information in order to provide the best results. (…) Assistant is literally like a personal assistant, but in your phone. The speech interpretation is so accurate that users do not even have to speak very clearly or in a slow and robotic tone, according to a source familiar with the software.”

Here is the 9to5mac site, lots of good Apple “stuff” there.

September 27:

BIG Apple news, Apple sends invitations today to their big “announcement” event scheduled for Tuesday, October 4 at 10am Pacific Daylight Time on Apple’s campus in Cupertino.

The event is titled “Let’s Talk iPhone“.

So, most of the recent Apple/iPhone 5 rumors were correct, right down to the date.

Now we shall see if the remaining parts of the rumors are right.  Will Apple announce a date for the iPhone 5 release that matches up?  Most recently the talk has been a release date of October 10th.

“On September 21 AllThingsD, citing “sources close to the situation”, said that Apple had selected the date to showcase the iPhone 5, with the company expected to announce that its new smartphone(s) would be available “within a few weeks” after the announcement.”

The Loop’s Jim Dalrymple posted the 1st word that I saw at a little after 8 a.m. this morning, stating The Loop had received an invitation to the event from Apple and will be attending.

So here we go.  What will Samsung do?  Will they wait before their own Prime gets officially announced?  Initially the expectation was that Apple would let Samsung announce and then steal their thunder by announcing the “big” new smartphone, their own iPhone 5.

I like cnet a lot.  Today they have started a video rumor blog and here is Episode 1, Let the Battle Begin!

“…you’ll never have to hear an iPhone 5 rumor on our show again.*”

*We reserve the right to renege on this promise if something goes haywire on Tuesday and there are more rumors to come.

Now we will be anticipating an announcement about the Samsung Nexus Prime at some point soon.

iPhone 5, What to Expect:  From Mashable, but not much new.  Design change, faster, better screen & cameras, voice recognition, 4g or not 4g (?), no shopping, more carriers, also a 4S.  Even more at Mashable.

And now you can draw your version of the iPhone 5 (or as they guys at TUAW say, the iFauxn), even in crayon, and win their contest!  Get your design on baby!!

Nice article at Next Gadgets today about Apple and the decision that they are not able to trademark the term “multi-touch”.  They explain Apple isn’t too upset about this decision because the term Apple execs really want to trademark is…..”App Store”.  What?  That is almost as bad as back when the company tried to sue God for using the term “apple” in the bible.

The Prime:

Not strictly a rumor, but related:  it is always suprising when phone accessory makers jump the gun on the phone’s actual release.  This Product Reviews site reminds you to be careful when you see folks selling you items to go with a phone that is not even on the market yet, and they talk specifically about the “Nexus Prime”.

“The eve of the Samsung  Nexus Prime is almost upon us”, that from Android Cenntral today.

You can find more on this here.

They explain that a  GSM version passed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group today. so combined with the Apple invitation today, it really is just a matter of time before the big announcement and release.

I’m not sure which phone interests me more.  I am anticipating both devices.  Mebbe I needs to buy both bad boys.

Droid 4:  With the Bionic out and the Prime coming we are getting a Droid 4?  Really?  And, why??  Anyway, it is code-named Maserati.  4g, slide out qwerty keyboard (I like that even tho it adds a little weight), & 4″ screen.  Check the sitte for the rest.

Windows Phone:

Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5 Mango begins it’s “slow, confusing rollout.”  Read more at Digital Trends  and on the Windows Phone Blog

September 28th:

Google  releases a 2nd attempt at a bug fix for the Nexus S with an upgrade.  ZDNet UK reports that Google has begun updating its Nexus S smartphones around the world to Android ‘Gingerbread’ version 2.3.6.  “Android 2.3.6 is only a minor upgrade from 2.3.4, chiefly aiming to fix a voice-search bug that some experienced with that previous version.”

T-Mobile posts a letter to customers about the iPhone, “acknowledging in unusually candid terms that it was aware of “many” customers  who were disappointed that the company does not carry the iPhone”.

Worldwide times for the October 4th Apple Event:  Click here for a chart from iPhone4 Jailbreaks showing times by location for the (hopeful) iPhone 5 announcement.

The Nexus Prime:Approved, 3.0 Bluetooth Technology.  Product Reviews is happy to see Bluetooth approved for the handset they suspect is the Prime, but they worry that ICS may not be included if the phone is released next month.

Into Mobile has a few tips for Samsung as they move their product line forward. :

• (why does this not surprise me?)  Stop with the Apple bullshit
• give Steve Kondick more creative control
• let Ice Cream Sandwich shine through
• Samsung, meet metal (cut the plastic cord)

Amazon Kindle-itis:  Some peeps are saying that Amazon stole some ink and thunder from Apple by coming out with their three new Kindle units before Apple can even hold their untitled “event”

Here is a cnet “First Look” at the new Kindle Fire, which they are reviewing strictly from the presentation Amazon gave to the media today and written specs.  No hands-on yet, no release for these devices until November, so it does seem to be kind of quick on the announcement.

Two Minutes of Ice Cream Sandwich:  Some dude buys a Nexus S on eBay and it turns out the device is loaded with ICS?  Really??  How come that shit don’t happen to me?  So, he makes a crappy little 2 minute video and ships it off to the great folks at Engadget who share it with us.  Just click the lead in link to watch the (not so good) video and read their write-up.

If it’s a fake, someone went to a hell of a lot of trouble, especially since we will all see the real deal ICS in a few weeks according to the rumors.  And the rumors are pretty accurate as far as saying ICS will be revealed by mid-October because Google has incentive to show it off now that Apple is about to reveal iOS 5.

Such secrecy!!

Apple Insiders reveal a date on which Google will “launch their flagship Nexus Prime” on October 11th.

Here’s what they are saying:

“Samsung and Google are partnering up for an event on Oct. 11 that will showcase “what’s new from Android” and will likely launch the Nexus Prime, the first phone running Android 4.0 “Ice Cream Sandwich,” just one week after Apple unveils its next-generation iPhone”.

We shall see, but if anything it’s a pretty good guess.  It is driven by an article on Tech Crunch (here) telling us that Samsung & Google have sent out invitations (did you get one?) for their event on October 11th in San Diego at 11:30 a.m.  And, of course, the hope is that on the 4th we see Apple’s iPhone 5 and on the 11th we get the Samsung/Google/Nexus Prime (I still just want to know what the fucking name is).

Throw in iOS 5 and ICS and that would be a good October.

Here is a different take on the same ICS video & circumstances from the Android Guys, and they also suggest that we circle a date on our calendar when we will learn more (hint:  it’s October 11th!!)

Unless something breaks loose I’m not adding anything else to this.  Everytime I breathe someone posts another copy of this video and a different version of what the original folks said.

And thanks Engadget   Twitter @engadget

HTC Rhyme now available on Verizon, not part of the rumor anymore.  It’s just here cuz it was the “female” phone and they had that wierd damn commercial which they actually show you at the link.  Who would buy it?  Even at the give away price?

Peeps are already counting iPhone 5 fans vs Prime fans??  And the score (at least on this website) is:  Apple’s got more!!  Uh, how many have the phones?  Anyway it’s device magazine, check it out.

September 29th:

The BIG news is still the October 11th Samsung event.  prime or not to Prime?  The cnet Asia news includes the rumors we have all heard:  screen size, ICS, etc and they credit Tech Crunch for the rest of the post.

