Apple claims Samsung copied iPhone technology

Apple claims Samsung copied iPhone technology

California: An attorney for Apple told a jury that bitter rival Samsung faced two options to compete in the booming cellphone market after Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone to critical acclaim in 2007: Innovate or copy.

Samsung chose to copy, making its smartphones and computer tablets illegal knockoffs of Apple's popular products, attorney Harold McElhinny claimed.

Samsung "has copied the entire design and user experience" of Apple's iPhone and iPad, McElhinny told a jury during his opening statement at the patent trial involving the world's two largest makers of cellphones.

In his opening statement, Samsung attorney Charles Verhoeven countered that the South Korean company employs thousands of designers and spends billions of dollars on research and development to create new products.

"Samsung is not some copyist, some Johnny-come-lately doing knockoffs," he said.

Verhoeven asserted that Apple is like many other companies that use similar technology and designs to satisfy consumer demands for phones and other devices that play music and movies and take photographs.

For example, he said several other companies and inventors have filed patent applications for the rounded, rectangular shape associated with Apple products.

"Everyone is out there with that basic form factor," Verhoeven said. "There is nothing wrong with looking at what your competitors do and being inspired by them."

A verdict in Apple's favour could lead to banishment of Samsung's Galaxy products from the US market, said Mark A. Lemley, a professor and director of the Stanford Program in Law, Science, and Technology.

A verdict in Samsung's favour, especially if it prevails on its demands that Apple pay its asking price for certain transmission technology, could lead to higher-priced Apple products.

The witness lists of both sides are long on experts, engineers and designers and short on familiar names. Apple CEO Tim Cook is not scheduled to testify.

On Tuesday afternoon, Apple designer Christopher Stringer wrapped up the first day of testimony discussing his role in helping create the company's iPhone and iPod during his 17 years at the company.

Dressed in a tan suit, the bearded and long haired designer said because of Apple's desire to create original products, he and his co-workers surmounted numerous engineering problems such as working with the products' glass faces in producing both products over a number of years. Stringer said he was upset when he saw Samsung's Galaxy products enter the market.

"We've been ripped off, it's plain to see," Stringer said. "It's offensive."

Trial resumes Friday with the testimony of Apple senior vice president for marketing Philip Schiller.

Cupertino-based Apple Inc. filed its lawsuit against Samsung Electronics Co. last year and is demanding $2.5 billion in damages, an award that would dwarf the largest patent-related verdict to date.

The case marks the latest skirmish between the two companies over product designs. A similar trial began last week, and the two companies have been fighting in other courts in the United Kingdom and Germany.

In the patent case, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh last month ordered Samsung to pull its Galaxy 10.1 computer tablet from the U.S. market pending the outcome of the patent trial. However, she barred Apple attorneys from telling jurors about the ban.

Apple lawyers argue there is almost no difference between Samsung products and its own, and that the South Korean company's internal documents show it copied Apple's iconic designs and its interface.

Samsung counter-claims that Apple copied its iPhone from Sony. In addition, Samsung alleges Apple is using some of Samsung's own inventions without payment, such as a computer chip at the heart of the iPhone.

Samsung lawyers also stressed the company has been developing mobile phones since 1991, long before Apple jumped into the market in 2007.

Also at issue at the trial are some of the most basic functions of today's smartphones and computer tablets, including scrolling with one finger and zooming with a finger tap.

Tuesday morning's proceedings began with a bit of drama.

First, a juror pleaded with the judge to be released from the trial, saying she suffered a panic attack and spent a sleepless night after belatedly discovering that her employer would not pay her salary while she served. A sympathetic judge granted her request and left the jury with nine members.

Then the judge rebuked John Quinn, one of Samsung's attorneys, for refusing to stop a line of legal argument the judge said she had ruled on numerous times.

"Mr. Quinn, don't make me sanction you," the judge said as the lawyer continued his argument. "Please. Please. Please, take a seat."

Quinn relented and sat down, but his tenacity underscored the high stakes of the trial that is costing both sides millions of dollars in legal fees and expenses. Battalions of lawyers from prestigious law firms are working overtime to file myriad court documents.

The most senior lawyers on each side charge upward of $500 an hour for their representation

Legal experts said that most patent disputes are resolved way before trials that can bring unpredictable and ruinous verdicts.

