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This image, tweeted earlier today by AllThingsD’s John Paczkowski, gives us a clear look at Apple’s entire case in their patent holy-war against Samsung. If this looks convincing to you, it shouldn’t. The iPhone was unveiled in January at MacWorld 2007, but barely a month later, Samsung took the lid off their QWERTY slider, the F700 which one could easily say, shares an awful lot of aesthetics to the original iPhone.
Oh, and let’s not forget the LG Prada phone that was also announced in January of ’07 (same month as the iPhone). It too shares a striking a resemblance to Apple’s “unique” slate device. Are we somehow supposed to believe that Samsung and LG built an entire device in 1 months time? Not likely… not even for Samsung’s elves and their nimble little hands.
I’m sure Samsung and LG are conflicted in even acknowledging they were responsible for making those two POS phones.
They were hot sh*t circa 2007! :p
So much hot air. I think there is a mushroom cloud somewhere.
This is the type of sentiment that I appreciate the most about the judge in the Oracle vs. Google case from a few months ago. Engineering isn’t some kind of magical voodoo that engineers at giant technology firms secretly create using some arcane process. Like other forms of engineering, software engineers and computer scientists build upon previous advancements that the industry as a whole has made. The judge in that case, because he had a mathematics background, realized that David Boies (the lawyer for Oracle) was trying to mislead him about how difficult it is to program computers.
Incremental improvements are made by several companies at the same time not because one company is copying another, but rather because it’s the next logical step in the evolution of technology. Once capacitive touchscreens became cheap enough (and low power enough) to be used in smartphones, then it was inevitable that everyone started using them (except RIM :) ). I mean why wouldn’t they? This post (the Phandroid one) again correctly states that Samsung couldn’t have possibly made, designed, and produced this phone within a few months. Hopefully the judge in this case has enough of a technical background to realize that.
excellent comment
I believe you were looking for the vote up button ;)
I did that too.. but the comment deserved more recognition ;)
@DonkEkong, Thank you, everything you’ve stated above is so true! I completely agree! And this, is a strong and valid point that needs to be shared. Thank you for posting it.
This case is stupid. What kind of phones were Samsung supposed to manufacture ? Sliders with 9-digit keyboards ? It’s obvious that every company is following the trend…it’s called competition, not copying. We can say that Apple copied all the PDAs…they too have a slate form.
Anyway, be glad that Samsung “copied” the iPhone. Otherwise we would live in a world with just one phone, and that would be terrible, especially with Apple’s version of it…
The Samsung
SGH-Z610
was released in europe in APRIL 2006 had front and rear cameras and was out a whole year before the iPhone
http://techtickerblog.com/2006/08/29/samsung-z610-music-phone/
http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/29/samsungs-touchscreen-sgh-z610-sees-fcc-approval/
Thank you for posting this.
It would seem that Apple patents vague concepts and then sues when others implement those concepts. Paging Arthur C Clarke, et al.
But in Apple’s defense on this would be that Samsung was taking Apple’s iPod look which was by then, on gen5 and made it into a phone. This whole thing is just stupid
Just imagine what the world would be like if Apple was in the motor industry. LIKEOMG that car has FOUR wheels man! WTF. We’re taking you to court!
OF COURSE there is some copying involved. Maybe Samsung should sue them for copying their idea of having a screen on a mobile device? Or ‘at least one button’. IDK, but Apple are evil and need to be removed from this World.
The LG Prada won the iF design award, september 2006. i guess LG should’ve sued apple instead
That’s why Apple has never tried to sue LG over the Design even though LG’s UI is kinda similar to that of Samsung. Judges if you really are, take a look at the Fact, not What Apple wants to misguide you all. God Bless the Tech World and please drag Apple to da Hell…..for its evil doing. Have a nice day!!!
Hm I owned the prada phone. I loved the design, and still I think it is quite a nice design. But the software and interface sucked big time.
There were no update possible and there were plenty of bugs. I sold it and got a Nokia N82 instead :)
Isn´t there something we can do to make clear to Apple that we are getting sick of their arrogance?
Maybe a petition to draw world wide attention so we can make a statement… Hm I found one.. sign it and share it at will….
http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/apple-drop-your-lawsuits-and-compete-like-an-american-stop-wasting-money-on-lawsuits-protecting-vaguely-written-ip#
The iPhone wasn’t the first in many areas there were touch screen phones out many years prior to the iPhone, and LG was the first to bring the worlds first
capacitive touch screen to the market with the Prada. So what makes the iPhone so successful. The iPhone is successful 1. because of timing and 2. because it gave the herd a brand, something which they could point out to their friends and feel cool, superior, edgy. Products released by other companies prior to the iPhone, didn’t seem to be made with that in mind so they never quite reached that potential. Also there were the technology limitations of the time, touchscreen devices from the early 2000’s sucked! Apple was not the first to invent a rectangular touch device with icons; but they were the first to Market the hell out of one and convince the herd masses that they did, making said device look so appeasing that all the herd would care about is owning something Apple so to feel automatically integrated into this group.
