ITC pushes final decision on Samsung claim against Apple back to February 6th

Let see,until February 6th from the original January 14th date. Judge James Gildea's preliminary decision found Apple not guilty of infringing on four Samsung patents. The judge said that one of the patents was invalid while at least two of the remaining three patents were standards-essential and eligible for FRAND licensing. Apple said in court that Samsung never mentioned any patent infringement until the Korean based tech giant was warned about its possible infringement of Apple patents. As a result, Apple argued that Samsung's claim against it was merely being used as a bargaining chip. While the judge agreed with Apple's assessment of Samsung's patent claims against it, he rejected Apple's defense that it would have been willing to license the patents had they been proven to be valid.

ITC headquarters in the U.S.

Samsung is being accused of anti-competitive behavior by the FTC in the states and the EC in Europe by using FRAND patents to seek sales bans against Apple and Microsoft in what appears as revenge for being accused of infringing on non-FRAND patentsbelonging to those two tech titans. Google and its Motorola subsidiary have been accused of doing the exact same thing leading to investigations of both companies by U.S. and European agencies. 

Samsung suddenly dropped all of its FRAND related sales injunction claims in Europe, seeking to avoid a high fine by the EC that could have been in the billions. This change led Apple to file a "Notice of New Facts," which details Samsung's decision to drop its request for an injunction in Europe, to avoid sanctions. Apple's filing might have led the ITC to delay winding up the case until it can take a deeper look at Samsung's actions. When the final ruling is made, it can be appealed to the U.S. Federal Court.

With third party tech companies filing briefs to the ITC about how FRAND licensing should be handles, perhaps some new standards will result including a set royalty on FRAND patents. Samsung and Motorola have sought licensing fees in the 2% range while Apple and Microsoft have said that this is too high.

source: Electronista

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Apple's Tim Cook earns almost 99% less in 2012

Tim Cook, in his first year as CEO of Apple after the late Steve Jobs, earned $1.4 million in salary this year, along with $2.8 million in bonuses. This is significantly less than his 2011 earnings of $378 million.

According to Reuters, Cook's actual salary went up by some $900,000, but this year he did not receive any Apple stock, which accounts for the large disparity. In 2011, Cook received some $376.2 million in long-term stock awards.

Almost all of Cook's stock bonuses will be awarded in two large chunks, the first of which will vest in 2016, the second in 2021. This will act as an impetus for Cook to perform well as head of Apple in the meanwhile, as the value of the bonuses will depend on how high the stock is in 2016 and 2021.

Since taking over for Jobs in October of 2011, Apple stock has risen almost 37%, although it is down 27% since a record close of $702.10 on September 19.

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Apple’s Ranking in China Smartphone Market Drop Out of Top 5

 

Apple’s rank in China’s smartphone market, which is set to become the world’s largest this year, fell to No.6 in the third quarter as it faced tough competition from local Chinese brands. China is seeing competition intensifying in its smartphone sector, with global and homegrown vendors trying to outgun one another in terms of price and features. Research firm IDC said Apple saw its third-quarter ranking by market share fall two notches from its position in the second quarter. Its market share by shipments was under 10 percent in the third quarter, when China’s smartphone shipments hit a record high, at more than 60 million units …

Galaxy-maker Samsung, the world’s No.2 PC maker Lenovo and global No.2 telecom equipment maker Huawei retained the top two and No.5 spots, respectively. Chinese brand Coolpad made a three-spot leap to No.3 in the country, but ZTE dropped one place to No.4 in the July-September period. The research firm did not give the market share numbers of any company except Apple. Analysts expect a rebound with the launch of the iPhone 5 in China next week. IDC’s report comes a day after Apple’s shares fell more than 6 percent on the Nasdaq, logging its biggest single-day loss in four years and losing $35 billion of its value, on concerns about rivals gaining ground in the mobile devices market.

Apple is losing its magic in China.

The communist nation now has more than one billion mobile phone subscribers though less than a fifth are 3G subscribers. Local mobile carriers have been doling out generous handset subsidies to try to attract higher-end users keen on online gaming and social networking. Chinese vendors are also offering smartphones in the sub-1,000 yuan (US$160) category. Chinese vendors are having strong performance in their home market, showing that it is not impossible for Chinese vendors to surpass international vendors. Price continues to be king and Chinese consumers are starting to show a lack of interest in Apple products. The Cupertino could be in trouble.

