Samsung

855 'Samsung' stories September 2010 - August 2012

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Samsung convinces judge that Apple destroyed Steve Jobs emails, the two will get equal billing as ‘evidence destroyers’

Jordan Kahn Aug 20 2012 - 7:40 am PT

Update: The tactic worked. Facing disclosure to a jury that both Apple and Samsung failed to uphold document retention laws, the two companies struck a deal to keep the matter private.

Bloomberg reported today that Samsung chief Kwon Oh Hyun and Apple chief Tim Cook will speak on the phone today ahead of jury deliberations in the ongoing Apple v. Samsung trial in San Jose. Another update in the case comes from paid blogger Florian Mueller (most recently funded by Microsoft and Oracle), who reported a previous ruling from Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal, to only provide an adverse inference jury instruction against Samsung, was overruled by Judge Lucy Koh in a decision late yesterday.

Therefore, instead of the jury hearing only a statement regarding Samsung failing to preserve evidence, jurors will also hear the same statement related to Apple. According to Mueller, Samsung claimed that “Apple’s duty to preserve email must have arisen no later than Samsung’s duty.”

Samsung pointed out that Apple neglected to provide emails from former CEO Steve Jobs mentioning the patent trial from 2010 until his resignation and death in 2011. That was apparently enough to convince the judge.

The instruction the court plans to give the jury before deliberations on Wednesday —unless Apple can get Koh to change her decision in a hearing today— is below.

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Apple joins Google, Samsung and other adversaries to buy Kodak patents, perhaps signaling intent to curtail litigation

Élyse Betters Aug 17 2012 - 8:06 am PT

It must be a cold day in Hell. Apple is consorting with Google, Samsung, LG Electronics, and various ventures and firms to bid as a group on Kodak’s intellectual property.

Kodak filed for bankruptcy protection in January, according to The Wall Street Journal, and it is looking to auction its patents to raise money for surviving a Chapter 11 court protection. Kodak could barter all 1,100 digital photography-based patents or end the auction without a deal, as the company announced it would name the winning bidders on Monday but eventually pushed the deadline upon talking with creditors.

The Wall Street Journal explained:

Negotiations and the bidding group’s composition are fluid, the people said. If the consortium reaches a deal to buy some or all of Kodak’s patents, they would essentially be kept out of any one company’s hands and could prevent consortium members from using them in litigation against each other. A deal, however, could also attract attention from federal antitrust regulators.

A deal for the entire portfolio—one of many options under discussion— could fetch more than $500 million based on recent negotiations, people familiar with the process said. That is well above opening bids when the auction started last week, but far below the $2.2 billion to $2.6 billion Kodak at one point said the patents could be worth.

In a statement Thursday, Kodak said discussions with buyers are active and that it isn’t ready to announce a result. The company added that it might decline to sell some or all of the patents, depending on how the auction progresses.

Photography and cameras are obviously a main feature of mobile devices. Competitors in the tech arena have joined forces in the past to snatch up attractive patents, but The Wall Street Journal noted it is “unusual for them all to join the same camp.”

Patent law whiz Michael Carrier, of Rutgers University in Camden, said the companies would not suffer antitrust issues if the tech giants commit to licensing on reasonable rates. Otherwise, an action such as dividing the patents without sharing the rights to use them could likely meet legal trouble down the road.

Get the full report at The Wall Street Journal.

This article is cross-posted on 9to5Google.

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Apple and Samsung US phone and tablet sales revealed: Apple averaged $560/iPad and $590/iPhone in revenue

Seth Weintraub Aug 9 2012 - 9:05 pm PT

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More fun stuff surfaced today from the Apple vs. Samsung trial. Pictured above are Samsung’s sales numbers for its smartphones in the U.S. Perhaps most surprisingly is that Samsung’s best selling phone by unit number is Boost Mobile’s Samsung Prevail, which sold 2.255 million units. Finishing in second and third were the Samsung Epic 4G and the Galaxy S2 Epic Touch both on Sprint. That means Samsung’s top three devices were on Sprint’s network.

Meanwhile, Samsung’s U.S. tablet numbers were below expectations. They totaled just over 1.4 million since the fourth quarter of 2010 (what happened to the Galaxy Tab 8.9? And I do not see the Galaxy Note phablet either above or below).

