Samsung

855 'Samsung' stories September 2010 - October 2012

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iPhone 5 beats Galaxy S III in Web traffic already despite negative Maps app press

Élyse Betters Oct 12 2012 - 10:42 am PT

Not the best looking pie chart—especially for Samsung.

Apple’s iPhone 5, at just three weeks old, is apparently experiencing more Web traffic than its three-month-old arch nemesis Samsung Galaxy S III.

The latest report from research firm Chitika depicts the iPhone 5 as gobbling up 56 percent of Web traffic volume, compared to the S III’s 44 percent, in just 18 days since it officially released. Chitika attributed the sudden growth to record-breaking sales numbers and 4G speeds:

Record-breaking sales numbers, along with new 4G browsing speeds which encourage data usage, are the most likely explanation for this tremendous growth. This latest shift in the mobile ecosystem is not welcome news for Samsung, which has positioned its device as a direct competitor to the iPhone 5.

Chitika has notably come under fire recently for publishing incorrect information on Google’s local search queries. The firm realized its errors after reading an article by SearchEngineLand. While today’s Web traffic report is significant—yet sudden— for Apple, lets hope Chitika has straightened out its metrics for analyzing Web data.

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Report: Apple to utilize TSMC’s 20nm quad-core chips for new products over next few years

Jordan Kahn Oct 12 2012 - 7:24 am PT

Chinese Economic News Service (via MacRumors) is citing Citigroup Global Markets analyst J.T. Hsu today as claiming Apple will make the switch to TSMC’s 20nm process for quad-core processors over the next couple of years. The rumor is something we have heard several times in the past:

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. estimated Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) to be the only supplier of 20nm process to Apple quad-core processors over the next one to two years, citing the company’s unmatched technological advance on 20nm process and Apple’s decision to adopt 20nm quad-core processors in its new products…Apple began verifying TSMC’s 20nm process in August this year and may begin risk production in November with the process. Volume production is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2013, raising the possibility that TSMC will hike capital expenditure to US$11-12 billion in 2013 and 2014.

According to Hsu, Apple will utilize the processors in iPad, “iTV” (Apple TV?), and MacBooks, while iPhone’s will remain with duo-core chips:

Hsu estimated Apple to design quad-core processors into iPad, iTV and even Macbook. iPhones will be still powered by duo-core processors to highlight its low power consumption merit… Apple’s contracts have been widely criticized for low margin to contract suppliers, likely the reason why TSMC has been reluctant to compete for Apple contracts. But Hsu thinks otherwise, estimating Apple’s quad-core chip, cost at around US$15, could be 10% cheaper once it is made by Taiwan’s supply chains involving TSMC, Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. (ASE), and Kinsus Interconnect Technology Corp.,

In August, Bloomberg reported both Apple and Qualcomm failed to obtain exclusive chip production rights from TSMC after putting up over $1 billion in bids. Samsung also recently made big investments in its new Austin, Texas plant manufacturing chips for iPhone, iPad, and other Apple products, indicating multi-year contracts are likely in place.

Apple poaches top Samsung chip designer for its staff

Jake Smith Oct 11 2012 - 1:18 pm PT

The Wall Street Journal reported that Samsung chip designer Jim Mergard has left the South Korean-based company to work for Apple. According to the report, Mergard’s duties before his short stint at Samsung were to lead the development of a “high-profile AMD chip that carried the code name Brazos and was designed for low-end portable computers.”

Mergard’s work at Samsung was rumored to be focused on building ARM chips for servers. It would be interesting to see Apple pick up this capacity.

Apple and Samsung have an intense rivalry in the smartphone space, but Samsung produces all of Apple’s Ax processors. Samsung opened a factory in Austin, Texas just last year that is responsible for making chips to power Apple’s iOS devices.

