Verizon to Apple: Stop Suing Samsung
Our friends at Big Red Verizon have chimed in on Apple’s attempts to get Samsung products temporarily banned from being sold here in the United States. They say taking Samsung and their products off the market is bad for business as it hurts their goals for high-speed wireless adoption.
In a court filing, Verizon stated that “the requested injunction of certain Samsung products will harm Verizon Wireless and U.S. consumers. It also has the possibility of slowing the deployment of next-generation networks — such as Verizon Wireless’s — contrary to the stated goals of the U.S. government.”
Verizon has a very valid complaint. As Apple doesn’t move as fast as other OEMs when it comes to new data and cellular technology (Apple’s concerns are always impact on battery life and they like to be sure of new technology before they employ it), Verizon and other carriers rely on the great phones made by Samsung, HTC, Motorola, LG and others to put marketable features inside that pertain to Verizon’s network. ‘
Being able to say they have 4G LTE phones is a big deal for them, and while other OEMs aren’t as threatened by Apple as Samsung is, we see this as being Verizon’s early warning shot before these patent lawsuits start getting out of hand.
We’re sure other carriers feel the same, but don’t be too surprised if none of them speak out on it. Really, we’re just glad to see that the nation’s largest carrier is defending Samsung against Apple (especially as they’re only one of two US carriers to carry the iPhone at this moment). [Reuters]