Then there were Apple’s much bigger numbers, below:

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Apple granted patent for app to assist shoppers in finding best prices

Jordan Kahn Aug 7 2012 - 10:37 am PT

Patently Apple covered an Apple Inc. patent today published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that appears to be related to an app designed to assist shoppers by providing product and retailer information for scanned items. The invention would provide similar functionality to various third-party apps currently in the App Store that use barcode scanning and image recognition to search the web for product information and price comparisons. Patently Apple explained:

Apple has received their first Granted Patent relating to methods for conducting shopping-related transactions with a handheld electronic device. In some embodiments a mobile electronic device may be used to identify a product and obtain pricing information relevant to retailers of the product within a specified geographical location. In another embodiment, a mobile electronic device may be used to acquire pricing information for a shopping list of products. Embodiments may also include a variety of features that make the shopping experience quick and efficient while allowing the consumer to hunt for a better bargain. Furthermore, several embodiments also allow the product manufacturers and/or retailers to distribute relevant product information to targeted consumers who are known to be, or who may be, interested in buying a particular product.

Forstall on inertial scrolling: Steve told Samsung ‘here’s something we invented. Don’t copy it. Don’t steal it’

Jordan Kahn Aug 7 2012 - 6:03 am PT

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdbvAdINPPA]
We have brought you updates on the Apple vs. Samsung trial all week with yesterday’s highlight being a testimony from Apple’s expert design witness, former President of the Industrial Designers Society of America Peter Bressler. Last week, we told you Apple Senior Vice President of iOS Software Scott Forstall testified in the case, but Network World discovered some interesting bits today from Forstall’s deposition from a few months ago. While noting the three key multi-touch patents involved in the case (381′ related to “rubber banding,” ‘915 related to determining one-finger scroll vs. multi-touch gestures, and ‘163 related to double tap to zoom), Network World posted excerpts from Forstall’s highly redacted deposition. The SVP appears to have claimed the now-late CEO Steve Jobs once told Samsung not to copy or steal the inertial scrolling, rubber band invention:

Returning to the Forstall’s deposition, Apple’s iOS guru is asked about discussions Steve Jobs seemingly had with Samsung over the rubber banding patent…Forstall responded:

I don’t remember specifics. I think it was just one of the things that Steve said, here’s something we invented. Don’t – don’t copy it. Don’t steal it….Rubber banding is one of the sort of key things for the fluidity of the iPhone and – and all of iOS, and so I know it was one of the ones that Steve really cared about… I actually think that Android had not done rubber banding at some point and it was actually added later. So they actually went form sort of, you know, not yet copying and infringing to – to choosing to copy, which is sad and distasteful…

Regarding whether the feature was discussed in subsequent meetings with Samsung:

But I can’t give you a specific recollection of – of Steve, you know, going over rubber banding with – with them in those meetings or not… I expect it came up, because it’s one of the key things we talked – you know, he and I talked about, but I don’t know if it came up there.

It is unclear which meetings Forstall is referring to due to the large amount of redactions in the documents, but Network World noted that court documents revealed previously that Apple offered to license Samsung patent ‘381 in November 2010. Forstall also described meetings Jobs had with Samsung when questioned about iOS icon designs:

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Apple vs Samsung: Apple’s expert design witness hits the stand

Jordan Kahn Aug 6 2012 - 3:45 pm PT

We brought you an update on the third day of the Apple vs. Samsung trial earlier today, with Happy Mac logo creator Susan Kare and former President of the Industrial Designers Society of America Peter Bressler set to take the stand as Apple presented evidence that Samsung copied its trademarked iOS icons. During his testimony today, Bressler claimed there are “a number of Samsung phones and two Samsung tablets that are substantially the same” as Apple devices, just as Samsung’s chief strategy officer, Justin Denison, testified its devices are “distinctly different.”

CNET provided an update on Bressler’s testimony:

Bressler suggested that consumers could confuse one of Samsung’s devices with Apple’s…To back that point up, Bressler, the inventor or co-inventor on about 70 patents, went through how nearly a dozen Samsung devices were similar to Apple’s. That includes Samsung’s first– and second-generation Galaxy S devices, as well as the company’s Galaxy tablets.