"A patent case of this magnitude has the possibility of impacting phone technology for years to come," said Manotti Jenkins, a patent attorney with no stake in the trial. "Given the substantial revenue that is generated by smartphone technology, companies are likely to prompt more litigation of this type and continue to use the courts as an attempt to protect and expand market share."

Source:http://ibnlive.in.com/news/apple-claims-samsung-copied-iphone-technology/277011-11.html

Tips for using Verizon smartphones when traveling internationally

If you're planning to travel outside the US with aVerizon smartphone and use it for voice or text communications, you'll need to change the phone's SIM card -- and you'll need to have one of Verizon's global-capable phones such as HTC Thunderbolt, HTC Droid Incredible 2, Motorola Droid 3, or one of several Blackberries. Tips for saving money while traveling internationally are outlined here.

In any case, it's smart to plan ahead for cell phone or iPad use when traveling. There are numerous reports of people who received unexpectedly high bills upon returning home from an international trip, often because they didn't understand that their phones wouldcontinue to access the network when not in use.

A cell phone will attempt to connect with the network even when you are not making calls -- to pick up emails and stored messages, and to determine and communicate your location and possibly other information. You will receive roaming charges if you enable roaming, based on the carrier's rates in the country you're visiting. These roaming charges will be in addition to your normal monthly wireless service contract.

The least expensive smartphone travel option is to use Wifi networks and communicate by email, avoiding calls and texts altogether -- as described in yesterday's article.

However, as mentioned above, you can enable many of the Verizon models for international use, and doing that may be a great idea for those who need the convenience of using their own phone while on the go. People at local Verizon stores here in Cleveland will sell international SIM cards and update your plan to cover international roaming.

Verizon's world-wide rates are available on this webpage -- select the country you'll visit to see rates: http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Global_Phone.

There is also a data usage calculator on the Verizon site:http://www.verizonwireless.com/splash_includes/datacalculator.html. Note that you'll be charged $0.50 per text you send, and $0.05 for any texts you receive in many overseas countries; htat in Canada, domestic rates apply. Also note that rates are high in many places -- for example, $4.99 per minute in Argentina.

A less expensive option is to buy the SIM card you need after you arrive at your destination. In many Asian and European locations, SIM cards are readily available; however, not all phones can use them -- iPhones, for example, are not set up for end-users to open them up and replace SIM cards. Many Android and Blackberry phones do use SIM cards.

Another low-cost option is to buy a prepaid phone in the country you're visiting -- you'll need to share that phone's number with the people who will call you.

Visit local stores: for up-to-the-minute information on your phone's ability to be used internationally. Verizon has over 50 local stores in the Cleveland area, including an excellent one on Detroit Avenue in Lakewood.

Copyright © 2011 Susan J. Walker. Subscribe above to receive an email whenever Susan Walker publishes on Examiner.com; follow WalkerSusanJ on Twitter

Source:http://www.examiner.com/article/tips-for-using-verizon-smartphones-when-traveling-internationally

How The Apple-Samsung Lawsuit Could Hurt Consumers

 You've seen the headlines: Monday marked the beginning of the big, billions-at-stake legal showdown between Apple and Samsung.

There have been plenty of sweeping declarations about how this could affect the competitive landscape in the tech industry. The court's decision could"provide the basis for negotiating the terms and cost of licensing and cross-licensing of patents -- or for keeping certain patented features exclusive to one company," declared The New York Times. The Wall Street Journal notes that a win for Apple create problems for "other Google partners around the world," while a win for Samsung could help Android keep its mojo.

But while techies and law geeks ponder, should you, average iPhone or Android owner, give a damn? Yes, you should. Because the fate of your favorite smartphone or tablet could hinge on what 10 jurors and one judge decide in San Jose, Calif. And unfortunately, whether Apple or Samsung wins (or they settle), it's consumers who are most likely to lose. Let's parse out what this case means in normalese (for U.S. customers at least, since Apple-Samsung litigation has also spread to some 10 countries worldwide).

First, what is this lawsuit about?

Let's be clear here: we're talking lawsuits. Apple and Samsung are entangled in two of them, one starting today and another set to start next year. They deal with two types of patents, or the rights to an invention that a government grants its inventor: so-called "utility patents" and "design patents." Utility patents govern the features a phone or tablet can have; design patents cover how they look.

