HandsetsNews

Some Say Patents the Real Reason for Nexus Prime, Ice Cream Sandwich Delay

49

If you haven’t had a chance to take a peek at the calendar, take a look at today’s date. It is October 11th, the day the tech world anticipated as the debut of Samsung’s Nexus Prime in conjunction with Google’s Android Ice Cream Sandwich update. But last week after the passing of Steve Jobs, Samsung and Google announced they would postpone their announcement originally scheduled to occur concurrently with this week’s CTIA events. The gist was that the announcement would be delayed out of respect for the loss of such an iconic figure in the tech world, but some are saying the cancellation of Samsung’s Unpacked event is soiled by the same patent problems that have plagued Android and its partners in recent months.

Trusted industry insider Eldar Murtazin offered his take on the situation via a tweet this morning. “Nexus Prime and Android 4.0 are under question. Google removing some features which are subject of patent war. No timeline for this job,” Murtazin reported. While there is no confirmation of accusations of patent infringing features found within the Ice Cream Sandwich source, the allegations put Google and Samsung in a tough position. It would be in extremely poor taste to pawn off the delay of a device announcement on the death of Jobs rather than simply admitting some elements of the software still needed work.

We’re not quite sure what to make of the situation, but with word ramping up that the release of the phone is now less than a month away, we have to wonder if patent issues really were a factor. After all, Google and Samsung could have still shown off the non-infringing elements of the software at the event as scheduled and then spend time fixing issues prior to the actual device’s release, rumored for November 3rd. It is also possible that Samsung and Google are waiting for the results of an October 13th court hearing to settle current litigation with Apple dealing with Samsung’s lineup of Galaxy devices. The truth is, barring Samsung and/or Google coming clean and admitting patent issues are holding up the next Nexus, we may have to simply take their word at face value for now.

[via AndroidForums, BGR]

Kevin Krause
Pretty soon you'll know a lot about Kevin because his biography will actually be filled in!

ASTRO File Manager Gets Revamped Tablet Design, New Features

Previous article

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 Plus Visits the FCC

Next article

You may also like

49 Comments

  1. This patent thing is out of control…

    1. the person suing should put up the amount in an escrow account that they want to win. if the patent troll loses, then he/she loses the amount of money he/she wanted. :)

      1. Well, the problem with that, of course, is that there ARE legitimate patent cases and, in many instances, the plaintiff (naturally) stands to gain far more money than they currently possess. Your plan would make it exceedingly difficult for the less wealthy claimant to ever sue the more wealthy claimant.

        1. I agree with you, TheTechChat. However, we know this Apple/Android stuff is just frivolous & out of control! On BOTH sides!

        2. completely agree. i knew someone who lost their entire wealth in a losing a battle to kodak.

          maybe they try a mandatory 9 month time limit BEFORE product release. 3 months anyone can claim patent issues with 6 months to resolve in court. anything before or after doesn’t count.

          i hate this crap (like with MS word recently) where someone comes out months/years later to win a case – even legitimately. they are waiting to see if they can get rich rather than protect their IP.

    2. Wow! Phandroid…you guys need to get on the same page!

      endone
      Funny how phandroid posts this article, yet BGR posts this one:

      http://www.bgr.com/2011/10/11/

      Phandroid ftw!

      Quentyn Kennemer

      Yea I usually hold off on posting Eldar Murtazin rumors unless there is concrete proof. And the reason for delaying the announcement isn’t really that important/news worthy especially when mounting evidence suggests the phone’s original release date has never changed.

      1. Yea we definitely do need to get on the same page, lol.

      2. thats what i was just about to say!

        i saw the title and went “o no….”

    1. Even the UK Samsung Guy called him out by name and said he was false

  2. Don’t care about the name, don’t care about the reason for the delay, I just want the phone. It had better be out on Nov. 3rd, if not sooner.

  3. jcase disagrees, and i’d believe him over this murtazdaefsed guy

  4. I’m shocked that people still find Murtazin credible; he has a somewhat crappy track record with recent rumors.

    Need I remind you that he said we’d see an LG Nexus tablet released before the end of the summer? Where is it, Eldar?

    Moreover, this rumor simply doesn’t make sense — at all. So, Google and Samsung announced the event, then decided–at the last minute, just two weeks later–to delay it and remove functionality, because they suddenly realized they were potentially infringing on patents? I don’t think so.

    Patent trolls will be patent trolls; there’s absolutely no way for Google/Samsung to predict what they will target in advance.

    Plus, that Samsung UK sales director said it was coming soon.