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US court reverses Apple’s injunction on Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Jordan Kahn Oct 11 2012 - 9:42 am PT

U.S. Judge Lucy Koh granted Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction against Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus smartphone in June, and the decision resulted in the temporary removal of the device from Google Play pending a software fix with Android 4.1. Today, Reuters reported that Apple’s U.S. injunction on the Galaxy Nexus has been reversed. TheNextWeb got its hands on the official order:

Samsung argued, somewhat humiliatingly, that the sales of the Galaxy Nexus were so poor that they didn’t pose a threat to Apple’s iPhone and that the unified search feature was not essential to the success of its device. The appeals court apparently agrees, as it states in its official order:

…it may very well be that the accused product would sell almost as well without incorporating the patented feature. And in that case, even if the competitive injury that results from selling the accused device is substantial, the harm that flows from the alleged infringement (the only harm that should count) is not.

According to Reuters, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled the court “abused its discretion in entering an injunction” and will send the case back to the California court for consideration.
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Study: Samsung Galaxy S III sales spike following Apple verdict & iPhone 5 launch

Jordan Kahn Oct 2 2012 - 8:50 am PT

A new report from research firm Localytics today suggested sales of Samsung’s Galaxy S III have been growing on a weekly basis with huge spikes following the Samsung/Apple trial and the iPhone 5 introduction. The full story is at 9to5Google.com.

…and Samsung files suit against Apple over iPhone 5 (9to5mac.com)
Samsung mocks iPhone 5 line sitters (again) in new Galaxy S III ad (9to5google.com)
Analyst: Samsung’s Galaxy S III bests Apple’s iPhone 4S sales for the first time since it was released a year ago (9to5google.com)

Samsung mocks iPhone 5 line sitters (again) in new Galaxy S III ad

Jordan Kahn Sep 19 2012 - 10:35 am PT

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nf5-Prx19ZM]

Samsung just released its latest ad mocking iPhone line sitters—right on time for the release of the iPhone 5 this week. The ad is quite similar to its old “The Next Big Thing” Galaxy ads, as it bashes iPhone customers waiting in line at the Apple Store. This commercial is for Samsung’s latest device, of course, the Galaxy S III.

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Apple tops ACSI September report with 86 out of 100 in customer satisfaction

Jordan Kahn Sep 18 2012 - 5:25 am PT

The American Customer Satisfaction Index is out today with its September report for appliances, computers, televisions and video players/recorders. Not surprisingly, Apple is able to maintain its lead among personal computers despite a drop of 1-point to 86 over previous reports. While the report noted Apple continued to lead the category by a margin of 5- to- 9 points, Apple’s lead is slightly smaller than previously, according to the report, “due to an across-the-board customer satisfaction increase for Windows-based computers.” Apple’s score comes as the PC industry as a whole gains 2.6-points and hit all-time high satisfaction score of 80.

Skipping past HP, Acer and Toshiba, the aggregate of smaller PC makers (including tablet producers Samsung and Amazon) improves customer satisfaction by 4% to 80 while simultaneously gaining market share at a pace that outstrips even Apple… “What may be occurring is that the defection of the least satisfied customers of traditional PC brands such as Dell, HP and Acer to Apple and other smaller tablet makers actually may be boosting customer satisfaction for all,” says Fornell. “The companies that lose market share will maintain their most loyal and happy customers, while those who migrate to other companies in search of new products are more pleased as well.”

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Samsung already has anti-iPhone 5 ‘It doesn’t take a genius’ ads out

Seth Weintraub Sep 15 2012 - 1:24 pm PT

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You can say many things about Samsung, but one you cannot say it is slow (you could also say it leaked the rumored 1GB of RAM on the iPhone 5). However, a reader has taken an “S-pen” to the ad above:

[tweet https://twitter.com/jshchnz/status/247134888321495040]

Here’s a Redditer’s breakdown of the features:

Before I even start typing, I would like to note that this will probably be a little bit biased towards Apple.

So, I’m sure you’ve all seen Samsgun’s latest anti-Apple ad. If you haven’t, you can go and check it out here. Notice how they list a lot of features that the iPhone apparently doesn’t have. Well, here’s what they do.