LOL “tiny little hands”? I know a few Koreans who would dispute that!
In 2006 LG released images of their upcoming touchscreen range, which the Prada phone later became a member of. Included in the images is something that the original iPhone is almost a carbon copy of, to the point that people thought LG were building them for a while.
I’d love to see LG take on Apple in this tidal wave of lawsuits.
LG is getting the display bids from Apple, them fighting Apple isn’t going to happen, but it should, you’re right.
Something even more funny is that Samsung is the one who makes Apple’s iPhone and iPad processors. So don’t say it won’t happen.
Read this…
LG Exec Says Apple Stole iPhone Design
February 14, 2007
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2007/02/lg_exec_says_ap/
Actually, the Prada phone looks more like the later iPhone 4. It would be funny if Apple claimed parallel, independent design and continued to sue the rest of the world disallowing the same defense.
Drosspike, most of that “genuine American innovation” you’re talking about are actually technologies owned by Nokia (a Finnish company) and illegally used without paying the required license fees. The tech that makes the iPhone work was stolen from Nokia, the form factor was stolen from LG. Even if the kettle is black, you can’t deny that the pot is a hell of a lot worse.
I must agree with you in the fact that Apple set the bar (as far as quality standards go as well as usability). I will also agree with you that Samsung has indeed added some iphoneish colors and design cues to their android line up. However i don’t view anything (vast majority of things) that Samsung has brought to the table as a copy I view their devices, and almost all subsequent devices post iphone or lg prada or Samsung sgh-z610 as ADVANCEMENTS . We’re not reinventing the wheel here we are improving on it… Apple isn’t suing to protect their tap to zoom ip they are suing to not get ran over by these new all terrain self re-inflating rubberized alloy laden wheels that are encroaching on what they probably believed was going to be their monopoly on the smart phone business. If you make the better product the people will speak with their wallets Apples market share is declining. Instead of suing for things like slide to unlock “invention” or “universal search”(no one ever thought of that until apple right) why don’t they focus on creating REAL innovations like
http://phandroid.com/2012/07/21/samsungs-almost-flexible-displays-to-start-being-manufactured-this-quarter/
If Apple don’t want to be copied. They just should stop making products and see how it goes…
I read somewhere the Samsung phone was being developed before the original iPhone, meaning if anything, Apple copied them. Who’s actually bothered anyway? I mean who would confuse a Samsung for an iPhone? Regardless of which camp you’re in.
I’m so tired of the apple fans/sites/blogs trying so desperately to make a point on the iPhone design (which are all proven invalid each time). The question I would ask is how would anyone else design a full screen touch phone? It’s either going to be a rectangle with rounded corners or a rectangle with sharp corners!!
Well, there *IS* an alternative:
I’m certain you can’t name your device after a fruit, there has to be multiple patents against that. Plus it has a touch screen with icons on it so it’s doomed. Honestly I’m surprised Nickelodeon hasn’t been sued yet.
eyephone pear ;) antenna comes out to represent the stem.
Wow Chris, the tiny little hands comment was unnecessary. How would you like it if people started saying you have a wet back?
My back has been known to get moist at times…. I have big glands O_o
Somebody stop him!
Those bogus blogs need to spend their time posting about the 1000+ devices like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOzcruZu4jw that are prior art that totally invalidates about 100% of the software and design patents that Apple and Microsoft are using against Android.
Looks like my old Palm Pilot.
I guess Palm OS didn’t exist before the IPhone? I always thought the IPod Touch and IPhone were awfully reminiscent of the Tungsten T3 Virtual Keyboard and All…. http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_story.asp?ID=6073
The only one that bears any resemblance, other than icons on a screen, is the top right phone. (original galaxy s?) Even then it doesn’t look like a blatant copy. How are you supposed to make a touch only device look? Purple triangle??
yep, apple gave samsung some tips, to prevent those lawsuits:
“Front surface that isn’t black”, “Overall shape that isn’t rectangular, or doesn’t have rounded corners”
http://www.theverge.com/2011/12/2/2596527/apple-samsung-design-patent-iphone-ipad-work-around
I am amused (horrified?) by the fact that Apple’s patents apparently give them exclusive rights to basic geometric shapes. Like rectangles.
Just wait until they patent the wheel… :-|
That photo is pretty damming actually.
No it isn’t, did you read the article or even think about the image for a minute?
Samsung most likely knew about the iPhone 6 months before everyone else did, since many of the iPhone components, including the screen were made by Samsung.
The heirs of the guy who invented the automobile should sue the crap out of everyone who has sold anything motorized with 4 wheels.
Exactly
AllThingsD should be named AllThingsApple, it’s nothing but a cesspool of iFans.
Apple started this war with samsung because they feared them, And now we see why. Apple products are not the standard anymore. Ger over it apple!!!!
Let me preface this by saying I am an Android fan. I’ve used an iPhone, it’s a great phone but in my opinion Android is better.