SOURCE: IDC via REUTERS

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Samsung denies increasing Apple processor prices

A couple of days ago we reported on the news that Samsung’s chip making division had increased the prices of the processors that it supplies to Apple for use in their iOS devices by as much as 20%. Turns out, that wasn’t true at all.

According to an unnamed Samsung official who spoke to the Korean newspaper The Hankyoreh, Samsung has not increased the prices of the processors. He also said that prices are agreed upon at the beginning of each year and aren’t changed easily.

This puts to rest the news of Samsung increasing the prices but more importantly, the part where people thought they did it just to spite Apple.

Source

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iOS : Google Maps for iOS 5 ported to run on iOS 6

Apple’s latest mobile operating system offers improvements for Siri voice assist, Facebook integration, support for FaceTime video calls over cellular networks, and much more. But iOS 6 also lacks a few things that earlier versions of the OS had, including a built-in YouTube app and Google Maps.

Instead, Apple has introduced its own Maps app with support for turn-by-turn navigation. But it doesn’t offer public transit directions and many users have complained that Apple Maps isn’t as accurate or detailed as Google Maps.

One solution is to simply visit maps.google.com in the Safari web browser to view the mobile web version of Google Maps. But soon there may be another option.

Developer Ryan Petrich is in the process of porting the Google Maps app for iOS 5.1 to run on iOS 6. He’s posted a video showing it in action on an iPhone 3GS.

Right now this is a work in progress, and it requires a jailbroken device. But if Petrich can works out some of the kinks before Google submits its own app to the App Store (if Apple will even allow that), his solution could offer some hope to long-time iOS users who are lamenting the absence of Google Maps on the iPhone 5 and other devices running iOS 6.

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News : iPhone 5 jailbroken

Apple’s iPhone 5 hit the streets yesterday… and it’s already been jailbroken. Developer Grant Paul (@chpwn) has posted images of his new iPhone 5 with a 4 inch display running the Cydia Store — which only runs on iOS devices that have been jailbroken.

Jailbreaking an iOS device, like rooting an Android phone or tablet, allows you to access files and settings that would otherwise be unavailable. It’s the only way to install apps that aren’t available from the App Store, and it lets you run software that changes the default web browser, alters the way an iPhone handles multitasking, or makes other changes to the operating system.

In order to jailbreak an iOS device, hackers have to find a security vulnerability and exploit it, and apparently chpwn found an existing vulnerability from earlier iOS devices which Apple hasn’t yet fixed in the iPhone 5.

The phone is the first device to ship with an Apple A6 processor, and it runs the iOS 6 operating system, but it looks like neither of those things prevented chpwn from jailbreaking the iPhone 5 and installing Cydia.

There’s no word on when the tools that will let anyone jailbreak an iPhone 5 will be released to the public.

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Samsung guns at the iPhone 5 in its latest Galaxy S III ad

Well, that one surely didn’t take long, guys! With the world still gushing with emotions over the Apple iPhone 5 launch, Samsung released an ad for its Galaxy S III smartphone, which aims right at Apple’s latest and greatest offering.

Under the slogan you see above, which gently (or not?) refers to the employees in the Apple stores, Samsung have listed a spec for spec comparison between the US Galaxy S III and the iPhone 5.

We are particularly impressed with the “totally different port” reference for iPhone 5′s spanking new Lightning connector. As for the software side of both phones – Samsung have gone out of their way to point all the tricks, which their US flagship possesses.

Here goes the ad itself. As always, you are welcome to share your take on it in the comments section.

Source | Via

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News: New iPod touch Features 4-inch Display, Siri, The Loop, A5 Processor, 5MP Camera And More

When it comes to Apple’s iDevice range, the iPod touch sits a miserable third behind the champagne iPhone and iPad devices, both of which hog the lion’s share of the limelight. With Apple retailing older iPhones and iPad years after a release at much-cheaper prices, it’s little wonder few consumers wish to consider a device handicapped from the word Go! At today’s special event, though, Apple has really bolstered the specs of the iPod touch, and if you’re the mobile device user playing games, listening to music and using Instagram a little too much, then the newly-upgraded iPod touch might be the perfect product for you.