In the current trial, Apple is essentially suing Samsung for copying the iPhone and iPad when it made Galaxy S, Galaxy S II, and Tab 10.1, along with 22 other products, according to The Verge’s explainer of the trial. The second trial will involve Samsung devices released a bit later: the Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S III.

Why two trials? “It’s a symptom of the speed at which the justice system moves compared to the technology,” explains Brian Love, law professor at Santa Clara University. Notice that it is older models at issue in the first case.

As a counterpunch, Samsung claims Apple violated some of its utility patents when it made iPhones and iPads. In addition, Samsung wants more money for the use of patents necessary for giving a phone 3G capabilities.

So why should I care about these patents?

Well first, let’s look at the utility patents Apple is claiming Samsung stole. According to Wired, there are three of them, which cover nifty features like slide-to-unlock, pitch-to-zoom, tap-to-zoom and twist-to-rotate (notice a theme?), as well as scroll and "rubberbanding," or that little bounce an app does when you scroll too far.

These features could be exclusively Apple's if Apple wins -- even if, some would argue, they seem essential to the smartphone experience.

"Certainly everyone uses scroll," intellectual property lawyer Deborah Sweeney told The Huffington Post. "Samsung might argue, 'This is a useful feature, something to which you can't own a patent.'"

So what does this mean for my Samsung phone?

Well, it won't be taken away or anything. But a ruling against Samsung might mean it will discontinue some older product lines found to violate Apple’s patents. Which, given the pace of change in the tech industry, it is probably going to do anyway: “For some of these products, [Samsung] might be ready to let them die,” explained Love, the Santa Clara professor.

But it's not only potentially fewer choices in the electronics aisle that will hurt consumers. If it loses, Samsung may be in the position where it can’t incorporate certain "Apple" features into future phones or tablets -- without pouring resources into ways to reinvent, or “design around,” those features so that it doesn't violate a patent. Already, Android makers have revamped the way phones are unlocked, for example. These feats of redundant engineering, of course, could cost money that might otherwise go into developing new products.

And what about the design patents?

Citing four other patents, Apple says Samsung copied the iPhone’s and iPad’s design with some of its phones and tablets. As far as electronics go, Apple is claiming rights to some simple geometry (a rectangular shape) and color (black) in electronics design. If all this sounds highly subjective, that’s because it is.

“As silly as it might sound, whether Samsung can sell tablets that are rectangular with rounded edges and are thin is at issue here,” Love said. He described a sort of litmus test to gauge whether the designs of two products are sufficiently different: If you held up each across a room, would you be able to tell them apart?

If Samsung is found to infringe on the design patents, it could be back to the drawing board for the designs of its phones and tablets. But only superficial changes would have to be made. “With the design patent, you only have to make a trivial change,” Love said. Again, though, it’s a potential resource suck for the company, using up money it otherwise might use to design new products.

And what about Samsung’s countersuit?

The countersuit, unsurprisingly, isn’t great for consumers either. Samsung wants 2.4 percent of the full price of every iPhone sold as a royalty for its 3G technology, or around $15.50. Apple wants to pay only $0.0049 per phone. If Samsung wins that claim, every iPhone becomes slightly more expensive for Apple to sell because of the royalty Samsung is owed. To whom do you think the company will pass on those costs?

Samsung has its own utility-patent issues with Apple. The Korean company claims rights to things like “emailing photos from a camera phone, multitasking with music playing in the background, and switching between a live camera shot and a photo gallery,” according to The Verge. If Samsung wins, Apple will have to design around these Samaung-owned features.

So it's mostly consumers that are hurt when companies fight in the courtroom, rather than the marketplace?

Couldn’t have said it better myself. Consumers can get hurt two ways: fewer choices and higher prices. We’re already feeling the effects: In June, the Tab 10.1 was banned in the U.S., pending the outcome of this case. It also means that a future iPhone may not be allowed to do something as simple as play music while you text. Or a Samsung tablet that can’t be too rectangular or black, because that’s too Apple-esque.

“Each of these companies is spending millions of dollars it could otherwise invest in making its products better,” Love said. “The sheer fact that this case is happening is bad for consumers.”

Of course, there is a point to patent law. “As a consumer, you want to believe in patents to encourage innovation,” Sweeney, the IP lawyer, said. This is true. But the Apple-Samsung lawsuits raise the question of whether some of the features patented here (a black rectangular design, scrolling) are so basic and intuitive that they ought not be claimed as the exclusive intellectual property of one firm.