NFC: Near field communication let’s your phone establish a connection with another phone that is touching it or very close to it. It can accomplish almost everything that Bluetooth can, but in a much closer proximity and without dealing with pairing.

Smart-stay: This feature aims to prevent the display backlight from turning off while you are looking at the phone’s display. Critics have said that this feature works fine in well-lit areas, but not in the dark.

S-Beam: This is a feature available in Ice Cream Sandwich, and uses NFC to transfer data between two phones that are held closely together. It does the same thing that the iPhone application Bump does.

Share Shot: This is an easy way to share photos with another S3 owner. It lets you upload pictures you’ve taken to another S3 decide through a WiFi network. The iPhone’s equivalent is Shared Photo-Streams, only Share Shot only works through WiFi.

Group Cast: Group Cast is designed for presentations. It lets users view and interact with PDF, PowerPoint, and image files through their phones.

Direct Call: This feature aims to know when you want to talk vs. when you want to text. For instance, if you’re composing a text message but decide to call the receiver instead, you simply hold your phone to your ear and it will dial their number. (Seems silly to me)

Smart Alert: This feature activates when you’ve been away from your phone. It vibrates to let you know that you have missed calls or text-messages. It seems like a much more annoying version of Notification Center, BUT you don’t have to manually check it– it automatically notifies you as oppose to you manually checking Notification Center.

Tilt-to-Zoom: This feature let’s you simply tilt the phone – as opposed to pinching and zooming – to zoom in on a picture or website.

Palm Swipe Capture: This feature lets you swipe your palm over your phone to take a screenshot. On the iPhone this is accomplished by simultaneously pressing the Home button and the Sleep-Wake button.

Palm touch to mute/pause: You can mute and pause media on the screen by covering the screen with your hand.

Picture-in-picture: This let’s you watch a video and normally use your phone at the same time by placing the video in a popup window.

Turn Over To Mute: Let’s you turn over your phone to mute incoming calls.

Shake To Update: Lets you shake your phone to update the information most apps are displaying. For instance, shaking your phone while in the Twitter app will load new tweets, etc.

Removable Battery: Pretty self explanatory. Lets you take out your battery.

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Report: Apple wins USITC patent ruling against Samsung

Élyse Betters Sep 14 2012 - 12:45 pm PT

Apple just won another ruling brought by Samsung, according to a U.S. International Trade Commission notice, in regards to patented technology found in iOS devices.

Bloomberg reported:

Apple Inc. (AAPL) won a round of a U.S. International Trade Commission case brought by Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) over patented technology in the iPhone and iPad tablet computer, its second U.S. legal victory in a month over its largest smartphone competitor.

Apple didn’t violate Samsung’s patent rights, ITC Judge James Gildea said in a notice posted on the agency’s website. The judge’s findings are subject to review by the full commission, which has the power to block imports of products that infringe U.S. patents.

…Gildea said there was no infringement of any of the four patents in the ITC case, and also determined that Samsung had not proven it had a domestic industry that used the patents, a requirement that is unique to the trade agency. The judge didn’t provide the reasons behind his findings. The opinion will be public after both sides get a chance to redact confidential information.

U.S. International Trade Commission: Notice (PDF)

Get more details at Bloomberg.

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After weeks of delays, Sharp begins shipping iPhone 5 displays to Apple

Jordan Kahn Sep 13 2012 - 6:26 am PT

After weeks of delays and claims about Sharp not being ready for mass production of the next-generation iPhone screens, The Wall Street Journal reported Sharp is now delivering iPhone 5 displays to Apple with mass production beginning earlier this week. The Wall Street Journal seemed confident that Sharp, LG Display, and Japan Display are the only display suppliers of initial iPhone 5 shipments—with no mention of Samsung.