Product Reviews (PR) website sets off their day with the Google Unpacked event news.  “A perfect scenario for us and indeed Android fans around the world would be the full unveilings of both Ice Cream Sandwich and the Nexus Prime or Galaxy Nexus. It would definitely send a message and to Apple and kick off considerable excitement if Google drop solid release dates for both.”  That’s the expectation.  Will they live up to it or did they rush their event because Apple set theirs for October 4th?

For that matter, assuming the expectations for Apple are the same (iOS 5 & iPhone 5 with solid dates), can they meet the expectation or did they jump their own gun?

September 29th:

Today it is said that Google has remotely wiped the leaked ICS OS from the Samsung Galaxy S phone purchased on eBay.  I guess it should not surprise, but having the OS go “poof” makes the argument that it was always a ‘fake’ even stronger.  Read the Gizmo Crunch article at the link.

Android Tablet rumors/thoughts:  I own a Kindle.  I never really thought of it as a tablet, even though I know at some level, it is exactly that.  I also own a 7″ companion to a HP wireless printer.  I never really thought of it as a tablet, even though I use it as one because you can access the internet and pull down your e-mail as well as remotely print from the device.  It has some limited Android OS.

And so, I have not thought of the new Kindle devices, including the Fire, as Android  tablets.  The article at the link not only suggests the Fire is an Android tablet, it suggests it may be the Android tablet that kills off the others and challenges the iPad.  I’m not sure I believe that.  I think Samsung will at some point get to sell their 10.1 here and that people will realize the 8″ may be a better form factor for tablets.

That said, Next Gadgets makes a strong argument for the Kindle Fire as an Android Tablet to beat all others.

“Whether Amazon’s 7-inch tablet fires up Android development will depend on the success of the device.  ‘It’s a bit of a chicken and egg problem,’ Gartner analyst Van Baker says. If the tablet is successful with consumers, then it will spur Android tablet development.  But it really doesn’t look like the Kindle Fire will have any problems being successful.”

“Elaine Coleman of Resolve Market Research shares a similar sentiment. The Kindle Fire will elevate Android app development because Amazon has already done such a standout job of establishing itself in the space with customers, and the Kindle Fire has direct access to its built-in app store.”

So the Amazon Kindle Fire’s success will dictate Android Tablet App growth, but the tablet must be successful without many apps first.  In other words, it must be successful as an e-reader and then generate developers creating other apps for the Fire.

Read the article.  It includes links to other informative articles about the Fire.

And if you do not believe that the Kindle Fire will be successful, check this article out.  Because both the Fire and the Touch have already taken their place at the top of Amazon’s best selling list.

This cnet video suggests the Kindle Fire is already a big success.  “Amazon had a pretty freaking good week.”

The Amazon CEO says the Kindle Fire is an “end-to-end device like the iPhone.  Read the Android Headlines article at the link.  “He’s quick to highlight how the branded device is a world away from other Android tablets on the market, and more like Apple’s iPad.”

oOh my…..Amazon has plans for world domination?  Really??  According to Digital Trends this is true.  “the Kindle Fire is designed expressly to consume other types of media.”  And, of course, books too!

Is this a “list of files” for the Nexus Prime?  This Android Central article suggests the list is surprisingly bloatware free.   You will find the list of files at the link.

The Germans create an iPhone 5 prototype based on the same design rumors that you & I have heard.

The article, a nice video and some pics are here at this Digital Trends link.  “The gadget heads at Germany-based technology website Giga.de have created their own iPhone 5 prototype based on a variety of iPhone 5 rumors.”

You can find the Giga.de website at this link . it says Benm.at, and their iPhone prototype article is in English (thank god) while the rest appears is in German (mine is quite rusty).

The video has English subtitles, which are welcome.  I had to turn the sound down and just read.  The language always sounds harsh to my ears.

iPhone 5 Visualized:  Rumors are that the new phone looks like its worst enemy!!  Read the Gizmo Crunch article at the link.  If it turns out to look like the Samsun, who will sue first?  And where?  There is the German prototype video at Gizmo Crunch.

September 30th

Android Central adds a video podcast here.

AT&T begins throttling on October 1st.  Don;t get caught by surprise.  Check the link.

Device Magazine points to rumored Prime processor and battery problems.  They (and we) don’t know what processor will be included or who the manufacturer will be, but guess that the size and needs of the processor will have a negative effect on the battery.  Check it out at the link.

Gizmo Crunch says iPhone 5 or Prime, it’s what’s inside that counts.

Of course it seems that no one actually has anything new to say while we wait for the next week and then a week after.

My guess?  The iPhone and the Samsung will be top-quality amazing new phones.  People will buy one or the other and then most will remain entrenched with the one that they buy.  By mid-October (if the phones are available that early) it will be:  What phone is the best?  The one that I bought.  Very few of us would say…Damn!  The best phone is the one that I DID NOT buy!!

Apple Stores close for unknown reasons, with signs saying “We will reopen October 5th”.  Strange, must really be stocking up.  maybe those iPhone 5 screens got a LOT bigger!  Read it at the link.

Samsung S II on AT&T has security flaws,  Check on Android Central at the link.

and here is a fix for the lockscreen issue

cnet calls these the FINAL Apple rumors:  somehow I don’t think so.  Click on the cnet link.

Prime and other phones appear on the Verizon Cellebrite system.  What is cellebrite?  The system stores use to transfer your info from your old phone onto your new phone when you buy one.  When new phones show up there it means they are real.

The Examiner says that Verizon will be the first carrier to get the Prime.

October 1st:

Radio Shack lists the iPhone 5

More on the Samsung “Unpacked” event

iPhone 5 Prototype:  The 2nd one is lost and sold to the case maker??

October 2nd:

Is your iPhone ready for iOS5??  If you are not getting a new iPhone, make sure your phone is ready for a new iOS.

This article explains why the author feels iPhone 5 will out “event” Prime.     It may.  Apple has always been good at events.  But what does that mean?  Is it important if it is true?  He explains that people will line up like Star Wars for their iPhone but won’t line up for an Android.  People have lined up for Apple products in the past.  Certainly for iPhones.

But they lined up because Apple’s marketing plan has always been about controlling the product.  You could only buy an iPhone at an Apple store.  If you wanted it day one, as diehards want it, you lined up.   It was an Apple event and you knew you couldn’t walk into AT&T store (THE Apple carrier, bad choice to me) and buy one.  It is only recently iPhones could be purchased from the carrier.

How will the 5 roll out?  Only at the Apple store?  Or has Apple decided their relationships with carriers is too important to suddenly pull the product back in-house?  If every AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile store is selling the 5 on day one will folks need to camp out for days?

We shall see.

Are you an Apple Fanboy?  Are you salivating over the chance to camp out in the rain at your local Apple store and be the first in your little Fanboy group to buy the iPhone 5??  Answer the quiz at the link and find out if you are an Apple Fanboy.

The bad thing?  My results say…..I might be a damn Fanboy too.

TUAW asks us why no iOS5 BETA??  They explain that Apple usually pushes BETAs out to users every week or so, but this time it has been over a month since the last BETA which was “not fully baked” and they wonder why.

And you can vote on the answer or even comment and give your own!  Check at the link.

Gee…I wonder what is happening THIS week, asks TUAW??

Ya think that we will have any announcements?  Or rollouts?  Or rumors?  Or new information to talk about?  Hmmm….I wonder if anything will happen this week???

I’m as confused as hell.

Detailed review of Mango 7.5  I expect that at some point soon Microsoft will climb their way up toward the heap of the smartphone OS world with Apple and Google, because as I have said above, over 90% of a smartphone is software.  The OS and the apps.  And Windows may not know phones, but they know software and it seems that they have finally figured out they can build phone software that can compete.