Bressler also attempted to gut Samsung’s prior art defense, which cites a Japanese design patent issued to rival electronics firm Sharp in 2005. That device, which Samsung suggests looks like the iPhone, is unlike the ones depicted in Apple’s patents since it has a curved, non-flat front, Bressler argued.

[tweet http://twitter.com/Josh/status/232590715681640449]

While testifying earlier today that Samsung’s Galaxy devices look “distinctly different” at the request of carriers, Denison was questioned by Apple’s lawyers over an internal Samsung document referencing the iPhone’s user-experience as the new standard. According to CNET:

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January 2011 email from Eddy Cue to other Apple execs notes Steve Jobs’ interest in 7-inch iPad

Jake Smith Aug 3 2012 - 2:08 pm PT

image Samsung cia CNET

Going against his claim that a 7-inch tablet would not work (seen in a video below), and that Apple would not go into the 7-inch market, Steve Jobs seemed receptive to the thought of a 7-inch iPad according to an email with Eddy Cue. The Verge, which is currently in the courtroom where Scott Forstall testified, reported:

Wow. Forstall is shown a 2011 email from Eddy Cue, in which Cue forwarded an article that a journalist wrote about dumping the iPad after using a Galaxy Tab. Cue writes “Having used a Samsung Galaxy [Tab], i tend to agree with many of the comments below… I believe there will be a 7-inch market and we should do one. I expressed this to Steve several times since Thanksgiving and he seemed very receptive the last time.”

[tweet https://twitter.com/jonfortt/status/231494904621170688]

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After months of rumors, the 7-inch iPad is believed to be announced at a media event on Sept. 12 along with the new iPhone. Several other publications confirmed the initial report shortly after.

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Apple requests ruling in its favor over Samsung press leak, judge prohibits 2001: A Space Odyssey references

Jordan Kahn Aug 2 2012 - 2:15 pm PT

At the beginning of the week, we reported Samsung leaked slides to the press that Judge Koh excluded as evidence in the Samsung-Apple trial currently underway. Judge Koh was not impressed with the move, despite much of the information in the slides being public knowledge, and today we get an update from FossPatents on Apple’s response to the situation. According to the report, Apple filed a letter with the courts today claiming fines would not be a severe enough punishment for Samsung and it requested a judgment in its favor:

“The proper remedy for Samsung’s misconduct is judgment that Apple’s asserted phone design patents are valid and infringed. Through its extraordinary actions yesterday, Samsung sought to sway the jury on the design patent issues, and the proper remedy is to enter judgment against Samsung on those same patents. It would be, to be sure, a significant sanction. But serious misconduct can only be cured through a serious sanction—and here, Samsung’s continuing and escalating misconduct merits a severe penalty that will establish that Samsung is not above the law.”

Apple also outlined an alternative set of sanctions, requesting “the Court should (i) instruct the jury that Samsung engaged in serious misconduct and that, as a result, the Court has made a finding that Samsung copied the asserted designs and features from Apple products; and (ii) preclude Samsung from further mentioning or proffering any evidence regarding the ‘Sony design exercise’ for any purpose.” FossPatents said Apple’s requests could mean big problems for Samsung moving forward:
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Samsung begins producing blazing-fast ‘eMMC Pro Class 1500’ mobile flash memory

Élyse Betters Aug 2 2012 - 11:38 am PT

Samsung just announced the production of its latest advancement in flash memory for mobile devices: the eMMC Pro Class 1500.

“Samsung Electronics announced that it has now begun volume production of an ultra-fast embedded memory for smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices in 16-, 32- and 64-gigabyte densities,” explained Samsung, as it noted the new chips feature read speeds of 140 MB/S and write speeds of 50 MB/S.

Those stats equal turbo web and video browsing, ameliorated multitasking, and a boost for processor-exhaustive gaming on smartphones and mobile devices. Users will love the performance enhancements, but manufacturers will enjoy the chip sizes. They go up to 1.2mm in thickness and just 0.6 grams in weight.

