News - Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned from Europe

[Brewster0101]

I still don't uWhy should Apple be the only brand from which we can buy a rectangular device that has a touch sensitive screen on the front with a diagonal size of 3.5" to 11"?
.

Samsung are the not the only company to offer a tablet. Asus and plenty of other manufactures offer very similar products. Question is what has Samsung copied from Apple, that the other brands haven't done.

I hate Apple as a company and loath this decision, but at the end of the day Samsung clearly have copied something they shouldn't have, while other tablet makers haven't got this issue - (yet!)

[miniyazz]

i still don't understand what could have been ripped off from apple. These days you can buy a cell phone with a small rectangular screen and with about a dozen buttons underneath from many different brands. You can buy a car with 4 doors, 4 wheels, etc... From many different brands. Why should apple be the only brand from which we can buy a rectangular device that has a touch sensitive screen on the front with a diagonal size of 3.5" to 11"?

I'm looking at this from a consumer's point of view. I don't want to have only one choice of smartphone in a year's time....

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[miniyazz]

Well it seems likely that something has been ripped off else this judgement wouldn't have been granted. Why don't Samsung just design and make a tablet that doesn't infringe on anyones patents? That would seem like the sensible thing to have done in the first instance!

Because there are so many patents for so many ridiculous little things that it is, quite frankly, next to impossible to design a tablet that doesn't infringe on any patents. Even if you've never even been out into the real world and have come up with the entire design of the tablet in your mum's basement.

[dangel]

Well it seems likely that something has been ripped off else this judgement wouldn't have been granted.

In a perfect World n'all that - I think things work a little differently when it comes to patents in reality with plenty of evidence in recent times of abuse of the system(s) involved. Saracen hit the nail on the head - to assume either way really is a bit daft right now given how little you or I know. Apple are certainly motivated by the increased competition from Android in a number of markets and more so by their ongoing spat with Samsung (and in other cases it looks a lot more clear cut). Patents are now a commodity used as a hammer in business against rivals - certainly they were never intended as such and I (for one) think the system needs a great deal of reform (regardless of the aggressor/right/wrongs). Why anybody would cheer on either opponent here is beyond me..

That said, as a consumer i'd certainly like choice

[Unique]

i would imagine if apple win the case against samsung they will then go after more companies. it sounds like they have taken issue with samsung in particular, moreso than other companies and using them as the test case

whether you agree with the ruling or not, few could disagree that samsung and others haven't simply copied apple in creating tablets. apple weren't the first to create them, there were tablets around years ago, 10+ years even, but they didn't do very well and certainly didn't become a mass market product, probably due to size and specs at the time.

likewise with the ipod, apple weren't first, but if you were being really honest, they are the company that everyone copied, and all the competing products came out because apple created the market, but most other mp3 players had different styling, buttons and functions

apple then created the ipod touch, and then iphone. small touch screen devices than ran apps and let people browse the web. others started copying the iphone, including samsung, but who thought of copying the idea and making a big iphone/touch as a tablet computer? only apple it seems. it wasn't until the rumours came out about the ipad that other companies then started looking to copy the idea. before apple announced the ipad, no-one needed one and no-one wanted one. very different to ipods in that the device replaced the minidisc/cd/tape/etc walkman, so did a regular function differently. apple created a new market for a new type of product and other people copied it. but unlike the ipod clones, the ipad clones look clearly similar and operate clearly similar to the ipad

for consumers it would be great to have a decent cheap alternative to the ipad, but there just isn't one. the cheap ones are crap. the others that could compete are priced similarly to the ipad and do pretty much the same things. samsungs advertising that i've seen this week is along the lines off there was ipad but now we've made a better one. but it looks pretty much the same, so it's no wonder apple are using any legal powers they can to stop it

i'm surprised they haven't done the same with the samsung iphones, whatever they call them. it's clearly obvious they copied the iphone, the latest model in particular. again it doesn't do anything particularly different, and it's not particularly cheaper either. and considering apple haven't had a new phone out in over a year and the new android handsets don't do anything notable that apples year old phone can do just goes to show that apple are leading the way for these devices