This review is pretty detailed by an author who had spent time with an original Windows phone and was not impressed.  Click the link to find out if 7.5 impressed him at all.

October 3rd:

Well, one more day and here we hav a video purporting to be of the iPhone 5 running iOS 5 “Startup”.  I’m not an Apple expert so I am not sure what exactly this is.  It does look different than iPhone start screens I have seen.  Faster and with a different placement of the “slide to unlock” lock.  Of course, it could be the East Indian background music that twisted my head around.  Check it out at the link for something to do before the big day.

It is expected that global shares in the smartphone market will change in 4Q 2011 due to the launch of the iPhone 5, Samsung Prime and Nokia Mango 7.5.

How badly does the iPhone need a redesign?  cnet dives into this issue at the link.  I can’t wait until tomorrow.  I want to be “wow’ed” by the design and by the software upgrades.  I want speed and even a larger screen I guess, tho that is not so important.  And I do not want significant increases for phone and data plan.  F the providers.  Can Apple get me to switch?

Watch the Apple event live on CNET.  You can set an e-mail reminder from 1 day to 15 minutes prior to Let’s Talk iP  hone.  I’ll see you there.

What time???  10 am Pacific Standard Time (PST).

Last minute whispers:  iPhone 4S pricing and October 14th as the launch date?? Next Gadgets says international subsuduzed pricing for the 4S:  “we think it’s highly likely that the 64GB iPhone 4S will cost $  299, the 32GB will cost $  199, and the 16GB will drop down to $  99 in the United States.”

As for the October 14th launch date, Next Gadgets tells us that “We’re now hearing that Apple is preparing their retail stores for an October 14th iPhone launch. This phone will of course be the iPhone 4S with an A5 processor, the breakthrough Assistant feature, an eight megapixel camera, Nuance speech-to-text, and 1GB of RAM. Apple Stores are also planning overnights for October 13th. We’ve also heard that stores will open at 7AM for the crowds on that Friday. Certain locations will even be open until midnight to help meet demand.”

Could the iPhone 5 really be exclusive to Sprint??  Next Gadgets says:  “Just when I thought there was no more room for surprises relating to tomorrow’s iPhone announcement, we get a couple of doozies. Actually, it’s more like one big piece of legit-sounding iPhone news, and another that is so bizarre that it could be right at home in the National Enquirer.”

The Wall Street Journal claims Sprint has agreed to pay Apple $20 Billion for 4 years worth of Apple smartphones.  Gadgets is right that it would make sense to put all their apples in one basket, especially if they are iPhone 5 apples.  I’m not sure it makes sense for Apple, but they did have an exclusive deal with AT&T and that made just as much sense I guess.

See the link for the other leak.

Mashable explains the October 4th Apple event will be focused mostly on software and the important software will be the Assistant, which is “artifial intelligence”.  “Assistant is the successor to Siri, the iPhone app that helped users with their daily tasks with natural language voice commands. …..On Tuesday, Siri will be reborn as Assistant. And while we have not had a chance to play with Assistant ourselves, we’ve heard amazing things from the people who have used it.

Say you’re in a new city and you’re really craving Chinese. In the past, you might have pulled up the Yelp App, performed a search on Yelp and combed through results. With Assistant, you can say to your iPhone, “Please find me a Chinese restaurant within a mile of my location.”

Check for more at the link.

Here is the EXCLUSIVE iPhone 5 preview video!!!

October 4th:

Droid Matters has leaked pics of the Prime today.  “The  picture confirms the HD resolution on the massive 4.6-inch display. Also on the image, you can see that there are no physical buttons on the front of the phone. That is because Ice Cream Sandwich will have all buttons integrated into the OS, just like in Honeycomb.”

Check the link for the (poor quality) leaked photo.  So the screen is giant size, so will fit in my big mitts but maybe not so good in yours.  The one bad pic isn’t enough to steal Apple’s thunder, so we have another week of this stuff for Android.

Apple is NOT allowing any live-streaming of today’s event.  So, we will get some gangsterized pics maybe video and later the official crap.  Apple is so stoopid.

But engadget gives us pics of the (outside) of today’s Let’s Talk Apple event.  Check the link if you are an addict and just have to see.

The Samsung Pen-Tile technology will be in the new Prime.  Check the link for more.

My last until the event, No 4G for the iPhone 5?  I think we all expected that conservative approach from Apple, yes?  Check the link for more.

Let’s Talk Apple:  So, no more iPhone 5 rumors.  At least today.  Now we know the real deal.  Some of you may be disappointed, I know I am.  There is no iPhone 5, after all that lead-up and all that suspense we find out there are some improvements to the iPhone 4 including a 4g model )(named the 4S and now carried by Sprint.

A couple of the rumors turned out to be true, there really is a 4S, Sprint really did lock down an exclusive deal with Apple (was it for $20 Billion?  I think it probably was) Assistant/Siri will be a big-deal application although people may not use it much (hard to say so soon) or even like it.  If the AI works easily and seamlessly, I think it is going to be the best part of this device.

But the biggest piece of the morning for me was…..NO Apple iPhone 5!!

However, we do have an iOS 5.  Check the link for more information on Apple’s “event” from engadget.

Here is a distilled Day 1 version of the 4S vs the smartphone elite, the Samsung Galaxy S II, the HTC Titan and the Motorola Droid Bionic.

Check out the great chart that engadget has put together, and (as engadget says) the results are “pretty clear-cut”.

The winning smartphone from this group?  The Samsung Galaxy S II.  Which leads me to say…

…I am one step closer to a new Android now.

The Prime is the last phone on my original list of considerations (the 4S never was on the list) and until today’s announcement I was about 60-40 leaning toward the iPhone 5.  There were a number of things that kept the Android phone near the top of my list, including the fact that I know Android and would not need to fully learn a new system, I like my Droid, what I have read about the Prime seems promising.

The Apple had (has) some good things in its corner:  quality company, I use an iPod Touch and the methodologies are similar, the iPhones have developed a strong following for legitimate reasons.  I’m unhappy with Verizon and the Prime seems destined for that provider, though there will probably be similar handsets with different names on other carriers if I switch.

A video of today’s Apple event is HERE.  At this link you have a choice of watching Apple’s own video of the event, or checking out engadgets live-blogging….or both!!

We’ll see how the Samsung event goes next week.  Maybe there is no Prime either???

cnet provides us with an iPhone rumor scorecard HERE.  Check your list and give yourself a score.  Actually the rumor mill did a pretty good job.  Except this one big rumor that cnet did not even place on their list:

Rumor:

We are waiting for an iPhone 5.

outcome:

Ummmm…hmmmm…well I guess you could say True because we are still waiting.

And HERE you can meet the new iPhone.  It’s the same as the old iPhone.

No, I am not being “mean” and I am not “going too far”.  As Android Central says ” all Apple users have been expecting something very big from Apple considering the launch of the next iPhone has been delayed for 4 months already. That’s 16 months of waiting for Apple users. ”

16 months is a lot of effort by Apple just to introduce the 4S.  And why keep it all as secret as they would if the phone was actually a 5?

And why all the drama?  Losing a phone in a Bay Area bar, resulting in at least one lawsuit.  Etc, etc, etc.

Nexus Rumors & TruthDigg say “Don’t judge the iPhone 4S by its cover.” 