Having been in the wilderness for quite some time – it hasn’t been changed since the iPhone 4dropped in 2010 – many had presumed Apple would kill the iPod touch off, particularly given the rife rumors of an iPad Mini. That hasn’t turned out to be the case, though, and the new, fifth-gen iPod touch looks like a solid device.

Display

It now features a 4-inch display with a resolution of 1136 x 640. The new display certainly looks beautiful, and, tall to say the least. it’s a display meant to be stared to when it comes to watching videos, playing games, or viewing photos.
Internals
To keep things ticking over nicely, it has the A5, dual-core processor responsible for the smooth running of the iPhone 4S, and having been labeled as the perfect device for the casual gamer, will offer seamless rendering of even the most intensive titles available over at the App Store.
The new iPod touch supports Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and supports 2.4GHz and the 5GHz bands. The new iPod touch now supports AirPlay Mirroring, all thanks to the mighty processor inside it.
Camera

The camera has also been much-improved, improved way too much in fact. The iPod touch now packs in a 5-megapixel iSIght snapper with much improved optics. Apple makes a habit of using inferior firmware on the iPod touch compared with the iPhone, but with the majority of the new hardware having spawned from the iPhone 4S, prospective consumers can rest assured the 5th-gen iPod touch is no pushover.
The front-facing camera is now of the HD variety, which means that those FaceTime calls will look crystal clear.
Hardware

The fifth-gen iPod touch is the lightest iPod touch to date and weighs only 88 grams, and the thinnest iPod touch as well at just 6.1mm thick.
The new iPod touch has a significantly redesigned body and looks a lot more comfortable to hold or play around with.
The dock 30-pin dock connector port is now long gone, as Apple has introduced a newer, smaller and faster, USB 3 compatible port for the iPod touch. With USB 3 offering speeds more than 10 times over USB 2, it was a no-brainer to believe that Apple wouldn’t make the jump.
Courtesy of its powerful hardware, the new iPod touch now supports iPhoto, which allows you to edit and share photos like a pro.
The fifth-gen iPod touch also includes loop which allows you to tie a bracelet, a string, or anything for that matter to keep the device in hand.
Software
The new iPod touch will ship with iOS 6 pre-installed to take full advantage of the hardware it has to offer. But wait, we said hardware, which means one thing: Siri! Yes, the new iPod touch comes with the virtual assistant which we all love and have fun talking to.
Battery
Battery life has been improved as well, and can now play up to 40 hours of music non-stop. Now that is a lot of music I must say.
Headphones

The old pair of headphones which came bundled with every iPod are now a thing of the past, as Apple will be shipping the new iPod touch with their new and redesigned ‘EarPods’headphones. The new design assures that the user stays comfortable and at the same time provides the best audio quality we’ve heard on any Apple device.
Coming in with the same capacities as before, i.e 8GB, 32GB and 64GB, you can rest assured that there’s an iPod touch for every sort of user, may they be a movie buff or just a casual gadget owner. But wait, the fun doesn’t end here, the iPod touch now comes in five different colors: white, black, blue, yellow and red.
With little doubt regarding the new iPod touch’s capacity to handle the needs of the consumer, the only real question remaining is, will people buy it?
Pricing
The price of the new iPod touch is: 32GB at $299 and 64GB at $399.
Availability
The new iPod touch will be available in October.

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News : New iPod nano Announced With 2.5-Inch Widescreen Display, Bluetooth, Home Button And More

If iPhones and MacBooks isn’t really your thing of interest, then the immediate announcement of gorgeous new ipod nano may just be what you have been waiting for. With the iPhone and iPad having access to services like iTunes Match and having fairly powerful Music apps built in, the iPods have been suffering with sales in recent years. Apple will be hoping that the announcement of the two new devices will revitalize those sales.

The new iPod nano features an all new design, and has a much larger, widescreen display than the previous generation iPod nano. It’s just 5.4mm thick, 38% thinner over the previous generation iPod nano.
Volume controls sit on the left hand side of the new nano, allowing users to turn up and down the volume with ease.
The display on the new iPod nano looks gorgeous and has a physical size of 2.5-inches, and sticking true to their display laurels, the new iPod nano’s display is multi-touch.