As even the most reluctant Apple or Android fan is likely to admit, the rival firm should be allowed to compete.

Source:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/31/apple-samsung-lawsuit-consumers_n_1721623.html

iPhone 5 & iPad Mini release date set for September 21?

Apple will announce the iPhone 5 and iPad Minion September 12 and will subsequently release both devices nine days later on September 21, according to rumours.

Sources told iMore that the iPhone 5 release date has been confirmed for September 21, while the iPad Mini is yet to recieve one  - but the site claims the tiny tablet will launch at the same time as the next-gen handset.

Citing 'sources who have proven accurate in the past', iMore also claims that a next-generation iPod Nano will be unveiled alongside the smartphone and tablet.

Sales of Apple’s iPod range have wanned over the years, so it’s expected that the Nano reboot will include a major makeover, both inside and out, in an effort to boost sales.

AllThingsD, a Wall Street Journal publication, has also confirmed that it’s received the same information from its trusted sources.

The site claims Apple is ‘currently planning an event’ for the week of September 9, which it will use to unveil a string of new devices – including the iPhone 5.

Apple’s latest operating system, iOS 6, was unveiled back at the firm’s World Wide Developers Conference in early June, and it’s expected the new software will make an appearance on the next iPhone and iPad.

iPhone 5 rumours so far...

While rumours are made to contradict each other, the majority now seem to point to a September release date – previously, sources claimed the device would be released at around October time.

The iPhone 5 will be the first handset released by the Californian firm without the helpful guidance of its respected former leader Steve Jobs, who died last year following a lengthy battle with cancer.

However, it's believed the rumoured handset is the last device Jobs actively worked on before his untimely passing.

In terms of a price, not much is known, However, if we're to go off price allocations given to previous models, such as the iPhone 4S, you can expect to pay about £499 for the 16GB version of the next iPhone, with prices continuing all the way up to £699 for the 64GB edition.

iPad Mini rumours so far…

According to source, the iPad Mini will sport a 7.85-inch tablet with an identical pin-sharp resolution as the new iPad.

Two of Apple’s devoted iKit producers, Foxconn and Pegatron, have reportedly begun production on the tablet, which is set to go head-to-head with Amazon’s Kindle Fire.

It has also been widely rumoured the iPad Mini will come equipped with a stylus pen, so users can easily control the device.

Source:http://www.t3.com/news/iphone-5-and-ipad-mini-release-date-set-for-september-12

Siri, who’s going to win the Apple v. Samsung suit?

           What does Siri have to say about the Apple v. Samsung lawsuit? (MANDY CHENG - AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

There’s a lot at stake in the blockbuster Apple-Samsung patent lawsuit that kicked off in U.S. District Court in San Jose this week. If jurors decide that Samsung knowingly copied designs of Apple’s iPhone and iPad, Apple could recover up to $2.5 billion in damages and block Samsung from selling its smartphones and tablets in the U.S.

Not only that — the ruling from this patent case could have repercussions extending far beyond Samsung to include any smart phone or tablet that runs on Google’s Android operating system. That means the whole future of the Apple-Google rivalry could also be decided by the end of the summer.

So what better “person” to ask about the outcome of the trial than Siri, Apple’s voice-activated digital assistant, a know-it-all with an answer for just about anything?

 While Siri may not admit it if you ask her, the fact that fake Siri conversations and amusing memes like "[Expletive] That Siri Says" have proliferated across the Web hints at an important fact about Apple products: People really enjoy interacting with them and discovering all of their hidden quirks.

And let’s be fair, Siri wasn’t the key selling point of the new iPhone 4S. Apple more or less lucked out that Siri caught on the way that it did. When you see celebrities such as Martin Scorsese, Samuel L. Jackson and Zooey Deschanel embracing Siri in new commercials for Apple, remember: The play very likely wasn’t drawn up that way. If not for Siri, the race between Apple and Android might be even narrower than it is now. The fact that Apple was purportedly considering a partnership with Twitter tells you a lot about Apple’s thinking these days.

It’s in the design of the user experience that Apple came up with the idea to imbue Siri with the type of sassiness to reply to questions that Apple knew she couldn’t possibly answer. If you ask Siri directly, she won’t divulge much about the patent lawsuit, but she will tell you everything you need to know about Apple’s innovative thinking.

How do I know? I asked her. Here’s a transcript of our exchange:

Me: Did you read the pre-trial coverage from the Washington Post?