“Instead of changing the phone’s appearance, Apple has stuffed it with superior innards. A new dual-core processor the likes of which can be found in the much larger iPad promises twice the speed, while a new graphics processor allows for more powerful gaming. A new eight-megapixel camera is supposed to not only take better photos, but greatly reduce the lag between shots.”

“It would have been nice to see 4G and its superior download speeds—Apple was already behind the curve with the last new iPhone and by the time the next version comes out, the addition of a modern data radio will likely mbarrass for its long absence.”

Can the Prime compete with the 4S?

I think I’m just kind of tired of this whole thing.  Must be.  Gotta Be Mobile asks this question at the link.  I’m not sure it’s even a valid question anymore.  But we do have to wait and see what Samsung/Google announce.  Given the fact that Apple did validate many of the rumors today, other than the main one which disappointed so many folks.  If Samsung validates most of the rumors surrounding their phone, they will blow the Apple phone out of the water.

Why?  They already have 4G LTE so I expect the Prime will as well.

The screen size will be immense next to the iPhone which had no size increase.

The chip should be at least as fast and I hope they provide sufficient memory.

This article seems to believe that Verizon must live up to the Apple 4S phone.  I just don’t see it.  I do agree with some of the premises set forth in this article, including:

1)  the phone(s) must be competitively priced.  And I believe Samsung must undercut Apple.  They cannot be priced in the Apple stratosphere.  (2)  The Prime does need ‘killer’ software.  This article expects Assistant to be killer.  I am not so sure.  Perhaps Apple has taken giant steps on this software.  Even if they have, I am not impressed.  And I don’t care much about Google Voice.  (3)  They want better marketing than Verizon showed for the Bionic.  I agree.  (4)  The phone must have Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS).  Without it this phone fails, no matter how good it may be.

I would buy something cheaper.  a 3G Droid or iPhone 4 (no S).

My guess today??

Apple fell off a rock today.  They failed to meet the public’s expectations.  Apple stumbled.  Except with the AI which I am willing to give a nod and wait to see if it works without any significant “burps”  I h8 the name “Siri” for it though.  But “Assistant” was indeed pedestrian.

Samsung/Google has an opportunity to take significant steps forward if they do meet the expectations of the public with the Prime.  I do think those expectations will be a little lower on the 11th of October.  Which gives Samsung the opportunity to take giant steps forward.

Perhaps Samsung will stumble.  I don’t expect it.  I don’t think this phone will be the Galaxy S II Prime.  I think it will be a new phone with new software (ICS), a larger screen and a faster processor.  If so, the Prime will be the winner in this battle.  Maybe not in the war, but in this battle.

And this Android Headlines article explains just that  ” Apple has tauted (sic:  touted) itself as an innovator, but it’s clear they are now playing catch up.”

Now that the new iPhone has been announced I am going to split this post (again) into an iPhone 4S plus Samsung Prime (still rumored) and leave all of these old rumors behind.  🙂

Here is an article explaining that Shane Adams, a Sprint Nextel customer, has been excited that Sprint will carry the iPhone 4S (5) because he has been so embarassed among his friends in Kansas City that he had an Android and everybody had iPhones.

Now he is thrilled to buy the 4S and stay with Sprint.  Sprint agreed to buy 30.5 million handsets from Apple at a cost of $20 Billion.  The article at the link covers all of the various viewpoints on the 4S and on Sprint as a carrier.

Sprints big selling point:  it’s the last remaining carrier with unlimited data plans.   Big, important difference.  Regardless of the phones offered, that point plus a good buy back clause could make a lot of people switch to a carrier currently at the nottom of the pack.

Regardless of the fact there is an AT&T offer on the table, it seems the government is unwilling to allow that merge to occur.

“Apple iPhone 4S has Apple apologists up in arms”.  This is an article from Google Watch, and says “How can you tell the Apple loyalists in the crowd? They’re the ones shouting the loudest to defend Apple, which didn’t announce the iPhone 5, now officially a unicorn, today for its “Let’s Talk iPhone” event in Cupertino, Calif.”

pretty close to true except that it seems to me many Apple supporters are being very quiet.  And, other than a small number of Android pushers, most of the Droid pack has remained pretty quiet too.

October 5th:

Sasung released a teaser video about the new phone they will debutat the October 11th Unpacked event.  The link takes you to a cnet article that explains the device shown in the Samsung video has an even “curvier” face than the Galaxy II S.

The Samsung video is HERE.

Another cnet article suggests the carriers are the reason for Apple not release an iPhone 5 (??)  The author explains her viewpoint:  Think about your 2 year contract, she reminds people.  And  Molly Wood says that “you iPhone 4 folks”  will get a fully revolutionary iPhone 5 just at the time the first contracts for the original iPhone 4 are up.

Woods states: “If anything, Apple is playing a very clever shell game with carrier contracts  that allows it to grab new buyers every year instead of every two years.”

On one hand that makes sense.  If Apple does not pull in a substantial number of new customers who were expecting a truly grand iPhone 5, this strategy will have failed.  To me, it does not seem to be a marketing strategy that has Apple’s fingerprints on it.

So now it all comes down to the “sexy” Prime??

What does Wall Street think about the new (ish) iPhone 4?  Read here for the article, which says “Even though the iPhone 4S is an improvement over its predecessor, it isn’t being perceived as a breakthrough”.

October 6th:

Everyone is trying to decipher the razor-thin edge of the new Samsung phone (the Prime??)  This  Android Central article (at the link) circles an area in the photo that was released yesterday as part of the Samsung “Something BIG is coming” campaign.  They state that the “three dots” they have circled are “probably contact charging”.  The article includes a video on “contactless charging”.  Check it out.

Also, I have seen a lot of concern (and a lot of awe) about the “curved” screen as shown in the Samsung photo.  We have to understand the screen is minutely curved.  If we can see it and feel it (in person), it will be just barely.

On Day 1 the 4S is selling well in the U.K.

Will the Samsung Prime launch on Verizon October 27th?  Droi Life thinks so.

Samsung Unpacked the Google Edition:  Android Headlines asks:  “Is there a tablet in this picture?”  Check it out.

8 Tantalizing Rumors about the Samsung Prime:   Nice slideshow with their rumors.   I think all of the make sense except I’m not so sure about the QWERTY keyboard.  My original Droid has a keyboard and I like it but it does add weight and heft to the phone.  That doesn’t bother me cuz I don’t carry it in a shirt pocket or a purse where the weight might be a bit much.

Operation Android asks:  What is Samsung’s Big Announcement?  They start with the belief that “Apple disappointed” the smartphone public yesterday (yes, they did indeedy) and they seem to be worried that Samsung will do the same thing on October 11th, due to the fact that Apple has publicly proclaimed their desire to continue the legal battle against Samsung.  The expectation is that the “Prime” may be Apple’s opportunity to file in the U.S.A.

Although it is obvious Apple wants to do so, and they may, it seems that the iPhone 4S is the wrong device to stake a claim on.  Especially since the video from Samsung makes it appear that the Prime will not physically resemble the 4S.

Five things that should be on the Samsung Prime.  Click the link.

Wednesday Morning Quarterback on the Apple iPhone 4S:  From the Android Activist, “There has to be some envy mixed with disappointment when looking at Tuesday’s announcement from the hardened iFanboy’s perspective. Apple fans around the networks seemed depressed that this announcement did not bring about the iPhone 5. They see Android users swimming in a sea of new phone announcements with every carrier. They see our enjoyment, our choice, and our relentless push for innovation and they crave that as well. They see that we roll on over two hundred carriers. The market is well saturated with choice.”