Here’s something which might surprise a lot of users, the new iPod nano has a home button just like the iPhone. Pressing the home button takes you to the main grid of the player where all your apps are listed.
The new iPod nano comes in 7 different colors, has an integrated FM radio which even lets you pause live radio and resume later on. The new iPod nano now supports video playback, finally!
Bluetooth support has been added to the nano, which lets you connect wireless headsets so you can enjoy your music cables free.
The new iPod nano also comes with the new Lightning dock connector with high-speed data transfers.
This all new iPod nano will be available for $149 in October this year.

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Chinese Journalists working undercover at Foxconn

A reporter from Shanghai successfully created investigative report in Foxconn factories. In its report, the reporter managed to masquerade as one of the Foxconn worker whose job is to assemble the iPhone 5.

Shanghai Evening Post reporter said that there are thousands of people whose job is to assemble the iPhone 5. “According to my calculations, I should be working on at least five plat iPhone every minute of it. Every 10 hours, I had completed the 3000 back plate of the iPhone 5 ” wrote the journalist.

He explained that there are four production lines in the assembly process. Each row consists of 12 employees. “Each line can produce 36 thousand plate behind the iPhone in half a day, it was terrible,” he said.

He also told that he finally stopped working at 7 am. But they were eventually asked to regroup after work. “Supervisor shouted loudly in front of us, ‘Who wants to rest early at 5 am!? We are here to make money! Let’s work harder ‘, “he explained. Though additional salary earned very little, just only 27 yuan ($ 4 USD) for two hours.

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News : iPhone 5’s 9-Pin Dock Connector Cable Compared To Micro USB, Can Reportedly Be Used Regardless Of Orientation [IMAGES]

We are fast approaching the day of reckoning for all the internet’s tipsters and speculation starters, and we’re only just days away, rather than weeks or months, until Apple introduce us to the sixth-generation iPhone, allowing us to see for ourselves how many rumors will actually come true. With that said, the random rumor roundabout is still pumping out possible inclusions and specifications for the highly anticipated new iPhone, with the new dock connection setup being the latest to be shown the treatment.

A number of newly emerged images show the smaller 9-pin dock connector, which we strongly believe Apple will integrate into the new iPhone and additional iOS devices going forward. The debate surrounding a smaller dock connector has been there from the beginning and leads us to believe that this is something we can definitely expect to see as part of any new iOS-based mobile device such as the new iPhone or any new iPod touch or iPad. The images of the purported dock connector show the component side-by-side with what looks like a Micro USB cable, showing that the two connections are almost identical in size.

As is always the case with the emergence of images like these, it can never be officially verified and we will never really know if the parts and components being shown are truly official parts of the new device. The proof is in the pudding so to speak, and will require the actual iPhone to be announced and launched before we can determine what was fact and what was fiction. Although there are some initial concerns about the validity of these images due to the fact that they contain some pretty blatant advertising for a Chinese electronics company, they do seem to match the photographs of the same part that we have seen multiple times in this product’s run-in period.



One of the supposed benefits of Apple moving to the new smaller dock connector is the versatility that it will bring to consumers. The exposed 8 pins on the new cable sit within the ninth pin and allows the connection to be made entirely independent of orientation. Although only a tiny, and perhaps an inconsequential issue, I’m pretty sure that we have all gotten a little angry when trying to charge our iPhone only to find we are slipping the 30-pin cable in the wrong way. This problem will be alleviated with the new setup. With the event taking place on September 12th, it’s now a matter of days until we know all the facts.
(via NoWhereElse)

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News : Apple cuts back chip orders from Samsung, the war rages on

You are all aware of the recent major US patent lawsuit involving Apple and Samsung. So far their patent quarrels had not have any impact on their component supply deal, which has Samsung provide most of the memory chips that Apple uses in its mobile device.

According to Reuters and several other news outlets, all citing anonymous sources, with the iPhone 5, Apple is now steering away from Samsung as its main chip supplier. Instead, the company is looking to strengthen its supplies from competing chip manufacturers such as Toshiba, Elpida and Hynix.