so when you consider how apple lost the computer market and ended up with a tiny 5% ish share and windows dominates, it's hard to believe apple have led with 3 separate types of device, especially considering the considerable apple backlash it gets from people who consider it over priced, tied down, for fanboys and sheep

the galaxy tabs are one of the few ranges of tablets that are worth considering as an alternate to ipad as far as i'm concerned, but the price point puts me off. i'd rather have a second hand ipad at about half the price. if the price was right then i'd maybe be persuaded, but the android tablets are currently just overpriced or crap ipad clones, and i don't think that combination is making ipad alternatives an appealing option to many people

[Saracen]

Well it seems likely that something has been ripped off else this judgement wouldn't have been granted. Why don't Samsung just design and make a tablet that doesn't infringe on anyones patents? That would seem like the sensible thing to have done in the first instance!

Just to be picky, though it's technically an important if subtle point .... it's about design IP, not patents. It's important because the implementation of design rights and patents are very different.

[dangel]

Still on sale here in Cambridge - just been out for a play

[cjs150]

Chances are this relates to Apple alleging patents on touch screen interface for mobile devices belong to it.

I hope Apple lose because the alleged patents are totally obvious and I disagree with patents for computer software in any event.

Mrochester: effectively what Apple are trying to do is ban anyone making any competing device with an iPhone or iPad if it has a touch screen and an interface that looks like it used Apple as a design influence. The patent system has got completely out of control and is no longer fit for purpose.

[cjs150]

Sorry, did a bit more digging.

Injunction has been granted because Samsung infringed not a patent but a EU community design right (no 000181607-0001).

I have had a look at the design right granted. Apple now have a design right until 2014 (which is extendible) for a portable computer that is rectangular in shape and where the front consists of a screen and a bezel with some buttons on the side.

Not exactly original - what next Biro take out a EU community design right for a portable writing tool that consists of a tube which has ink in it and a nib at one end?

[semo]

Samsung are the not the only company to offer a tablet. Asus and plenty of other manufactures offer very similar products. Question is what has Samsung copied from Apple, that the other brands haven't done.

I hate Apple as a company and loath this decision, but at the end of the day Samsung clearly have copied something they shouldn't have, while other tablet makers haven't got this issue - (yet!)

I think if Apple win this case outright, then they might use it to squash other competitors (I can't remember the term for these legal cases).

[dangel]

Have a look for yourself:

http://esearch.oami.europa.eu/copla/...000181607-0001

Having just seen practically all the tablets this lunchtime - I couldn't say that was even categorically an iPad let alone a GT!

[Lemonaids]

The Samsung GT 10.1 is nothing like the iPad.

No centre hardware button, lock button is in a different place, volume rocker in is a different place, front facing webcam is in a different place, dock port is in a different place, speakers are in a different place, rear facing camera is in a different place, 3.5mm jack is in a different place, screen is a different size and ratio.

Q_Q its a rectangle with a screen.

Apple hating because it's thinner and lighter.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Sorry, did a bit more digging.

Injunction has been granted because Samsung infringed not a patent but a EU community design right (no 000181607-0001).

I have had a look at the design right granted. Apple now have a design right until 2014 (which is extendible) for a portable computer that is rectangular in shape and where the front consists of a screen and a bezel with some buttons on the side.

Not exactly original - what next Biro take out a EU community design right for a portable writing tool that consists of a tube which has ink in it and a nib at one end?

Wow!!

[Hicks12]

interesting... how can they even have that design? at the end of the day, apple were very very late to the tablet market and i think its safe to say windows tablets from like year 2000 were rectangle and had a screen..... wtf?

[crossy]

i would imagine if apple win the case against samsung they will then go after more companies. it sounds like they have taken issue with samsung in particular, moreso than other companies and using them as the test case

I'd agree with that assessment. Was watching one of the new Futurama's and it's interesting to see that the writers there are associating the evil "MomCorp" with a Ap--e

whether you agree with the ruling or not, few could disagree that samsung and others haven't simply copied apple in creating tablets. apple weren't the first to create them, there were tablets around years ago, 10+ years even, but they didn't do very well and certainly didn't become a mass market product, probably due to size and specs at the time.