Read more at the link.

Apple’s stock falls after announcing new products.  Everyone’s stock is up & down and mostly down, but we expect historically that Apple’s stock goes up after announcing new phones or tablets.

Actually, history reveals a downturn for Apple with nearly every announcement of new products.  Strange…..so, when you hear 4S caused Apple stock to go down, take it with a large grain of salt.

Samsung says the iPhone 4 is like their Galaxy S II.  Lawsuit anyone?  Or do we look at the spec sheet compare and decide Samsung has the better phone?  Even before the Prime??  Check the link.

Anyone try any of the “live blogging” sites during the Apple event yesterday?  I tried three myself without success and eventually relied on Twitter.  Which just pissed me off.

Well, today Apple Insider tells us why.  And they do not sound happy.

Read about it all at the link.

Today the Android Developers confirm that Ice Cream Sandwich will be announced October 11th.  Read about it at the Android Police link.

Unfortunately Steve Jobs has died today, August 6, 2011.  Rest in peace brother.  You were a unique thinker & innovator.  One of the greatest individuals of our time.

CNET offers us a photographic retrospective of Steve Jobs at Apple.

engadget has their take on the leaked Samsung Prime specs  check at the link.  Certainly cannot claimit looks like the Apple 4S.  No lawsuit (legitimately) here

Digital Trends has a little more info HERE

Rumors about the Samsung Prime seem to be self-generating now that the Apple event is done.

Notification LEDs?

Big, BIG batteries?

Check it all out at the Android Community article at the link.

See the Samsung Prime mockup!

October 7th:

Android Headlines, Talk Android (and others) report today that the announcement of the Samsung Prime (now being called the Samsung Galaxy Nexus) has been rescheduled to October 27th.  Read the article for details, I’m sure we will have (at least) daily speculations on this one.  It is now scheduled in the UK rather than at next weeks CTIA in San Diego.

I do like Talk Android calling this one “Something Big is Coming Later“.

Perhaps the delay was out of respect for Steve Jobs’ and his family.

The bad thing about delays is you are left with some silly stuff and a lot of rumors about rumors.

For what it is worth:  we have an animation of an ICS boot placed on an actual Droid Bionic.  Check it out HERE.

ICS screenshots leaked:  more info at the link..

October 13th:

The Samsung “Unpacked” event has been changed once again.

This time to an earlier date!!

New date:  Wednesday October 19th  (on Tuesday, October 18th in the U.S.)

Where:      Hong Kong

And, at Google they erected a statue of the ICS Android dude. He’s right next to Gingerbread.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Are you ready?  For next weeks Samsung & Google event?

I swear, for me it seems like it has been FOREVER since the Apple iPhone What (??) and I am ready to check out the Prime and ICS.  Plus my original Droid is in need of a new friend so I want to see both phones so I can make a choice NOW.

So now Hong Kong on October 19th (which is October 18th in the USA) is official. 

It starts at 10 am Hong Kong time.  Let’s see….in California time that is…..hell!  I dunno.  Gotta figure it ot.

Do you Livestream??  I will be and one is located HERE—–>The event livestream will be available at YouTube.com/Android at 10 p.m. EST on October 18

Be there or be…..well, a rectangular Ice Cream Sandwich thingie.

“Samsung and Google have never really done an event that takes place on the other side of the sea and livecast at the same time like this before, the event certainly a gesture of how far reaching this new Android platform will be.”

October 17th:

Well, the wait is almost over.  With the newley rescheduled Samsung/Google Unpacked event in Hong Kong on October 19th (October 18th in the U.S.) we will all see more about the Prime and ICS in just one day!!  And I am ready.

Today we have a hint/rumoreabout ICS:

ICS may have a built-in photo editor that will help us ensure our phone photos turn out half-way decent!  Really?  In a phone??  More at the link.

And, if you are in North America, I will see you at unpacked!  The livestream will be on Youtube/Google at 10 pm Pacific Time.

October 18th:

So the rumors about the Prime or the Galaxy Nexusor wuteva will be done tonight about 7 pm Pacific time.

Today we have the Motorola Droid Razr being announced and available in November 2011.  I had a Razr and loved it.  I bought my mom one (Pink) and she still uses it even though she bought one of those “Crickets” which she also likes.  (No comment on that one)

But the merge of the Razr, which is an establisjerd well-liked product, with the Droid OS will give new life to the Razr.  Maybe not to Motorola, unfortunately, but definitely to the Razr.

And on Verizon’s 4G LTE it really has a chance to thrive as LTE is predicted to blanket the U.S. in 2013.  Shouldn’t someone be on 5G by then?

Are you a Verizon customer or a wannabe??  And want the new Galaxy Nexus?

The signup page is HERE starting October 26th!

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Related articles

• Samsung Nexus Prime – new details emerge (techradar.com)
• Samsung Nexus Prime and Ice Cream Sandwich likely to debut Oct. 11 (venturebeat.com)
• The Legal Battle Between Samsung and Apple (voodoodr06.wordpress.com)

Apple Hill in California’s Sierra Nevada Foothills

Image via Wikipedia

If it is September it must be time to make the annual trip to Apple Hill in the Sierra Nevada foothills close to the nice town of Camino, near Placerville, California.  Camino was originally called Seven Mile House.

From a review on Yelp:  “If you live in or near Sacramento, you need to come here. If you don’t live nearby, you still need to come here.  Regardless of your age, interests, taste in foods/wines/fruits, or mobility, you will LOVE Apple Hill!”

Update September 26th:

Well, my first apple pie from Apple Hill this season.  The pie was from Larsen’s Apple Barn (see below) a really good ranch on the Hill.  Bought some apple turnovers as well, might have one for lunch.

The pie was good but my mouth was expecting “great”, so I guess I have to go back and get another one!  I can try one from each ranch.  Good idea.  Anyway, a little whipped cream and had a very good dessert.

Apple Hill, Camino and Placerville are located in one of the nicest areas in  the beautiful Sierra Nevada foothills , just below the snow-line.

The Association & the Basics

The Apple Hill Growers Association started many years ago as a fledgling association of 16 apple growing ranches.  Today the association has more than 50 ranches and includes Christmas tree farms, a micro-brewery, wineries, spas and vineyards.  The ranches grow and sell fresh fruit (in addition to the apples) and produce.  Some of the farms are “pick your own”,  while others have picked their goods for you.  There is a nice shuttle-bus service that runs thru the Apple Hill area if you want to save some gas and would rather not drive.  The shuttle runs each weekend during the month of October.  Personally, I find the drive to be half the fun!

Many ranches have other attractions like petting zoos, craft fairs, railroad rides, pony rides, pumpkin patches and a lot of fun things for kids.

Other ranches have on-site restaurants and some have displays of antique farming and ranching items.  There is a golf resort and Red Hawk Casino is just up the road.  The nice little town of Camino with a population of about 1,700,  has a lumber company, general store, restaurant and hotel.

Camino

The Camino Hotel, A Bed & Breakfast Inn has a nice little website and is in an old Victorian era house.  Their rates are fair and include a nice breakfast.  Make sure you spend part of your day in the town of Camino.

Do I call it Placerville or Hangtown?

Placerville is larger than Camino and is growing now. Placerville is an original old west gold rush town.   You will find hotels, motels, restaurants, (with the original ‘Hangtown Fry’ and shopping in addition to gold rush sites and museums.  Here is a Hangtown Fry recipe for the adventurous.