Mass production of the screens for the iPhone 5, which Apple unveiled Wednesday, began earlier this week at Sharp’s factory in central Japan, the person said…That Sharp has started delivering screens could ease concerns about whether Apple will have enough components to meet global demand for the new iPhone. Sharp is one of the three suppliers of the screens, the others being Japan Display Inc. and South Korea’s LG Display Co…

Updated: Trade-in your old iPhone for a shiny new iPhone 5 (9to5mac.com)
iPhone 5 hands on video roundup (9to5mac.com)
Apple reducing component orders from Samsung for iPhone 5, reportedly not mainly because of patent disputes (9to5mac.com)

Crucial SATA 3 SSDs 256GB:$165 512GB:$350. USB 3.0 Lexar Flash 32GB: $18 64GB: $40

9to5 Staff Sep 10 2012 - 7:26 am PT

Per 9to5Toys.com: Amazon’s got some pretty sick prices today:

Crucial M4 256GB SATA 6Gbps 2.5″ Internal SSD for $165 + pickup at Fry’s(9to5toys.com)
Samsung 128GB 830 Series SATA Internal SSD for $89 + free shipping, more(9to5toys.com)
Crucial 256GB M4 SATA 6Gbps 2.5″ Internal SSDs from $170 + free shipping(9to5toys.com)
OCZ Agility 256GB SATA 6Gbps 2.5″ SSD for $165 after rebate + free shipping(9to5toys.com)
Transcend 256GB 2.5″ SATA III 6Gbps SSD for $155 + $2 s&h(9to5toys.com)
Samsung 256GB SATA 6Gbps Internal SSD from $189 + free shipping(9to5toys.com)
OCZ Agility 256GB SATA 6Gbps 2.5″ SSD for $120 after rebate + free shipping(9to5toys.com)
Lexar 64GB JumpDrive S73 USB 3.0 Flash Drive for $38 + free shipping(9to5toys.com)
Samsung 256GB SATA 6Gbps Internal SSD for $180 + free shipping(9to5toys.com)
Samsung 128GB 830 Series SATA 6Gbps Internal SSD for $95 + free shipping(9to5toys.com)

Apple’s new products will keep the display supply chain busy for the rest of 2012

Élyse Betters Sep 7 2012 - 11:06 am PT

DisplaySearch analyst David Hsieh noted today that Apple’s upcoming product launches and refreshes will keep the LCD supply chain in Asia very occupied during the remainder of 2012.

The DisplaySearch blog explained:

The LCD supply chain (including panel makers, component suppliers, subcontract manufacturing companies) has started to gear up for Apple: in the second half of 2012, Apple will launch three new products (a first): iPhone 5, iPad Mini and New iPad refresh model. These mobile devices will require displays with high resolution, slim form factor, light weight and low power consumption. And certainly, these features are keeping the LCD supply chain very busy.

DisplaySearch’s estimates of near-term production for these Apple products are shown in the table (above). The LCD supply chain companies involved in the Apple new products include Corning, Japan Display, LG Display, Sharp, AUO, Chimei Innolux, Samsung, Radiant, Coretronic, TPK, Wintek as well as Foxconn.

Apple’s business appeals to the LCD supply chain for various reasons related to production stability, but the displays are very technologically specific and present many challenges. As Hsieh further noted, Apple requires light and slim displays with high resolution, minimal power consumption, maximum color saturation, etc.:

…the iPhone 5: while not disclosed publicly yet, many believe the panel size will be increased to 4.0” from 3.5” in the iPhone 4S, while the resolution remains at 326 ppi. The technology breakthrough will be the in-cell touch sensor integration, which presents a big challenge for LCD suppliers to maintain good yield rates.

The iPad mini is expected to launch in Q4’12 as well. Compared to the iPad, the smaller 7.85” screen is targeting the segment of the market currently addressed by Amazon, Samsung, and Google. The ultra slim form factor and low power consumption LCD is the key, as well as the film type projective capacitance touch panel.

Due to these requirements, Apple has been investing in Asia’s LCD supply chain, according to Hsieh, specifically giving down payments to LCD panel makers for “strategic supply agreements.” Apple’s business is a “dual-edged blade,” but suppliers cannot ignore a company with such engaging product launches.

Get the full report at DisplaySearch.