“The ultra high-speed storage device uses Samsung’s 64-Gb NAND with a toggle DDR 2.0 interface based on the company’s latest 20 nanometer class process technology. The new eMMC’s fully managed NAND memory comes with its own high performance controller and intelligent flash management firmware,” Samsung added.

The South Korea-based Company’s newest embedded multimedia cards are surely destined for more devices than the next-generation Galaxy.

This article is cross-posted at 9to5Google.

Get the full presser below.

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IDC: iPad still owns over 2/3rds of the tablet market, but Samsung and ASUS are gaining

Élyse Betters Aug 2 2012 - 8:48 am PT

Apple’s iPad set a shipment record in Q2 2012, which led to a “better-than-anticipated” quarter for the entire tablet market, according to the latest data from IDC.

Global tablet shipments hit 25 million units, with a 66.2-percent year-over-year increase, while Apple jumped from 11.8 million units shipped in Q1 2012 to 17 million for Q2.

“Apple built upon its strong March iPad launch and ended the quarter with its best-ever shipment total for the iPad, outrunning even the impressive shipment record it set in the fourth quarter of last year,” said Research Director Tom Mainelli.

Four of the top five worldwide vendors also eyed shipment increases year-over-year and solid growth in Q2. Samsung sits at second place with 2.4 million units shipped, which is an increase from 1.1 million units in Q2 2011, and ASUS notably almost tripled its amount of units shipped from a year ago. Interestingly, shipments of the Google/ASUS-branded Nexus 7 are not a part of these totals.

Get the full breakdown at IDC.

This article is cross-posted at 9to5Google.

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Former Apple designer reveals Apple passed on a curved-glass iPhone due to cost

Jordan Kahn Aug 2 2012 - 6:23 am PT

We have been getting some interesting bits and pieces from the Apple vs. Samsung trial this week, and most, of which, are related to early iPhone prototypes referenced in pre trial briefs by Samsung’s lawyers who alleged Apple was inspired by Sony products when creating its initial iPhone concepts. We get some more insight on Apple’s original iPhone plans today thanks to a deposition of former Apple designer Douglas Satzger, as discovered by Network World in recent court filings. Satzger, current VP of Industrial Design at Intel, held various roles at Apple from 1996 to 2008 including Industrial Design Creative Lead and Industrial Design Manager. In the deposition, Satzger claimed Apple had “strong interest in doing two pieces of shaped glass,” while referencing the 0355 model prototype pictured above.

He continued to explain how Apple ultimately chose not to utilize curved glass mainly due to cost:

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ComScore: Ahead of iPhone refresh, Apple outgrew Android and the iPhone took market share from Samsung, Motorola and LG

Seth Weintraub Aug 1 2012 - 8:37 am PT

Today’s comScore report measured the U.S. phone landscape from March to June with some surprising surges from Apple noted. Apple was the only manufacturer to gain market share in the overall handset business by growing 1.4-points in the three months. This is particularly notable because Apple’s iPhone is expected to get refreshed in September.

Additionally, iOS outgrew Android in the three-month span from 1.7-points to 0.6-points (see chart below). The gains by both OSes to a whopping 84 percent of all smartphones measured were at the expense of Microsoft, RIM, and Symbian. On the changes, comScore said:

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Apple leads global PC shipments with 19 percent share, primarily due to the new iPad

Élyse Betters Aug 1 2012 - 8:02 am PT

Global client PC shipments rose 12 percent year-on-year in Q2 2012, with the new iPad recognized as the primary influence on growth rates, according to the latest data report from Canalys, who treat the iPad as a PC (and with the ability to operate without being tethered and to use external keyboards and monitors and the like, why wouldn’t you?)

Apple lead the overall charge, boosted by strong iPad sales, with an estimated 19 percent share of global PC shipments. Canalys explained:

Growth in pads more than compensated for disappointing sales of Ultrabooks. The new iPad had the biggest single impact on growth rates in the quarter, but Asus and Samsung made progress with their Transformer and Galaxy Tab product lines. Total pad shipments increased 75% to 24 million units, representing 22% of all PCs.

“There is now a large base of replacement buyers that simply must have the latest Apple product, and the decision to continue shipping the iPad 2 at lower price points has opened up new customers, for example in education,” added Canalys Research Analyst Tom Evans.