Downtown has an authentic 1849/1850 feel.  The real deal, definitely.  Placerville was originally named Old Dry Diggings, Dry Diggings and (most famously or infamously) Hangtown.

Placerville was aptly named Hangtown in 1849 when robbers were hanged during the height of our gold rush.  You can find the original “hanging tree” stump in the basement of a bar on Main Street.  It’s actually called The Hangman’s Tree Saloon.

Update:

The buildings housing the old Hangman’s Bar has been empty for about a year.  Te buildings have now been sold to a local couple  who promise to restore the unreinforced brick buildings wich date back to 1853.  There have been at least 2 recent attempts to demolish the buildings and the “Hanging Man”.  The new owners will keep both on Placerville’s Main Street, where tey should remain for generations to come.

“The reprieve also appears to mean new life for the so-called Hangman’s Dummy, an effigy that has been strung up over the Main Street site for most of the past 70 years.”

Read more at te link above.

Placerville also has the Gold Bug Mine, a classic California hard-rock gold mine.  You can visit the mine and even enter it.  Great place for kids and history buffs.

Check out the Hangtown Grill, home of the Tri-tip BLT.  As you pass thru town on Highway 50 you will see the old hanging tree with a stuffed peep swinging in the breeze.

And speaking of Hangtown…check out this cool neon.  Look familiar???

Yes, the motel sign appears in the Dodge Journey SUV commercial  “We left it here.  If you can find it, you can have it”.  Personally, I would rather have the apple pie.

Here’s that commercial.  But, first understand…..that Dodge has already been found!  But watch for the Hangtown Motel sdign.  It’s cool!

But the next 2 commercials start later in the month, so find that truck!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmGVUrX_MY4&feature=player_embedded

A lot of the ranches now have on-line stores for you out of the area shoppers.  Make sure you check them out.

A guy on this Facebook page says he will just still a random truck and say “Well Dodge left it here.  And I found it!”

What about some Maps and stuff?

A map showing the Placerville/Camino area is located here.  A map of the Apple Hill area and reviews on Yelp are here.

Check out the Apple Hill Drive site for a lot of information on ranches.

Apple Hill growers host a lot of events as well, even during the off-season starting with the Apple Blossom Festival each April and the 32nd Annual Apple Hill Harvest Run in November.  A list of events is here.

A little video/slideshow of Apple Hill is here.

They divide the ranches up by west & east.

A map for the western ranches is here.

The map for the eastern ranches is here.

Here are the grower guides for all the various products showing varieties and picking seasons.

This link takes you to a really cool Interactive Map.  Each apple links to a “where to stop” ranch on the hill.  Click away to your hearts desire.

It used to be that an Apple Hill map was a small almost hand drawn affair.  Now the list of ranches and area covered is much larger and more complicated.  This map is a good way to go online and then when you get to the Hill pick up one of the Association maps, a fold-out affair with the map, names of ranches, listing of their products and some other good info.  But too big to put online even in a west/east type of affair.

And how about some eats and grub?

I try to make it to Apple Hill at least once a year.  I am a sucker for the apple pies, apple cider donuts, apple fritters…yum yum.  I’m getting hungry.  And one ranch makes killer charcoal grilled burgers and chicken.

Here is a list of growers that serve lunch and some of their specialties.

Click on the name of the Ranch for more information or their website for those that have one.

So what growers do I usually hit up?  (note:  you can’t miss at any of the ranches, they are all great and all different)

Abel’s Apple Acres  a large ranch with a ton of products including an on-line store with apple butter and killer terriaki.

Boa Vista Orchards  As you come off Highway 50 (heading toward Lake Tahoe) this is the first large ranch and always one of my favorite stops.  I love their pies and baked goods.  They even sell apple wood for your BBQ pit.  Nice!!  The other non-apple item I love and even buy online during the summer is their Vidalia Onion Dressing for salads.  I also use it as a marinade for chicken on the grill.

Denver Dan’s  One of the oldest ranches on the hill, established in 1962.  Jams & jellies and a gift store in addition to apples and baked goods.  They do “you pick” apples as well.  Fun for the kids.

El Dorado Orchards  The site of the very first Apple Hill Smorgy Days in the early 1960s, the precursor to what has become the Apple Hill association.  El Dorado is the home of “the Apple Ridge Express Train carries many happy children, school groups and adults in the fall season”.  This farm is also the starting line and finish for the annual Apple Hill Blossom Trail Run held during the April apple blossom period.  No on-line store, but do not miss this one when you go.

Kids, Inc  I like this ranch a lot.  “It’s a great story. 30 years ago when Edio and Joan Delfino began ranch marketing, they told their children that they could name the ranch. There were seven children and they sat down after dinner one night and thought up a few names–“Farm Kids”, “Little Safeway”, “Kids Incorporated“, and others less memorable. They took the final vote and “Kids Inc.” got the most votes… “Kids Incorporated” became the name of the apple ranch not because the ranch was for kids but because kids worked on the ranch.

HUGE apple pies!

Larsen Apple Barn  One of my favorites because this is one of the oldest continuously operated family apple ranches on the hill.  Established in 1860 and still growing and selling their apples.  It has been there so long they sit on a road called Larsen Road. 

Their bake shop is  “home of the original apple turnover on the hill” specializing in the Cream Cheese Apple Pie, cookies, apple butter, jellies and other delights”.  No online shopping so make it one of your stops!!

Para Vi Vineyards  What, no apple pie??  Wine, wine, wine.  The hill is a perfect spot for growing wine grapes and there are now a number of great wineries.  Para Vi is one I stop at.  A single bottle of Para Vi 2004 Estate Zinfandel Sold for $1,300.00 at the El Dorado Art & Wine Festival auction!  Must be good wine.

I can’t list all the ranches, wineries and spas so I will stop with those few.  Like I said, you can’t miss at any of the Apple Hill ranches.  In fact, stop at all 50 sites!!

I love the Placerville area and Apple Hill.  Don’t miss it, but if you can’t make it check the growers site and individual ranches websites for some great on-line shopping.

Recipes?

Lots of Apple Treats here.  The Association map has recipes as well and most of the ranches share at least some of their recipes (some are held secret!), so make sure you ask.

Sure, Apple Pies & donuts & fritters are great, but:

Apple Pie Cookies link

“These are soft cookies with a spicy apple flavor. The caramel glaze adds a sweet  touch.”

Apple Pie Salad link

“This salad features a brown butter vinaigrette and a pumpkin seed streusel.”

How do you get to Apple Hill??

From Sacramento:    Take Hwy 50, 42 miles East to the town of Placerville. Go past the third signal on Highway 50 in Placerville and go two more exits to the Schnell School Road exit.  Turn left at the bottom of the off ramp and go uphill on Schnell School Road to the stop sign at Carson Road. Stay on Carson Road and pick up a growers map at any of the Apple Hill ranches.  The map is great, listing all the ranches and their products, hours of operation etc.

Hotels or Motels or???

Besides that old Hangtown Motel (I hear it is a bit run down) there are a number of nice places near Apple Hill.

The Cary House Historic Hotel 

A Placerville hotel with “historical ambiance and modern amenities”.  Mark Twain, Elvis Presley and Billy The Kid have stayed at this place.

The Camino Hotel 

In the small town of Camino which is very close to the hill.  “The hotel boasts a rustic country parlor, old fashioned front porch, second level sun porch, 9 total guest rooms, (some with private baths) and accented with rustic flair.”

The Gold Country Inn  

In downtown Placerville.  You can walk the old streets of town to the shops and restaurants and the Gold Bug Mine is just minutes away.