Siri: Sorry, Dominic. I can only read incoming text messages.

Me: What is the best phone?

Siri: The one you are holding.

Me: What is your opinion of Samsung?

Siri: Dominic, you are not supposed to ask your assistant such things.

Me: What’s your favorite iPhone design?

Siri: I don’t really like talking about myself, Dominic.

Me: What is your favorite iPhone feature?

Siri: Your interest flatters me, but... is there something I can do for you?

Me: Is it true that Samsung phones are “not as cool” as Apple’s?

Siri: I can’t answer that. But I could search the Web for you...

Me: Have lawyers been asking you a lot of questions, Siri?

Siri: I found a number of lawyers... 22 of them are fairly close to you.

Me: Where is Tim Cook?

Siri: I haven’t a clue.

Me: What’s Apple’s current stock price?

Siri: AAPL - Apple, Inc. is up so far... $595.79

Me: What’s $2.5 billion in damages divided by Apple’s stock price?

Siri: 4.213 million.

Dominic Basulto is a digital thinker at Bond Strategy and Influence (formerly called Electric Artists) in New York. Prior to Bond Strategy and Influence, he was the editor of Fortune’s Business Innovation Insider and a founding member of Corante.com, one of the Web's first blog media companies. He also shares his thoughts on innovation on the Big Think Endless Innovation blog and is working on a new book on innovation called "Endless Innovation, Most Beautiful and Most Wonderful."

Source:http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/post/siri-whos-going-to-win-this-patent-lawsuit/2012/07/31/gJQAZHhwMX_blog.html

Apple to jury: iPhone changed everything—then Samsung built knockoffs

Apple to jury: iPhone changed everything—then Samsung built knockoffs

It was a presentation that would have made Steve Jobs proud. Just as Jobs knew how to stun the public and the press with a shiny Apple new product, Apple lawyer Harold McElhinny was smooth and direct in his presentation. Using big bold slides, and a bit of video to show off the best features, he laid out a simple version of smartphone history that put his client at the center: Apple came first. Imitators like Samsung followed. And now it's time for them to pay up.

How did Samsung move from the phones it was making in 2006 to the sleek, large-screen smartphones it was selling in 2010, asked McElhinny? "To answer that question, we have to go back to January 9, 2007," he told the jury. "That's when Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone at the Macworld conference."

McElhinny's monologue, a bit over an hour, was like a sleek Apple marketing pitch, with legal language seamlessly mixed in. The speech was the first building block of Apple's giant patent case against Samsung. The iconic Cupertino company wants more than $2.5 billion in damages from its Korean competitor, as well as injunctions that would kick Samsung's products off the market.

At times McElhinny waxed rhapsodic about his client, its innovative culture, and the products it produced.

"At the same time Mr. Jobs introduced the iPhone, he warned his competitors that he had filed for patent protection on more than 200 new inventions in the phone," he said. "Over 200 new inventions—let's think about what that means. It's about creating... a user experience so unique and intuitive that it just feels right."

Apple is a company that "always has its eye on the future," McElhinny continued: "What the world needed, and it didn't have, was a phone that had the capabilities of a computer. Apple designed an entirely new product—a phone, a Web browser, and a music player. It was a phone design that the world had never seen. Physical keyboards would become a thing of the past. It required an entirely new hardware system. It required an entirely new user interface. That interface had to become completely intuitive.

Critics had hailed the iPhone, too, McElhinny said. Slides flashed by—The New York Times and Wired lavishing praise on the iPhone, Time magazine calling it the 2007 Invention of the Year.

"What struck me about the iPhone was—there's no manual," said McElhinny. You had to walk into the store, pick it up, and get drawn in to use the device. If that didn't happen immediately—you'd never buy it."

Then McElhinny inveighed against Samsung, the accused copier.

"Apple's competitors immediately recognized the impact of the new device," said McElhinny. "Samsung was faced with a choice: it could come up with its own designs, and beat Apple fairly in the marketplace. Or it could copy Apple."

And copy Apple it did, he said, producing sleek black-faced phones with big screens and using the same user-interface features that Apple had patented, like a "bounce back" feature for scrolling and a method of navigating screens with a quick double tap. The story was told by Samsung's own internal documents, he said.

"At the highest corporate levels, Samsung decided to copy every element of the iphone," said McElhinny.