    In short, this is Eldar being Eldar.

    1. I agree. Eldar is no more a credible source for me.

  5. I like how Phandroid has become a troll. Android Central is much better for keeping these false rumours verified. Phandroid… just wants clicks.

    1. By the post you just made, It’s easy to assume that you are in fact the troll.

  6. Maybe update this article since many, including ComputerWorld, got Google folks to say that the delay had nothing to do with tech or patents.

  7. Some say…BGR doesn’t know his head from his ass.

  8. Has to be a rumor. If Apple wants to stop this phone, can’t Samsung stop the sale of the iPhone? Doesn’t Samsung own the 3G patents used in the antenna and communication protocol (or something like that)?

    In other words, iPhone cannot communicate on 3G unless it is using Samsung’s patent. As such, Samsung can stop them from selling any units unless it pays for use. Samsung could charge $1000 per iPhone for the use of the patent or not sell any phones.

    I think the attorneys need to be shot in this patent war. Give us a high end phone worthy of purchasing.

  9. I don’t understand why other reasons keep coming up for delaying the Nexus Prime. Someone at Google (do not have the quote or article in front of me) already stated this has nothing to do with anything other than respect for the passing of Jobs. While I do not personally see a reason they should have delayed (would Apple delay iPhone 4S if Eric Schmidt or Larry Page died??), it would look really really bad if something else like patents came up basically discrediting Google.

    1. It’s partially out of respect for Jobs, but announcing a competing product while the press mainly talks about Steve’s passing would probably go unnoticed. Outside of these tech blogs, people would not hear about it.

  10. This isn’t plausible when they can just OTA any code that’s found to be patent-infringing right out of existence. It’s not as though there have been any surprise judgments since they announced the event that was supposed to be held today.

  11. It’s not due to patents. Regardless of whether Apple will sue (money is on “probably”) Google and Samsung wouldn’t delay a product launch over it, nor would they remove features before launch because of it. Doing so would be an admission of guilt, when they are trying to claim that the patents are not valid.

  12. All these ‘trusted’ sources are coming out of the wood work. Is this as trusted as the i*hone 5 leaks. It probably as trustworthy as the bunch of 20 something, squatting in Zuccotti Park with their Mac pro blogging demanding the rich to pay more…meh.

    1. This ain’t a political site but if you want to bring it…

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0aaTGsGdp4c

      US Marines protesting in Zuccotti Park. Joining the firefighters, teachers and the long-term unemployed desperate to find a job who are all there. It may have started with students but it’s growing. A young Steve Jobs or Eric Schmidt would probably have been there.

      The only people to have benefitted from the US’s growth in the last three decades have been the super rich. http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph is a mind-blowing set of charts. Worth a look.

      The economic system (the top 1% averaging 11% in tax whereas I pay a middle-class 35%) and political system (Citizens United allowing corporations to spend unlimited money in elections) is rigged in their favour.

      If you’re not standing with the 99% you’re standing with the scum that profited whilst simultaneously driving the world economy into a ditch. Simple.

      You went there.

      1. People unfortunately don’t want to hear any of that truth until reality has slapped them out of a house and home.

      2. You lost any form of credibility when you linked to Mother Jones as “proof”.

      3. Nice try “reverend”_house

        “The 10 percent of households with the highest incomes pay more than half of all federal taxes. They pay more than 70 percent of federal income taxes, according to the Congressional Budget Office.”

        http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iP3lhS4ZQ-UhyUvFfUgdPCiu-jJA

        http://www.heritage.org/budgetchartbook/top10-percent-income-earners

      4. “If you’re not standing with the 99% you’re standing with the scum that profited whilst simultaneously driving the world economy into a ditch. Simple.

        You went there.”

        I earn $35,000 dollars a year, and I realize the problem is at:

        White House
        1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
        Washington, DC 20500

        “and political system (Citizens United allowing corporations to spend unlimited money in elections) is rigged in their favour”

        Thanks Obama. Solyndra was brilliant!

        You’re a fool. Fireman and teachers? Of course they’re protesting. March On Wall Street was organized by UNIONS! Maybe if the fireman and teachers looked into their six figure salaries and outrageous pensions they would understand why they can’t hire new staff. I live in Chicagoland. The state of Illinois has a 90 billion dollar government pension deficit!. Many government workers are cheating the system to earn double pensions! In Orland Park, IL, more than 70% of the fireman have an income of $100,000 or more. That’s tax payer dollars!

        http://www.cdobs.com/archive/featured/look-out-below-illinois-pension-debt-in-the-pits/

        http://www.orangejuiceblog.com/2011/09/public-employees-make-44-more-than-private-sector-counterparts/

        http://triblocal.com/orland-park/2011/07/20/most-orland-firefighters-made-more-than-100000-in-2010/

        You’ve got to be kidding me dude. Eat crow!