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Will the next-gen iPhone feature an upgraded camera system?

Jordan Kahn Sep 5 2012 - 1:34 pm PT

In the lead up to Apple’s Sept. 12 media event, where most expect the next-generation iPhone to be unveiled, there are still some things —believe it or not— that we don’t know about the device. The new iPhone is rumored to sport a longer, four-inch display, a smaller dock connector, an overall thinner design, updated RAM, and other internal components. But we have not heard much about the camera, which is one of the most important parts of any smartphone.

There is some evidence that Apple has now centered the FaceTime camera, such as the next-generation iPhone backs that we posted in May, and Apple seems to be moving toward FaceTimeHD, but we also expect the device’s rear camera to receive an upgrade over the previous-generation iPhone 4S.

While the iPhone 4S introduced a redesigned 5 lens camera system with a new sensor and 8-megapixels, the game has definitely been stepped up with a number of camera-related product announcements from Sony, Nokia, Motorola and Samsung. If the next-generation iPhone’s camera is to keep its lead with the most recent devices announced by these manufacturers, Apple is likely planning an improved camera system for the ‘iPhone 5’.

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Assertive Display tech demoed on iPad at IFA- intelligently adjusts pixels in realtime to make content viewable in sunlight

Jordan Kahn Sep 1 2012 - 4:59 pm PT

As part the International keynote presentations at IFA this year, AMD exec and president of the HSA foundation, Phil Rogers, took the stage to give an update on the current state of the not-for-profit alliance. For those of you unfamiliar with the foundation, HSA (Heterogeneous System Architecture), is described as “a heterogeneous compute ecosystem, rooted in industry standards, for combining scalar processing on the CPU with parallel processing on the GPU while enabling high bandwidth access to memory and high application performance at low power consumption.”

While the addition of Samsung, among other partners Texas Instruments, ARM, AMD, and Imagination Technologies, was the big news of the day for most, a short demo by partner Apical was what really caught our attention.

Apical’s “Assertive Display” technology is already present in a few devices, such as Sharp’s AQUOS PHONE SH-01D, but during its demo for the HSA keynote, Apical showed off the tech working on an iPad…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQUTHGE3qs0]
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Apple’s stock opens at record $680 with $637B market cap following win against Samsung

Élyse Betters Aug 27 2012 - 6:55 am PT

Apple’s stock opened at a record $690 per share following its triumph in the pivotal patents trial against Samsung last Friday. Today is the first day of trading since Apple came out on top and its latest record soars past the previous best of $674.88 per share. The unparallelled all-time high also forced Apple’s market capitalization to $637 billion.

[tweet https://twitter.com/jaydeezy17/status/240086109554606080]

Check it out: NASDAQ:AAPL

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Apple’s first Sweden retail store comes to Stockholm [Updated: now official]

Seth Weintraub Aug 27 2012 - 6:29 am PT

Update: Now official

While not official from Apple, the store that was previously rumored to be an Apple Store in Stockholm’s Taby C mall appears pretty likely to be an Apple Store. The run-up to this day has been long for Swedish Apple users. The local MacWorld.se says doors should open around Oct. 25, which is just in time for iPad Minis and the holidays. Watch out IKEA!

https://twitter.com/digitrendSE/status/240026380824346624

Perhaps most disappointing about this whole thing: Malls in Sweden look exactly like malls here in the United States. :(

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You’ve seen Apple’s internal memo to employees on the verdict, now here’s Samsung’s

Seth Weintraub Aug 27 2012 - 6:01 am PT

We were the first to deliver Tim Cook’s internal memo on Apple’s trial victory. Here’s the other side of the coin:

[Internal Memo] Regarding the Jury Verdict in California

On Friday, August 24, 2012, the jury verdict in our trial against Apple was announced at the US District Court for the Northern District of California. The following is an internal memo that reflects Samsung’s position regarding the verdict:

We initially proposed to negotiate with Apple instead of going to court, as they had been one of our most important customers. However, Apple pressed on with a lawsuit, and we have had little choice but to counter-sue, so that we can protect our company.

