No Galaxy S II for Verizon, but expect a similar Samsung phone

Verizon Wireless won’t be joining the release party for Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S II smartphone, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Samsung plans to announce its long-awaited US Galaxy S II models at a New York City event on August 29, and the company is expected to bring versions of the phone to all major US carriers like it did last year. The Galaxy S II will still be announced for AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint next week, but now Samsung will be missing out on the biggest US wireless carrier.

But don’t fret Verizon users, the carrier apparently has a “very similar” Samsung Android smartphone on the horizon, according to the mobile site Boy Genius Report. The mystery device will sport specifications nearly identical to the Galaxy S II, which means it will have at least a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen, Samsung dual-core processor and improved 8-megapixel camera. It could be branded as a successor to the Droid Charge on Verizon, which is built by Samsung.

It’s worth noting that Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 5 within a few weeks, so Verizon could conceivably want to avoid the Galaxy S II launch so that it doesn’t distract consumers from the new iPhone.

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Tags: Android, Galaxy S II, smartphones

Companies: Samsung, Verizon Wireless

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Samsung cites Kubrick’s ’2001′ as legal defense in Apple patent battle

Samsung has cited a scene from the science fiction classic 2001: A Space Odyssey as a legal defense against Apple in the continuing patent battle between the two companies.

In a brief opposing Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction on Samsung’s devices, Samsung asserts that the tablet-like devices featured in a clip from 2001 predate the iPad. Apple says Samsung “slavishly copied” the design of the iPad when it made its own Galaxy Tab tablets, but Samsung makes an interesting case otherwise. Samsung wrote:

Attached hereto as Exhibit D is a true and correct copy of a still image taken from Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film “2001: A Space Odyssey.” In a clip from that film lasting about one minute, two astronauts are eating and at the same time using personal tablet computers. The clip can be downloaded online. As with the design claimed by the D’889 Patent, the tablet disclosed in the clip has an overall rectangular shape with a dominant display screen, narrow borders, a predominately flat front surface, a flat back surface (which is evident because the tablets are lying flat on the table’s surface), and a thin form factor.

Basically, Samsung thinks the prior art from 2001 is the real inspiration for all modern tablets, so Samsung isn’t actually copying the iPad’s design. While the tablet-like devices featured in the movie have similarities to the tablets of today, it’s unclear whether the defense will work. But regardless, we think it’s a pretty cool that a science fiction classic is being used as a legal defense. We hope properties like Star Trek and Star Wars get some love in the future too.

Apple’s legal feud with Samsung started in April with a lawsuit concerning the company’s Galaxy Android smartphones and Galaxy Tab. Apple argued in U.S. courts that Samsung’s devices imitated both the iPhone and iPad. Naturally, Samsung filed a counter-suit against Apple and the battle eventually made its way to the U.S. International Trade Commission, which can block the importation of devices into the U.S, and over to European courts. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 was briefly banned in most of Europe, but the ban has since been lifted.

Watch the short scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey below:

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Tags: 2001: A Space Odyssey, design, lawsuits, patents

Companies: Apple, Samsung

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Apple yet again pushes for EU ban of Samsung Galaxy tablets, phones

After a German court granted that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 could be sold in most of Europe, Apple this week brought the case to the Netherlands to push for the ban of Samsung’s entire Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets.

Apple and Samsung did not immediately provide official comments on the matter.

The complaint against Samsung in The Hague district court, which was first pointed out by Dutch publication Webwereld, is not simply a ban on sales. It also includes a demand for recalling the entire stock of Samsung’s gear. Apple wants Samsung to send a letter to companies that distribute its products to request all stock be returned to Samsung within 14 days.

The ban would immediately stop the sale of Galaxy Ace, Galaxy S, and Galaxy S II smartphones, as well as the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and original Galaxy Tab tablets. A complete EU block of the Galaxy line would be catastrophic for Samsung, which is trying to establish its Android-based smartphones and tablets as some of the best alternatives to Apple’s iPhone and iPad.

Last week, Samsung said it was “disappointed” when a German court blocked the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the EU (except the Netherlands) on the grounds that the Tab imitated the iPad so closely it infringed on Apple’s intellectual property rights. Samsung could have faced fines up to $350,000 per unit sold under the German court ban. But the ban was lifted when the Duesseldorf regional court lifted the injunction, saying it was questionable whether it had the authority to bar the sale of a Korean product outside of Germany.

The news is another continuation of Apple’s legal squabbles with Samsung, which started in April with a lawsuit in the U.S. concerning the company’s Galaxy Android smartphones and Galaxy Tab. Apple argued that Samsung’s devices considerably imitated the iPhone and iPad. Samsung filed a counter-suit against Apple, but the battle also extended to the U.S. International Trade Commission, which can block the importation of devices into the U.S.

Now that battle is being played out in courts all over the world.

What do you think of the ongoing battle between Apple and Samsung?

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Tags: Android, EU, Europe, Galaxy S II, Galaxy Tab 10.1, iPad, iPhone, smartphones, tablets

Companies: Apple, Samsung

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