The press had noticed, too. "Samsung vibrant rips off iPhone 3G design," read one headline that was shown to the jury.

Next up in the Apple-approved history: the iPad. "Can you believe the iPad has only been around for two years?" said a briefly awed McElhinny, going on to call it "magical" and "revolutionary," echoing the bubbly headlines of 2010 and Apple's own marketing.

Quick videos demonstrated the features of each of Apple's three utility patents in the case. One was over the "rubber band" feature, where documents or images snap back into place when a finger pushes them off a touch-screen; another covered the idea of allowing a double-tap to navigate a screen without zooming out. The company alleges those features popped up in Samsung phones shortly after being patented by Apple.

The jury should reject any suggestion that the user-interface features Apple designers cooked up are unimportant, warned McElhinny. The patented features were important so that customers could "intuitively" use the devices. "My four-year-old granddaughter taught herself to use an iPad," he said. "If these were trivial, why did they show up in your [Samsung's] customer surveys, and why did you copy them?"

McElhinny ended with a promise that the jury will see the story in Samsung's own documents. Those documents—acquired during painstaking discovery and translated into English—show more than 100 instances where Samsung altered its phones and tablets to achieve the goal of making them "identical to Apple products," he said.

The attorney accused Samsung of profiting enormously from its strategy. Samsung has made more than 22 million infringing phones, which have earned more than $2 billion in profit, according to Apple's calculations.

Samsung's defense: it's competition, not infringement

"Retangular screens, round corners, and minimalist design?" said Samsung's lawyer, Charles Verhoeven. "Apple didn't invent that."

Within a few minutes of his opening, Verhoeven was wheeling through slides of patent designs from Japan and Korea that reached back to 2006, 2005, even back to 2004—years before the iPhone was launched.

"This is the Korean '547 patent," said Verhoeven. "Again, you've got a large rectangular screen."

Apple's products may be successful, Verhoeven noted, but that doesn't mean the company was first to create these innovations—they're not true inventions. "There's a distinction between commercial success and inventing something."

Same story with the iPad. Verhoeven showed computer tablets with similar forms stretching back to a 1994 tablet called the "Fiddler."

"They didn't invent a large touchscreen with rounded corners," said Verhoeven. That had been made before—it's just that it had taken years for the market to demand such large screens.

"We're not saying it wasn't a great product," said Verhoeven. "It was inspiring to everyone, including the competition."

Cell phones evolved. "As functionality increased, the entire industry moved towards screens that are much, much larger," he said. "Nobody's going to want to watch a movie on a tiny little screen."

"Is that infringement?" he continued. "No, the evidence is going to show, that's competition. It's providing the consumer what the consumer wants. If the consumer wants a phone with a large screen and touch face, Samsung provides that. It's not some johnny-come-lately developing knockoffs! It's creating technology that is what people want."

Samsung makes all kinds of phones: Phones that slide, "folder-type" flip phones, and "bar type" phones with big screens that look more similar to Apple's products.

"Unlike Apple, that basically makes just one kind of phone, Samsung makes all kinds of phones for all kinds of people."

Verhoeven also touted his client's history of innovation—a pioneer in the mobile business since 1991, Samsung employs more than 20,000 engineers and has invested $35 billion in research and development just from 2005 to 2010, he said. The company is no "copyist," Verhoeven said. "Samsung is a major technology company, doing its own innovation."

The presentation was a sometimes choppy follow-up to McElhinny's smooth attack a few minutes before. Verhoeven read many slides directly and seemed to repeat his themes; a video had volume that jumped up and down wildly, and even stopped playing at one point.

A stressful first day with a smaller jury

It wasn't just Samsung's strained presentation; the day had a stressful feeling from the start. The hallway was packed with dozens of reporters, lawyers, and observers, who filed into the court minutes before arguments began.

Stress was the first thing the judge wanted to talk about, in fact. One of the jurors was feeling stressed, to the point of having panic attacks, said US District Judge Lucy Koh. The situation with the juror's pay wasn't made clear by her boss, and she wanted off the jury. Koh checked that the parties had no objections and then let her go, turning the ten-person jury into a panel of nine.

Before opening arguments even started, stress turned into sparks, as a Samsung lawyer beseeched Koh to kick out one of Apple's slides.