Photo by Reuters

So what are we witnessing here? Is it that Apple is getting ready for a long war, or it's just that it doesn't like to do any further business with Samsung?

It could also be that Samsung is using its chip manufacturing deal as a leverage in their patent brawls across the world or just on the contrary, it's Apple that's using the cutting back of the orders as a leverage. Apple is supposedly Samsung’s largest components client with estimates pointing that their deal is supposedly bringing billions in yearly revenue. Well, we may never learn the truth.

Source | Via

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[News] Chinese ex-teen idol Jimmy Lin leaks what he claims is the #iPhone5 on Weibo

Jimmy Lin is a singer, actor, and race car driver, being a pretty popular teen idol in his heyday to boot. Now all of a sudden he pops with a number of images on his Weibo account - the Chinese version of Twitter - and claims they are of him holding the new iPhone 5, or whatever it gets named.

He waxes about the purported features, such as a larger 4" screen, aluminum alloy for the back, and a new dock connector, but says the handset is slimmer, yet feels almost the same in the hand, as the current version. 

 

 

His observation about the material on the rear is that it resembles very much what we have on the iPad, so we are likely to experience a glass/aluminum fusion as a chassis for the next iPhone, if all the leaks and rumors turn out legit.

source: DreamerJimmy (Weibo) via CNETAsia

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News : More #iphone5 leaks over Sina today

After we got many rumors about the new Apple iPhone devices, we’va a couple the picture of the new Apple iPhone (also known as iPhone 5) from SIna Microblogging user.

This picture is claimed as a picture of Apple iPhone 5 prototype, but there is  no suspense metal back shell look like we’ve ever talking before, but the size is big enough comparing with Apple iPhone 4S.

There is no comment from Apple regarding this picture, so we have to wait until Apple officially released the iPhone 5 phone on the market, so let’s wait.

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News : Next iPhone Compared To iPhone 3GS / 4, Smacked The Brothers for their fatty layer

With only twelve days to go before Apple is rumored to be announcing its next iPhone, it just wouldn’t be right if we had a whole day without any coverage of the device, dubbed theiPhone 5, and like so many of the recent leaks, this one arrives courtesy of the French blogNowhereelse.fr. The source of most next-gen iPhone bits and pieces, today sees a side-by-side comparison of the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 4S, and even though we were under no illusions the new device was longer than its predecessor, the image certainly puts things into perspective.

As well as the elongated form factor, the thinness of the newer handset is also patently obvious when placed next to the iPhone 4 / 4S and the even older (but still retailing) iPhone 3GS. The three-and-a-bit year old device was nice to hold, and although it did feel svelte when it first began retailing in 2009, the next iPhone makes it look a tad rotund.
We’ve learned, during the course of the past couple of months, that the new display for the next iPhone will not only improve quality, but allow the device to be thinner as a whole. Other space-saving techniques – including a nano-SIM tray and smaller dock connector – have allowed the iPhone 5 to hold the coveted title of thinnest iPhone to date, and even though the iPhone 4 /4S is no brick, it might well feel like one compared to its younger brother.


Being the first iPhone with a quad-core processor and LTE, we’re expecting a butter-smooth experience complimented by the upcoming iOS 6 mobile operating system. The device, it is presumed, will be announced on September 12th, with the release date arriving some eleven days later on September 21st.
Although it goes without saying really, we’re expecting this one to fly off the shelves. Those who perhaps skipped the iPhone 4S due to its underwhelming upgrades will most certainly be sold this time around, in what looks to be the most significant version leap since the Retina-toting iPhone 4 replaced the 3GS all that time ago.

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iPhone 5 Conversion Mod Kit Turns Your iPhone 4 / 4S Into “New iPhone” Based On Leaked Design[Update:Only Available For 48hour]

The most interesting thing about the recently purportedly leaked fully assembled housing of the “new iPhone” – besides the larger, more elongated display – is its two-tone metal back. It looks brilliant and is, of course, much more durable than the glass back of the iPhone 4 and 4S. Now, thanks to a conversion kit, you can enjoy a similar back design on your iPhone 4 / 4S. Check it out after the jump.