Certainly, we are very disappointed by the verdict at the US District Court for the Northern District of California (NDCA), and it is regrettable that the verdict has caused concern amongst our employees, as well as our loyal customers.

However, the judge’s final ruling remains, along with a number of other procedures. We will continue to do our utmost until our arguments have been accepted.

The NDCA verdict starkly contrasts decisions made by courts in a number of other countries, such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, and Korea, which have previously ruled that we did not copy Apple’s designs. These courts also recognized our arguments concerning our standards patents.

History has shown there has yet to be a company that has won the hearts and minds of consumers and achieved continuous growth, when its primary means to competition has been the outright abuse of patent law, not the pursuit of innovation.

We trust that the consumers and the market will side with those who prioritize innovation over litigation, and we will prove this beyond doubt.

If, when you read “History has shown there has yet to be a company that has won the hearts and minds of consumers and achieved continuous growth, when its primary means to competition has been the outright abuse of patent law, not the pursuit of innovation.” you thought “Microsoft!”, you are not alone.
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Google’s attempt to block U.S. imports of iPhone and iPad thwarted as ITC remands investigation of one patent

Jordan Kahn Aug 24 2012 - 4:24 pm PT

Following the verdict in the Apple vs. Samsung trial today, where Samsung was found guilty of infringing various Apple patents related to the case, Apple is also coming out a winner, at least temporarily, in Google/Motorola’s attempt to block imports of iPhones and iPads to the United States.

In late June, we told you about Google’s attempt to block U.S. imports of iPhones and iPads based on a previous ruling that Apple infringed on one standard-essential Motorola patent. The initial ruling was under review by the ITC, which has power to block U.S. imports of Apple devices from Asia, with a decision expected at a hearing scheduled for today.

The ITC has now concluded its review (via paid blogger FossPatents), finding no violations for three of the four patents in the initial suit (including the one mentioned above), but remanded an investigation on a fourth, non-standard essential patent to Judge Thomas Pender. The result? According to FossPatents, there might be a violation and import ban related to the patent, but a remand and ITC review could take up to a year:

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S. Korean court rules that Samsung and Apple infringed on each other’s patents

Seth Weintraub Aug 23 2012 - 7:44 pm PT

A Seoul court ruled Friday that Apple infringed on two of Samsung’s technology patents and “must stop selling the infringing products in South Korea.” In addition, the judge said Samsung infringed on Apple’s “bounceback” design patent but not its icon design patent. These only apply to older model Apple products (perhaps pre-Qualcomm, now Apple is indemnified?), from the sound of it, and the damages are in the tens of thousands of dollars, which is meaningless.

Bloomberg, WSJ and Reuters have more. Tweets below:

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Samsung’s new Sydney store is ‘Apple-esque’ [Video]

Élyse Betters Aug 23 2012 - 8:54 am PT

“I made it through the whole video without cracking up.” -No one.

The Sydney Morning Herald just posted a video of Samsung’s new Syndney store:

Everything from the store layout to the sales staff to the products and even the packaging and promotional material is uncannily Apple-esque.

Samsung’s shop is just a block away from Apple’s Sydney store. Despite the ongoing U.S. trial against Apple, as SMH noted, the South Korea-based company is certainly not quelling accusations that it is a Cupertino copycat.

(via Daring Fireball)

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Samsung presents its closing arguments against Apple, with claims Apple tried to mislead jury

Jake Smith Aug 21 2012 - 4:34 pm PT

After Apple finished its closing arguments in the Apple vs. Samsung trial earlier this afternoon, it was Samsung’s turn to close its case. First off, Samsung’s Charles Verhoeven explained that Apple is trying to go for a bigger target than the $2 billion in damages it think it deserves. Samsung rather believes Apple is trying to win this case to leverage itself in the smartphone and tablet market by blocking Samsung. If Samsung is found to have “slavishly copied” Apple as proposed, Samsung would not on pay huge damages to Apple, but it could also be barred from the market. Verhoeven stated that Apple could not prove Samsung copied in its closing statement nor that customers became confused over Apple and Samsung products.