"Your Honor, I've been practicing 36 years, and I've never begged the court," said John Quinn, name partner at Quinn Emanuel, Samsung's law firm. "I'm begging the court now to hear this issue—"

"I've reviewed what you filed yesterday," said Koh, testily. "I heard argument on this yesterday. Mr. Quinn, please, we've had three reconsiderations on this."

"Can I ask the court for some explanation?" said Quinn.

"Mr. Quinn, don't make me sanction you, please. You've had two, if not three, if not four opportunities to brief this."

"Can I change the subject?" asked Quinn.

"No," said Koh. "I want you to sit down. Please."

Openings began shortly after that and went past the lunch break. They were followed by the first witness, Apple designer Christopher Stringer, listed as an inventor on many of Apple's patents. Stringer, a lanky middle-aged man with shoulder-length gray hair and a goatee, didn't take the stand until almost 3:00. The iPhone was an "icon," he said simply, "the most beautiful of our designs."

He was even-keeled, but the designer didn't mince words. "We've been ripped off, it's plain to see," he said. "By Samsung in particular."

After Stringer stepped down, Apple VP Philip Schiller took the stand for just a few minutes. The trial now takes a break until Friday, when Schiller will re-take the stand.

Source:http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/07/apple-to-jury-iphone-changed-everythingthen-samsung-built-knockoffs/

FreedomPop cradle brings free 4G to iPod Touch

The sleeve itself runs $99, and you get 500MB of free data per month -- with the option of earning up to 5GB. So what's the catch?

Many iPod Touch owners harbor a secret dream of using their devices as iPhones, bypassing long-term contracts and pricey service agreements in favor of cheap/free calls via Vonage, Skype, and other voice-over-IP apps.

Just one problem: Wi-Fi ain't everywhere. Without it, iPods can't make calls, stream media, play online games, or do any of that other good stuff.

One possible solution: the FreedomPop iPod Touch 4G Sleeve, a case that adds 4G wireless capabilities to your iPod.

Sound familiar? Back in May, FreedomPop started    taking preorders for its FreedomSleeve, a $99 iPhone 4/4S case offering WiMax-based 4G service -- and some free "starter" data to boot.

Things have changed a bit since then, and not only with the addition of a second sleeve. But let's start with that: the iPod Touch version is compatible with third- and fourth-gen models and weighs just 0.15 pound. It measures 2.4 inches by 4.5 inches by 0.6 inch -- almost exactly the same size as the iPhone 3GS.

Its built-in lithium polymer battery (1,450mAh) is good for over 6 hours, according to a FreedomPop representative. The case plugs into the iPod's docking port, then recharges via what appears to be a Mini-USB connector in the bottom.

The iPod Touch 4G Sleeve offers no-contract nationwide 4G by way of Sprint's 4G LTE and WiMax networks, as well as its 3G network and Clearwire's network. That's a big change from the original FreedomSleeve for iPhone, which was going to be limited to WiMax. A company rep confirmed that the FreedomSleeve will now also connect to these additional networks -- a major improvement.

Here's where it gets really interesting: FreedomPop will give users 500MB of data for free per month. That's not a ton, obviously, but it might be enough for e-mail, Web browsing, and the occasional phone call when Wi-Fi isn't available. In other words, if you're thrifty with it, you can probably make it last.

FreedomPop will give you an extra 10MB per month for each friend you refer, for a maximum of 1GB of free data per month. You can extend that all the way to 5GB by "engaging in partner offers and promotions," according to FreedomPop.

Of course, you'll also be able to purchase additional blocks of data for less than $10 per month per gigabyte, the rep said. Oh, and one more thing: the sleeve doubles as a Wi-Fi hot spot for up to eight additional devices.

The iPod Touch Sleeve sells for $99 shipped, and you can preorder it starting today. FreedomPop says the sleeves will ship in "late summer."

Thoughts? My initial reaction is that it looks vastly superior to the Sprint ZTE Peel, a similar iPod Touch cradle that debuted back in 2010. Though the hardware cost a bit less, you had to pay $29.99 per month for a measly 1GB of 3G data. Plus, it offered hot-spot capabilities for only two devices -- one of them being the iPod.

I'm particularly pleased that FreedomPop expanded its network compatibility to include most of the U.S. instead of just a few WiMax-equipped cities. Though it's impossible to pass judgment without actually test-driving the cradle, this could be a dream come true for iPhone-envying iPod Touch owners.

Source:http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-57482190-233/freedompop-cradle-brings-free-4g-to-ipod-touch/