The Robins Nest Ranch  and The Fleming Jones Homestead Bed & Breakfast Inn

In Placerville, The Fleming Jones Homestead Bed & Breakfast Inn is a charming historic 1883 homestead and working horse ranch on 11 acres nestled between art and antique filled Placerville and famous Apple Hill.

The main farmhouse has three rooms while the bunk house (where the cowboys used to stay) has two rooms and a spacious deck overlooking the horse pastures.  And this ranch has Wi-Fi!!  They provide a great farm breakfast.

You can find other hotels/motels/inns in the gold country at this link.

October 19th:

An apple a day keeps the Dr away:  new studies promote the positive helth effects of apples.

October 21st will be World Apple Day.  October is also National Apple Month, according to the U.S. Apple  Association

“Liz Applegate, a Ph.D. nutritionist at the University of California, Davis, is promoting the apple as  vigorously as she does all year.

“It does more than keep a doctor away,” she said, alluding to its  weight-control benefits.”

“It’s an affordable family day,” she said. Certainly cheaper than a trip to  Disneyland or Great America.

People – mostly from Nevada – are even showing up for whole weekends, she  said.

Quieter weekdays are better for romantic couples and seniors looking for the  tastes they remember, she added.”

Read more at the link above.

Related articles

• The Annual Highway 50 Wagon Train in California (voodoodr06.wordpress.com)
• Apple Hill in California’s Sierra Foothills (voodoodr06.wordpress.com)
• What to do near sacramento (wiki.answers.com)

PC Tablet Musings: Verizon, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy, Apple iPad et al

OK, so get this:

I am a Verizon customer with a Droid phone which I like a lot, but my contract has passed and I am trying to decide what (if anything) to buy.  You can see that post here, if you care.  I have basically decided to wait for the Droid Bionic and/or iPhone 5 to release additional info and get one of those.

So today Verizon sent me a discount offer on a Motorola Xoom tablet.  One of those “certified” pieces of equipment, which really doesn’t bother me if they provide a warranty that is equal to a new device which I think this is.

This tablet was like $800 off contract and $600 with a Verizon contract.  They are offering this one for $299 plus a contract.

I have a HP quasi-tablet already.  I say “quasi-tablet” because the device is actually part of one of the HP printers and you can read a bit about the tablet here at Engadget.  This 7 inch tablet works fine on WiFi without any kind of contract but has  limitations beyond the screen size.

But reviews of 10″ tablets started out “wow” and now certified techies are saying they really don’t need one.

The Apple tablets are pretty & easy to use, but no flash means your browsing experience is the shits.

I worry about Motorola with Google buying Motorola Mobility.  Apple sued the fuck out of Samsung in Europe, won the tablet lawsuit and threatened to follow up against all tablet makers in the US.  Guess that scared Motorola enough to sell….plus it must be hard to say “no thank you” to $12.5 Billion with a B.

Google has their own problems with Apple but might be able to stand up to a lawsuit better than Moto.  But Google may abolish the Moto brand name, which is a shame since Motorola basically invented the cell phone.

The other thing is a contract for a tablet.

1)  I am not making phone calls on a tablet.  10″ is just a tad large to hold to my ear.

2)  With more and more WiFi networks, and my home network, I’m not too worried about being in a spot I can’t use the tablet.  Not like I put it in my pocket and carry it around.  But I carry it in a bag when I go some places or in a suitcase on a vacation.  And most, if not all, hotels and resorts have highspeed wireless now.

Signing a contract for a tablet has not made sense to me except the discounted price as opposed to off-contract.  And now this discount which is pretty significant since I missed the damn $99 sale a week ago on the 10″ HP tablet (yeh, I know webOS.  But for $99 it’s almost disposable).

So those are my musings.  With four days on this Verizon sale I’ll probably pass it by.

But, in the meantime I think this is what I really want.

Why??

1. It’s WiFi only
2. The form factor:  8.9″ screen and just over 1 pound.  Portability in a tablet anyone??
3. Samsung Galaxy tablets are brilliant and can compete with the iPad II pretty well
4. Yes, it does flash

Anyone have any thoughts or experiences that can help me on tablet and/or service provider?

Update September 19th:

Sammy is about to sue Apple for patent infringement.  Turnabout fair play?

Update September 20th:

So this link takes you to a detailed article laying out the battlefield on patent infringement between Apple and Samsung.  Tablets, phones, everything is involved in this war between the Big Boyz.

This link will take you to a CNET video about the Apple iPhone 5 plus some other Apple goodies.

Leave me a comment here or twitter me @zenDR.

UPDATE:  Sale is over and I did not buy a Motorola Xoom.  Good choice dude!

Thanks

Buy A New Droid or A New iPhone??

Image via CrunchBase

Note:  This post started as me working thru my search for a smartphone to replace my elderly Motorola Droid.

I have moved the part of this posted related to the legal wranglings between Samsung and Apple to HERE.

And the portion of this post related strictly to the rumors about the upcoming Samsung Nexus Prime and the Apple iPhone 5 HERE.

This post will continue to be about just my search for a new phone and eventually I’ll include a review of that phone.  Maybe.  I think.

It quickly morphed into a post about the Samsung v Apple legal fight.

And now mostly is about rumors swirling around the Samsung Prime and the iPhone 5.  I still have not purchased a phone, the Droid took too long.

it will probably be between the 5 and the Prime and I will probably buy a new phone in October (according to the rumors maybe even October 4th.

This post though is becoming unwieldy as it is covering 3 distinct subjects.  So, when I find time maybe this weekend, I will pull out the old butcher knife and cut it up into 3 posts:  1)  what phone to buy (2) Samsung vs Apple in the courts (3) Rumors re:  iPhone 5 and Samsung Prime.

In the meantime, have fun.

I have a Motorola Droid.  I like it a lot.  I know how it works and even appreciate the phone and OS quirks although Google policies piss me off greatly.

I like the iPhone as well and have been looking forward to the iPhone 5.  Always cutting edge shit from Apple.

I went with Droid because Verizon>ATT was an easy choice.

Now Verizon is offering their usual phone discount plus fifty bucks to get a new phone.  Assuming I do that, because I always want new crap, what phone should I get?

• a new Droid, x2
• a new Droid 3
• iPhone 4
• wait for iPhone 5
• wait for Droid Bionic (ever Verizon?)
• get the Samsung Galaxy S II (never Verizon?)
• wait for the Samsung Nexus Prime  (was the Google Nexus Prime…now the Prime is Samsung.  Of course a rose by any other name…in other words it is still a Google product.  Will Apple stop suing  now that Google ate up Motorola?   Did you see that one coming?   12.5 BILLION)

Updated choice:  Now that Google bought Motorola Mobility this tech writer says run fast cuz the Motorola name is no more  

The fact that the Nexus name is no longer Googleized  somehow just isn’t as bad to me.

I like Google, they survive in a MS Windows world that has killed off all other competitors.  But they have policies that thwart users and even getting acceptable answers (if you can get your question to them) is nearly impossible.

Example:  I have gmail on my Droid, the account was set up when I bought the phone.  I was very ill at the time and a friend set it up for me.  I know my nic but not my password.  And my friend of course doesn’t remember, doesn’t need to.  I can reach my mail on the phone because the password loads automatically.  But I can’t access it on any other device.

So I went to the google/gmail site to work thru the password rest process.  Easy right?  Cannot do it.  No way.  I cannot do it even if I access the email account via the Droid.