Not sure I'd agree totally - you're 100% correct that the advent of cheap processors with good power/performance ratios have made the tablet as we know it possible. But other folks (e.g. HP) have had similar form factor products, but they just remained "concepts".

but who thought of copying the idea and making a big iphone/touch as a tablet computer? only apple it seems. it wasn't until the rumours came out about the ipad that other companies then started looking to copy the idea. before apple announced the ipad, no-one needed one and no-one wanted one.

Again, agreed - even the hardest Apple-hater will agree that marketing is something that they're very, very good at.

apple created a new market for a new type of product and other people copied it. but unlike the ipod clones, the ipad clones look clearly similar and operate clearly similar to the ipad

Stop calling everything that's not an iPad a "clone", they aren't. The fact that - like cars - there's a "best" basic shape means that - at a low level - all tablets will tend to look generically the same. E.g. screen surrounded by bezel with one or more buttons.

for consumers it would be great to have a decent cheap alternative to the ipad, but there just isn't one. the cheap ones are crap. the others that could compete are priced similarly to the ipad and do pretty much the same things. and considering apple haven't had a new phone out in over a year and the new android handsets don't do anything notable that apples year old phone can do just goes to show that apple are leading the way for these devices

See above - a smart phone is merely a portable device that can run downloadable software, what were you expecting an Android (or Win7Mobile) smartphone to do - read your mind, make the tea? Note that the iPhone isn't doing anything that even earlier smartphones didn't - Apple's smarts was "just" to make those functions easier to get at.

the galaxy tabs are one of the few ranges of tablets that are worth considering as an alternate to ipad as far as i'm concerned, but the price point puts me off. i'd rather have a second hand ipad at about half the price. if the price was right then i'd maybe be persuaded, but the android tablets are currently just overpriced or crap ipad clones, and i don't think that combination is making ipad alternatives an appealing option to many people

You've not looked hard enough then. I'll put my Asus Transformer (which, by the way, I think is a nicer looking design than either iPad!) against your iPad and probably be able to match it feature for feature. And no, I'm not going to defend the Moto Xoom - that damn slab IS way overpriced.

Injunction has been granted because Samsung infringed not a patent but a EU community design right (no 000181607-0001). I have had a look at the design right granted. Apple now have a design right until 2014 (which is extendible) for a portable computer that is rectangular in shape and where the front consists of a screen and a bezel with some buttons on the side.

[rude word] !! Talk about generic - heck I can't think of a single tablet that doesn't resemble those diagrams (there's a copy on scribd). Actually I'm not sure that there's not a few eReaders that also look like that. What complete a-hole allowed that one through?! Or am I missing that the diagrams don't show any buttons (or expansion - apart from the dock connection) - how are you supposed to power up?

That said, and I apologise to Galaxy Tab fans - looking at the GT and the iPad2 side-by-side at a glance and you could mistake one for the other. PlayBook, TouchPad, Iconia and Transformer seem to be less visually alike.

[Unique]

holy multi quote. you know how hard it is to read them, or how horrible?

the tab with the keyboard thing that turns into a netbook is one of the non clone tablets. it's perhaps the best ipad alternative, as regards to looks/specs/etc, although i've never played with one in the flesh, the idea is great

but the car analogy, cars have all sorts of shapes and sizes, and as i mentioned before, we've had tablets long before the ipad, but none that looked like the ipad. the current crop are pretty much copying the ipads style. problem is, it would take a lot of thought to make another tablet that didn't look so much like it. but apple obviously spent a lot of thought on that specific design, so i'm sure with more thought someone could find a new design that's a bit different. slide out keyboard maybe, though probably very hard, but then you get slide out keyboards on some smart phones. touch screen on the back, buttons on the back or the front, i don't know, but it's not completely impossible