Samsung lead as the “Android pad vendor” in Q2. It more than doubled its Galaxy Tab shipments compared to Q2 2011, and Canalys said the company is “Apple’s chief challenger” in the tablet sector.

Get the full report at Canalys.

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One of Apple’s lead designers reveals that the design process starts around a big kitchen table

Jake Smith Jul 31 2012 - 3:41 pm PT

“Our role is to imagine products that don’t exist and guide them to life,” said Apple industrial designer Chris Stringer (no relation to Sony’s ex-CEO Howard Stringer), who has been a part of every design since 1995, when he testified today in court as part of the Apple vs. Samsung trial.

Who helps imagine those products that come to life? Stringer told the court that Apple has a small team of only 15 or 16 people who design the original idea for the company’s key products, from the iPhone to the MacBook Pro, AllThingsD first reported. Apple’s lead designer, Sir Jonny Ive, is of the group.

Interestingly, he added the design process begins around a kitchen table, where the intimate team hashes out ideas to someday come to light. If the team believes an idea is good enough, the idea will be made into a physical model. In typical Apple design fashion, the group pays so much attention to detail that there can be up to 50 drawings for one button. What a crazy look into the start of the products we use everyday.

Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller is set to take stand next in the case, where both parties are seeking damages over a slew of patents. What a treasure trove of information this case is turning out to be.

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Apple vs. Samsung: Opening Statements in the (Patent) trial of the century

Élyse Betters Jul 31 2012 - 2:21 pm PT

Apple and Samsung appeared in a San Jose federal court today, where U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh presides, to give opening statements starting at 9 a.m. PST.

Apple filed the first suit in this monumental case in April 2011. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company claimed Samsung infringed its patents by “slavishly copying” its iPhone. Samsung, a South Korea-based Company, promptly countersued.

This is one of the important cases to go to trial among a slew of other litigations on smartphone patents. If Apple wins, Samsung could suffer a financial blow and the ability to sell its infringing products in a large market. If Apple loses, its “thermonuclear war” against Android smartphone manufacturers could essentially wither away as Samsung collects royalty fees.

This morning’s most notable highlights are below (continually updated).

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Samsung Chief Product Officer talks patent wars and rectangles

Jake Smith Jul 30 2012 - 3:15 pm PT

After execs from both companies could not come to terms in an attempt to settle, both Samsung and Apple take the stand in a San José, Calif., court room this week. Apple and Samsung will face off for allegedly stealing each other’s patents. Apple also claims that Samsung’s Galaxy devices “slavishly” copied its beloved iPhone and iPad. The same type of trial already played out in many countries across the pond. It will be interesting to see where this all goes, especially after the injunctions against Samsung’s products we have already seen.

Samsung Chief Product Officer Kevin Packingham recently sat down with the folks at Wired to answer a few questions on the recent legal matters, shedding more light on Samsung’s view of the whole legal fiasco. First off, Packingham answers a question regarding the separation between Samsung’s component business that supplies necessary parts to Apple and the product team that Apple thinks is a bunch of copycats. Packingham answered: “There are times when I’m absolutely appalled that we sell what I consider to be the most innovative, most secret parts of the sauce of our products to some other manufacturer — HTC, LG, Apple, anybody…But you know, we also use Qualcomm components, and we source from other component manufacturers as well.”

Apple, of course, gets a ton of parts from Samsung, and it even partnered with Samsung on a factory in Texas to make A4 and A5 chips for the iPhones and iPads.

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Amusing tweets from the Apple vs. Samsung Trial: Google and Apple employees not yet vetted

9to5 Staff Jul 30 2012 - 10:46 am PT

With Apple and Google having such a large presence in the Bay area, there is bound to be some ties to the companies represented on the jury…but both Apple and Google employees have made it to the Jury selection process. Imagine having to write the request to the HR department on this (Thanks, Dan Levine):

[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5mac/status/229997136362754048]

[tweet https://twitter.com/inafried/status/230000222753923074]

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[tweet https://twitter.com/inafried/status/229997431763369984]

Apple gets preliminary injunction on Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus smartphone, effective with $96 million bond(9to5mac.com)

Samsung objects to ‘gratuitous’ images of Steve Jobs in trial, prefers thermonuclear quotes instead

Élyse Betters Jul 30 2012 - 8:00 am PT

Samsung vehemently objected to pictures of Steve Jobs in Apple’s opening slides for today’s massive trial, but U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh struck down the objections over the weekend.