And once I got someone at Google (god knows who, as they will not tell you) to look at my question about how to reset the password, the answer from Google was and is:  you cannot reset your password UNLESS you know your password.  You cannot answer any personal questions to prove you are you.  You can do NOTHING.  If you forgot your password you are shit out of luck.  Even though my phone knows the password.

And I can’t reset it on the phone because Google wants me to manually enter the password to get access to their website.

What?  I need my email password just to access the gMail/Google website?

What?  Really??  WTF???

Is there another phone I should consider?  Some Windows 7 phone?

Well known tech writer hates the iPhone but trembles at the thought of Android.

Trembling is a bit idiotic, no??

Update September 16th:

I received an email from Verizon @VerizonWireless offering $100 off on the new Bionic which lists from them at $299.  I thought cool.  I already have the ” $50 new in 2″ discount so that would make it $149, maybe I should take a look at the physical phone and pull the plus.

So I reply to the email and ask the discount question:  can I combine the two discounts?

Answer….well, it took 4 emails and 3 phone calls (which I told Verizon I did not want.  When I say email I mean EMAIL!) and after telling me ( 1)  they did not send me a $100 discount on a Bionic email  (2) they do not offer a $50 dollar “new in 2 years” discount  (3)  They do not discount “new” phones (only OLD phones?)  and a few other pieces of shit lies, they finally said (1) yes, they sent discount emails for $100 off on the Bionic  (2)  they did send me the $50 discount  (3)  no, I was not eligible for the $100 discount even though I received the offer and still have a copy ! and a lawsuit would probably support that fact and the offer, correct or not (4)  I could use the $50 discount on the Bionic, but I will never get another as they have scrapped the “new after 2 years” program (no such thing Verizon?  Even though you still offer it??)  and other blah blah blah

So, I broke down and visited an AT&T @ATT store.  Sparse, no iPhones on display.  Not the 4, not even the 3.  Can’t hold one in your hand and they seemed to be without any paper info on the phone although they did have a real nice poster (!?!).  I did like the feel and look of the Samsung Infuse.  Nice 4.5″ display, light but comfortable in the hand.  2.2 Android, not even sure if it will update to Ice Cream crap.  probably not.  The HTC Windows 7 phone seemed nice ,but not 4g?

But the Windows 7 phone led me to this:

An interesting article on the future of “smartphones”  Basically the premise is phones are now software items, not hardware.  Something that is so obviously true that I never even thought of it.  His point is that somewhere in the next 5 years or so all of us will realize it and phones will then cost $19 because the only real cost is the cost of the quality glass used for the display.  The rest is cheap plastic and a few wires.  The processors and memory are dirt cheap now.

He poses the question:  Why did Microsoft get into the phone business?  (Yes, they are an evil monster that wants to control every singles aspect of our lives.  I know that.  But really, why??)  And his answer makes so much sense:  They came to realize phones are all about the software, and they are a software company.  And software is cheap.  Have you seen the drop in Microsoft Office suites?  So cheap now that they don’t even offer the old “upgrade” price.  They just sell the newest version at the old “upgrade” price.

The updates on our phones may be a MM in size, or better glass or stronger plastic…..but really, the updates on an iPhone 4 vs iPhone 5 will be 99% software.  And the difference between the iOS and the Android phones is 99% software.

So now I am wondering how stupid I am to spend my time pondering what phone to buy and when I can get the latest “software”, and wasting your time if you read this.

October 6th:

So….the iPhone 5 became the iPhone 4S???  Are you shitting me?  After all of that drama???

So now I guess I wait for October 11th and the introduction of the Samsung Nexus Prime.

October 8th:

Jobs dies, Samsung & Google delay.  Now the Prime is scheduled for the 27th.

Thoughts?  Ideas?  Likes/Dislikes?

Leave me a comment or mssg me @zenDR on the Twitterized stuff or answer the Poll.

A New iPhone or New Droid?

(polls)

Related articles

• Samsung targets Apple’s iPhone, iPad in Australia (news.cnet.com)
• To Bionic or Not To Bionic… (geardiary.com)
• Google Nexus Prime rumored on Verizon near iPhone 5 (electronista.com)
• Motorola Droid Bionic Booting CyanogenMOD7 (Video) (pocketnow.com)
• Battle of the top 10 lists (tech.fortune.cnn.com)
• Gear Deal: Motorola Droid Bionic 4G Dual-Core Smartphone [Verizon] (geardiary.com)

The iPod Nano–gen 4 & 5 vs gen 6 and The iPod Touch

Image via Wikipedia

If you saw my earlier post on what happened on my street last week you know my iPod was stolen.

I loved that gen 4 Nano.  Blue and engraved on the back “Lee’s Cadillac“.  Looked like this ‘cept the color.

I now bought a gen 6 Nano.  It cost basically the same as I paid for the first one.  $100 or so.  But the kicker is that my 4th gen player is selling for $300!!!

I had an iPod Touch and liked it a lot.  But the dam thing just didn’t like the water.  I said “sink or swim buddy”.  Damned if it didn’t go ahead and sink!!!

I like the old one.  This one is like 2 inches square.  So small.  incredibly so.  Thx @apple for such great products!!

Update September 19th:

So, I have had my iPod Nano for a few months now and wanted to give you an update on my experience so far.

I installed the iPod in my Cadillac CTS, replacing the stolen Gen 4 Nano that .  The Caddy, as you probably know, was one of the first cars to be iPod ready for both sound and data and allowing the steering wheel mounted controls to take over the iPod buttons and switches,

Once it installed with their special cable, you can completely control the iPod and never have to touch it again.  In fact you store it in a little cubby beneath the flip-up divider between the front seats and never even see it except when you pull it out to sync it and add some new songs.

The small size works well for the Cadillac installation.  The Gen 4 Nano fit, but not as well as the new Gen 6.

Of course the steering wheel controls work the same and the Bose sound is the same since I made no changes to the sound system.

I am happy with the Nano, but I still like my iPod Touch better.  I use it for most applications outside the car and I like  the functionality and apps.  Kind of like an iPhone without the phone.  🙂  And, of course I use my Droid smartphone as a MP3 player if that’s all I have.

Syncing the Apple products is just so much easier.  Trouble-free and simple.  In fact, that’s my standard complaint about Apple.  They make things so simple to use it is like a 6th grader designed them.  It’s good but it’s strange.

I feel comfortable recommending the Nano for installation in a car and with the accessories like the arm band holder I imagine the small size would be better appreciated in non-car applications like jogging, travel etc.

But all things considered I would say buy the iPod Touch if you are looking for a player.  The  applications that you can install and the ability to use it as an e-reader (mini-Kindle), video machine, game machine etc, make it the easier choice.  Unless it is a price decision.  Then you are better off looking for some generic MP3 player.  There are many good ones.

Interested in how Apple came up with the Gen 6 Nano design?

Click this link and you can read a good article on the process that took Apple from the design of the Gen 4/5, which was stolen from my car, to the Gen 6 Nano that I bought as a replacement.  It also discusses the iPod Shuffle, which I have not used.

Related articles

• iPod Nano review (beybladesparks.wordpress.com)
• New iPod Nano Has Built-In Pedometer (fitsugar.com)
• Chic Accessories to Keep Your iPod in Place While Working Out (fitsugar.com)
• Apple design secrets exposed! How Apple came up with the 6th gen iPod Nano and the iPod Shuffle [Photo] (edibleapple.com)
• 6 Reasons Runners Will Love the New iPods (fitsugar.com)