Furthermore, Verhoeven discredited key Apple witnesses, including Susan Kare and Apple expert Russell Winer, asserting both witnesses admitted they could not provide any evidence. During all of this, The Verge reported that the jury was completely enthralled. Samsung continued pinpointing differences in all of its devices, even showing the startup screen of its Galaxy Tab, explaining, “You see Samsung Galaxy Tab for a long time. Then it has Verizon.” Obviously, he was tried to show that customers can make a distinction between devices.

Addressing the emails and documents that show Samsung execs discussing the iPhone, Verhoeven said, “That doesn’t show copying. It’s a company trying to figure out what’s going on.” He further stated that Apple is trying to mislead the jury. Verhoeven then made a comment to portray the good of Samsung:
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Bluetooth keyboard for Mac/iPad/iPhone just $17

Élyse Betters Aug 21 2012 - 11:20 am PT

From 9to5Toys.com:

Too cheap to buy Apple’s $70 Bluetooth keyboard? It’s O.K. you cheap bastard, we have you covered.

Right now, a “white Bluetooth wireless keyboard,” which connects to second-generation and third-generation iPad and iPhone 4S (or any Bluetooth device), is available on eBay for $16.99. The deal features free standard shipping with delivery on or before Aug. 25. It looks almost exactly like an Apple keyboard (Samsung involvement?), but we wouldn’t bet it is aluminum. With that said, the seller has a 99.6-percent positive rating from 116,000 customers.

Check it out:

New White Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard For iPad 2 3rd Generation Mac OS iPhone 4S

Buyer beware:

@9to5mac I bought that keyboard and it had two letter “E” keys. Also, half of the other keys stopped working after the first use.

— Don Southard (@binaryghost) August 21, 2012

@9to5mac Related: instagr.am/p/LGBPZDEBKO/

— Don Southard (@binaryghost) August 21, 2012

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Read the grueling jury verdict test that Apple v. Samsung jurors must complete

Élyse Betters Aug 20 2012 - 8:56 am PT

Jury deliberations for the much-reported Apple vs. Samsung trial are set to begin this week, and both companies want the nine jurors to complete an intricate exam to determine if a patent was infringed. As The Wall Street Journal first noted, each side created an elaborate worksheet with dozens of multi-part questions:

The general principle is that for each device, the jury has to indicate “yes” or “no” for whether a certain patent is infringed.

Then there are fill-in-the-blank questions like: “What is the dollar amount that Samsung is entitled to receive from Apple for Samsung’s utility patent infringement claims on the ’516 and ’941 patents?” Fun stuff.

The jurors must be unanimous to determine whether a patent was infringed.

Judge Lucy Koh will decide on the final form to be presented to the jury.

Check out both proposed verdict forms below (via WSJ).

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HBR: Who Cares If Samsung Copied Apple?

9to5 Staff Aug 20 2012 - 8:51 am PT

The Harvard Business Review’s James Allworth asks the question ^

If Apple ends up winning this case against Samsung — and either stops Samsung from releasing their phones and tablets to the market, or charges them a hefty license fee to do so — does anyone really believe that the market will suddenly become more innovative, or that devices will suddenly become more affordable? Similarly, if Samsung wins, do you really believe that Apple will suddenly slow its aggressive development of the iPhone and iPad? It’s certainly not what happened last time they lost one of these cases.

Now, if you’re with me so far, then I don’t think it’s a leap to suggest that having these companies duke it out in court over “who might have copied who” is counterproductive. Let’s have these companies solely focused on duking it out in the marketplace — where consumers, not courtrooms, make the decisions about innovation. In such a world, the best defense against copying isn’t lawsuits, but rather, to innovate at such a rate that your competition can’t copy you fast enough. That, to me, sounds like an ideal situation not just for consumers — but for the real innovators, too.

This is what Apple used to do.