The South Korea-based smartphone manufacturer claimed the “gratuitous images have no evidentiary value,” as it filed 14 objections to Apple’s opening slides.

The company further noted, as FOSS Patents reported, if Apple is given permission to use these slides, Samsung will “request that the Court allow it to use the quotes from Mr. Jobs — which do have nonprejudicial evidentiary value — and yet were excluded by the Court’s ruling on Apple’s Motion in Limine No. 7.”

In other words, Samsung wants to use the “thermonuclear war” quotes from Walter Isaacson’s “Steve Jobs biography” if Apple can use images of the company’s late founder. The contentious quotes from the biography were previously deemed hearsay and inadmissible in this litigation.

According to FOSS Patents, Apple explained the use of the pitcures in its responsive filing:

Three of the images are “from a joint exhibit – 1091 (the MacWorld 2007 video), which Samsung itself relies on in its opening demonstratives (at Samsung slide no. 148)”, so “Samsung cannot complain about Apple’s use of the same video” that shows “the public introduction of the iPhone on January 7, 2007, which launched the fame that the iPhone trade dress has acquired”. Also, “[b]ecause they demonstrate Apple’s notice of the 200+ patents covering the iPhone — including the asserted patents, they thus are relevant to willfulness”.

Another slide refers to an exhibition relating to Steve Jobs’s patents, which was organized by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. “Among the highlighted patents at the PTO exhibit are at least two patents at issue in this litigation — the D’677 and D’889” — and Apple argues that “[t]he Patent Office exhibit demonstrates praise by others to rebut non-obviousness”.

The fifth image of Steve Jobs in the presentation is “a screenshot from the announcement of the iPad in July 2010” and, therefore, “relevant to the introduction of the iPad and its acquisition of fame and secondary meaning”, Apple says.

Judge Koh overruled Samsung’s objections on Sunday and said the images are “relevant to Apple’s iPhone design patent and trade dress claims and is not unduly prejudicial.”

Get the full report at FOSS Patents.

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2005 Purple iPhone design could thwart Samsung’s assertion that Apple copied Sony

Seth Weintraub Jul 30 2012 - 5:37 am PT

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We hope you are not sick of early iPhone prototypes just yet, because the monster Apple vs. Samsung trial is kicking off today and another prototype has hit the docket. This time, Apple is releasing images of its “purple” iPhone design from 2005. It actually has some, if not most, of the design elements of the iPhone 4 design, which Samsung accused Apple of lifting from Sony. This one, again, is labeled “iPod”.

The chronological progression below is also posted in the filing (PDF) [via The Verge]:

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Obama’s campaign dropping 72 percent more than Romney’s on Apple products

Élyse Betters Jul 27 2012 - 12:15 pm PT

U.S. President Barack Obama’s campaign spent over one-third of a million dollars on Apple products since the election began in 2011.

Obama for America forked over $353,000, according to official expenditure reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, and Dow Jones’ Joseph Walker promptly noted that amount could snag 1,780 new iPhones or 176 new MacBook Airs.

Romney’s campaign spent just $99,000 on Apple products during the same period.

Walker further correlated the campaign spending to donor contributions:

Overall, the tech community seems to be firmly in favor of re-electing Obama when it comes to opening up their wallets, according to contributor filings. Obama has raised $950,000 from the Big Five tech giants, compared to Romney’s $123,040. Apple employees seem to favor President Obama by a margin of 15 to 1. Campaign contributions from donors identifying themselves as Apple employees total $121,305, compared to the $8,175 donated to Romney.

Get the full report at FINS Technology.

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IDC: Samsung ships twice as many phones as Apple in Q2

Élyse Betters Jul 27 2012 - 11:15 am PT

The IDC’s latest numbers mirror yesterday’s figures from Juniper Research.