The kit has been developed by the folks over at iPhone5Mod. It comes with a black or white front panel, an “iPhone 5” back panel, Philips and Pentalobe screw drivers.

The star of the show – the “iPhone 5” back panel – is made up of three different materials: the top and bottom use a Glass-like Acrylic, the camera lens uses Clear Glass while the metal back is made using Aluminum.
Other details and features mentioned by the folks behind the kit include an added “internal metal frame” that offers increased durability and a “heat sink sticker” that keeps your iPhone cool.



Of course, using this kit (or any other conversion kit for that matter) will void your warranty. If your iPhone does malfunction as a result of the new back panel, and you send it to Apple they will, in all probability, refuse to touch it or ask you to pay a hefty fee.
I don’t know about you, but I have no intentions of modifying my iPhone 4S’s hardware in any way, since I like it the way it is.
Anyhow, the kit is available for the iPhone 4 GSM/CDMA and 4S models in colors Black / White. Price for shipping via airmail is $29.99 and takes between 7-20 days, while shipping via Speedpost will cost you $49.99 and take 5-7 days for delivery. This delivery time is besides the 7 days of “processing lead-time” before your item ships.
Have a look at an iPhone 4S converted using the mod kit in this video:
(via 9to5Mac)

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How iOS 6 apps would look like on a taller display

We’ve heard a wide variety of sources claim that the upcoming iPhone will feature a larger display, and today we can add one more to the list.
We rarely cover about iOS news but this another shoot that make us distract toward it
So here's some screenshot

When put through an iOS simulator at a resolution of 1136 x 640 (the rumored resolution of the iPhone 5), many iOS 6 apps scale perfectly to the new size, revealing interfaces which have been tweaked and optimized for the different aspect ratio.

The upcoming iPhone 5 (if that’s what it’ll be called), is rumored to feature a screen size which will measure just above the 4 inch mark, and will supposedly also have a new aspect ratio of 16:9. Above, you can see how the iOS 6 homescreen scales to support 20 icons (not counting the dock), while the current iPhone only supports 16.

Here’s how the Apple keyboard gets scaled in landscape mode.

While many of the iOS 6 apps appear to make good use of the new resolution, there are a number of legacy apps, which have letterboxing along the top and bottom. Whether Apple plan to revamp these apps before release, or figure out a way to rescale legacy iPhone apps remains to be seen. This will be especially important to app developers, who might be forced to release rescaled versions of their apps if Apple does not scale them automatically in the new iPhone.

Another feature spotted in the latest iOS 6 beta is the ability to use a cellular data network to supplement a spotty WiFi connection. The new feature, called ‘Wi-Fi Plus Cellular’, is accessed through Settings->General->Cellular and allows your data network to be used to compensate for a bad connection. This can be especially useful for when you’re on a busy WiFi hotspot, or simply have a weak signal.

Whether or not this is what Apple end up using on the iPhone 5, we’ll hopefully find out in just over a month.

Source 1 | Source 2 | Via 1 | Via 2

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APPLE ACCUSES SAMSUNG OF COPYING ITS IOS ICONS

After Samsung intoduce some evidence that Apple got the iPhone's design from themin the first place back in 2007, Apple is going with the trial in a New direction, claiming that Samsung also copied its iOS default Icons (Contact, Photos, phone... etc).

"Samsung is also infringing Apple's icon trademarks by advertising and selling a wide variety of products using confusingly similar icons...The icons on these products were intentionally designed to look like Apple's icons and infringe Apple's trademark rights," - Apple claims.

Apple says that Samsung copied some of those icons and gives plenty of compelling evidence in a lot of Samsung devices. Here is a list of all Samsung phones where the allegedly copied icons appear:

Captivate; Continuum; Droid Charge; Epic 4G; Exhibit 4G; Fascinate; Galaxy Ace; Galaxy S (i9000); Galaxy S 4G; Galaxy S II (AT&T Edition, 4G); Galaxy S II (T-Mobile Edition); Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch; Galaxy S II Skyrocket (4G LTE); Galaxy S Showcase; Gem; Gravity Smart; Indulge; Infuse 4G; Mesmerize; and Vibrant.

Source (CNET)

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