    2. haha exactly but calling them squatters is actually being too kind.

  13. Its been said on multiple places this Guy is not trusted and wrong alot. Eread the comments on the bgr site. People keep blasting them for putting out bs rumors.

  14. http://www.galaxynexus.com/

    Is this a Samsung owned domain?

    1. Probably not with that giant banner ad at the bottom.

  15. Nevermind, I just noticed the Advertisement at the bottom. Sorry.

  16. Some say you can pass on speculative garbage in your headline just by adding the words “some say”.

  17. Unless they had blatent patent infringement all over the place, there’s no reason they couldn’t have shown off the Nexus Prime and ICS. Anything they were concerned about, just don’t mention… no gets sued for patent infringement for a Dog and Pony show. They would have to clean it up for the product release, if they felt concerned. Other than potentially tipping their hand a few weeks earlier, no problems.

  18. It’s not due to patents (and patent threats have never stopped Google from releasing anything). The delayed showing of the Nexus Prime is due to Steve Jobs’ death, and the acutal release of the handset is delayed due to the bugginess of Ice Cream Sandwich.

    1. There are no delays in the release of the handset. Tech sites are reporting that the release is still on track for november 3rd, it’s only the announcement that’s been delayed.

  19. It’s not due to patents.

    Google and Samsung are delaying the announcement out respect for the late Steve Jobs. This is only half true. The real reason, although Google or Samsung never admit this, is because of marketing.

    Annoucing the launch of Google’s highly anticipated OS and Samsungs top products shortly after the death of Steve Jobs is in bad taste. It will make them look greedy and cold. Bad PR. The real reason is because of timing. The buzz of ICS and the Galaxy Nexus will be drowned out with all the news articles about Steve Jobs passing, his legacy, the new iPhone. Poor market timing. The last thing anyone company wants during the launch of a major marketing push.

    It’s all about headlines and buzz.

    1. This is the most believable reason(s) for the delay.

  20. This isn’t Apple guys. Disney saw the phone and think that the ugly holograpic-looking UI falls under their TRON patents.

  21. I think we should take Google and Samsung at face value that they changed the date because of the death of Steve Jobs. The announcement for today was only announced two weeks ago. I can’t imagine they weren’t ready (or almost ready) for release when they made that announcement. However, I think they did not delay the announcement out of respect for Steve Jobs; but rather to let all the press surrounding his death and the release of the iPhone 4S die down.

  22. My theory is that Google and Samsung were expecting the redesigned iphone 5 and they were ready to announce a better device to compete with iphone 5. But Apple only announced the upgraded version of iphone 4, which matches the specs of Galaxy S2, and the iOS 5, which just caught up with the current version of Android. So it makes more sense to me that Nexus Prime, which I assume it is very advanced device, could be waited a little bit more especially with death of Steve Job’s. But if Apple announced the iphone 5, i doubt that they wouldn’t have announced the new Nexus phone. Just my thoughts.

    1. But that should have been even more incentive to maintain the original announcement date. If they had unveiled a device that was 10 times better than the iPhone 4S prior to the 4S being released, they probably could have cut into sales. Hell, I would’ve immediately called a press conference after Apple’s announcement to tell the world how bad the 4S fails (as if everyone didn’t already know) and the new Nexus is the device to have.

      Instead they’re just letting Apple get all the media coverage and sales while they sit around…waiting…for…???

  23. Kevin, Google never said it was because of Steve Jobs. The press said that. So why are you jumping to accuse them of bad taste? Plus, let’s just wait and see. I wouldn’t exactly call Murtazin a “trusted source”.

    1. This.

      People never seem to understand PR. No official representative of Google or Samsung EVER said the delay was related, in any way, to Steve Jobs’ death. They just gave us a vague statement and allowed us to infer such.

      1. Samsung said it actually. They released a statement to CNET.
        http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20117161-17/galaxy-nexus-launch-delayed-due-to-jobs-death/?part=rss&subj=crave&tag=title&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cnet%2FpRza+%28Crave%29

        In case you don’t want to read it:
        “We believe this is not the right time to announce a new product as the world expresses tribute to Steve Jobs’s passing,” the spokesperson said. “We do not have information on the rescheduling of the event.”

  24. There is only one thing I have to say: I AM TIRED OF WAITING.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in Handsets