One of the report’s main headliners is that phones are shipping faster than in previous years. About 406 million units shipped in Q2 2012—up from 401.8 million units in Q2 2011. Smartphone shipments also eyed a large year-over-year increase with a 42 percent gain.

The other big news bit concerns Samsung and Apple. The tech giants doubled their combined market share in just two years. Samsung, in particular, hit a new quarterly record after shipping 50 million phones in Q2, where as Apple shipped half as many iPhones during the same time. The Cupertino, Calif.-based Company suffered a quarter-over-quarter decline just six months after its latest iPhone unveiling.

IDC explained the widening gap:

Samsung extended its lead over Apple during the second quarter, taking advantage of Apple’s release schedule and launching its flagship Galaxy S III. In addition, Samsung experienced continued success of its smartphone/tablet hybrid device, the Galaxy Note. As a result, Samsung topped the 50 million unit mark and reached a new quarterly smartphone shipment record in a single quarter. What remains to be seen is how the company’s smartphones will fare against Apple’s next-generation iPhone expected later this year.

Apple posted an expected sequential decline last quarter, similar to years past. The quarter-over-quarter shipment decline came six months after it unveiled its latest iPhone. The decline is not unusual as iPhone shipment volume is highest in the first two quarters after its release. The company’s once-a-year release cycle usually results in two quarters of lower volumes leading up to the next-generation model introduction. Nonetheless, Apple made significant inroads into new markets and segments, including smaller regional carriers and prepaid service providers.

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Several old iPhone and iPad prototype designs surface: take a look at the iOS devices that could have been

Jul 26 2012 - 3:01 pm PT

[slideshow]

The Verge has tracked down several images of old iPhone and iPad prototype designs from Apple the vs. Samsung trial case filings. Buzzfeed got their hands on a few more. Notably, many of these designs are codenamed N90, so what you’re mainly looking at are design considerations for the 2010 iPhone 4, the Apple device codenamed N90. Many of them are ugly and will hurt your eyes. Check out the entire gallery after the break or over at the Verge and Buzzfeed.

Besides iPhone prototypes, Apple was toying with an iPad design that featured an HTC Evo-like Kickstand. Given the above and below, we’re pretty happy with the decisions Apple made on these. Many, many more pictures below:

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Apple makes as much profit on one iPhone as it does on two iPads

Seth Weintraub Jul 26 2012 - 1:55 pm PT

A quick Reuters report on an unsealed document in the Apple-Samsung trial reveals that iPhones are much more of a profit driver for Apple than its iPads. To the tune of double (!) per unit.

Apple Inc earned gross margins of 49 to 58 percent for U.S. iPhone sales between April 2010 and the end of March 2012…Apple had gross margins of 23 to 32 percent on U.S. iPad sales, the filing said.

That means Apple makes as much money on one iPhone as it does on two iPads (considering they cost roughly the same amount).

Who likes phone subsidies? Apple likes phone subsidies!

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Samsung says Apple stole iPhone design from Sony

Jordan Kahn Jul 26 2012 - 12:15 pm PT

With Apple and Samsung’s jury trial slated to kick off in a federal district court in San Jose, Calif., this Monday, AllThingsD points us to trial briefs where Samsung’s lawyers argued Apple’s inspiration for the original iPhone CAD drawings and designs were inspired by a Sony product:

Right after this article was circulated internally, Apple industrial designer Shin Nishibori was directed to prepare a “Sony-like” design for an Apple phone and then had CAD drawings and a three-dimensional model prepared. Confirming the origin of the design, these internal Apple CAD drawings prepared at Mr. Nishibori‘s direction even had the “Sony” name prominently emblazoned on the phone design, as the below images from Apple‘s internal documents show..

Soon afterward, on March 8, 2006, Apple designer Richard Howarth reported that, in contrast to another internal design that was then under consideration, Mr. Nishibori‘s “Sony-style” design enabled “a much smaller-looking product with a much nicer shape to have next to your ear and in your pocket” and had greater “size and shape/comfort benefits.” As Mr. Nishibori has confirmed in deposition testimony, this “Sony-style” design he prepared changed the course of the project that yielded the final iPhone design.

The article referenced above is from a 2006 interview with Sony designers that appeared in Businessweek.