Now, It’s hard to argue that the F700 is a copy of the iPhone since it came out a month after the iPhone was announced, but it’s possible that Samsung knew what it would look like because they supply parts to Apple.
You can however tell who Samsung was trying to emulate with the Galaxy S. The i9000(Global version of the Galaxy S) looks like a larger iPhone, even TouchWiz looks a lot like iOS. Yes I know it’s hard to make a fully touchscreen phone in another shape besides rectangle and that Apple didn’t invent the touchscreen but come on guys, saying Samsung didn’t try to copy Apple is ridiculous.
February 14, 2007
LG Exec Says Apple Stole iPhone Design
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2007/02/lg_exec_says_ap/
Yes I’m aware of that. Did I say that Apple didn’t copy LG or that they invented the idea of a touchscreen? No, I was pointing out that the Galaxy S was modeled after the iPhone. I hate these lawsuits as much as everyone else, especially the ones over some broad patent that Apple was granted but if Samsung loses this case, based on the fact the Galaxy S looks like a copy of an iPhone, than they have no one to blame but themselves.
I am an Android fan through and through and in no way am I defending Apple. I’m just pointing out from Android users pov, GNex btw, that I believe Samsung intentionally made the Galaxy S look like an iPhone. Claiming it looks nothing like an iPhone is just blind fanboyism, a lot like the Apple fanyboys who claim Steve Jobs invented everything having to do with smartphones.
These “before and after” charts are always so ridiculous. Like mentioned in the article there was more than just the iphone out in a very short time(arguments for it being out before) which featured a rectangle form factor with a touchscreen. The technology was simply ripe for consumer use.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/02/if-android-is-a-stolen-product-then-so-was-the-iphone/1/
A good article filled with info both on previous touchscreen phones as well as info surrounding the technology used.
thanks for the great link.
Anything related to computers, music players and digital world after 1976 was innovated by Apple and other are dumb. Well the iBoys will even say, Apple invented the Abacus. Others just stole Apple’s idea a few thousand years ago..
Now they have the patent for dynamic mouse icons. I don’t understand who runs this patents office in US.
This gets so frustrating. Innovation and IP has lost their meaning.
Apple abacus = iBacus
A lot of times comedians complain that other comedians stole their material. Sometimes that is the case, sometimes it is not. When some news event, or Kim Kardashian thing happens, all of the talk show hosts tell the same joke about it. They don’t steal it from each other, they just have similiar writers. Those writers are typically pretty smart and write similiar jokes and sometimes even write the same joke. Great minds think alike. Apple has great minds. Samsung has great minds. Google has great minds. There is going to be a time where these great minds think alike. Maybe Samsung did steal the idea, but most likely it was progression of technology. I remember in the 1990s there were touch screen computers. They were pieces of garbage, but you touched the screen with your finger to interact. The best thing that Apple has going for them is their popularity. People are going to think everyone stole the idea from Apple because they are the brand that everyone knows. People don’t even call Android phones Android, they call them Droids. If you have a Samsung Galaxy Note, someone that you know is going to call it a Droid.
Good points. I do notice now that people recognize the Galaxy brand and refer to their phones as Galaxy 2s or 3s now, which makes me happy, cause the Droid brand is mostly crap.
The Droid brand is Verizon’s (licensed from Lucas) assigned to a variety of models from a number of manufacturers. The is no common engineering DNA for Droids. Galaxies have common DNA. Incredibles have common DNA…
I’m perfectly aware of what the Droid brand is and the only one worth getting is the Incredible. The majority of them are made by Motorola and their Droid X and a few others have done more for Apple in my circles than Apple has done for itself. I’m aware that the Droid Does campaign did a lot for Android but they weren’t quality products, it was just good marketing.
I concur. Just switched from the original “Droid” Incredible to the galaxy S3.
Unnecessary to say that I really like the new phone. Equally unnecessary to say that I wish Verizon had kept their hands off the bootloader. May have to rethink the whole Nexus/CDMA/GSM thing next time the carousel swings by the gold ring.
Good choice! Yeah I’ll probably avoid Verizon for as long as possible cause they suck at life.
1987.
That’s the year that a little fictitious device appeared in a television series which continued the legacy created by Gene Roddenberry in 1966. Over the years, this device went through some alterations, but they generally kept to the same design: rectangular, rounded corners, touch screen. It was a connected device, able to stream data to its users from a centralized computer (cloud computing?).
The name of the device? PADD. (No, not the iPad, and certainly not the iPhone.)
Did Apple copy Star Trek? It’s not outside the realm of possibilities; after all, many credit the original series for the advent of the cellular phone (with its similarities to the communication device), or at least the flip phone.
Of interesting note, similar devices used in original series related media are called data slates (since the word “slate” keeps getting batted around), though some other media refer to these devices as PADDs, too.
Perhaps Paramount and the Roddenberry estate should sue Apple…
You can even get an app for the iPad that makes it look like a PADD. Many LCARS skins were created for skinning apps on previous touchscreen devices…PocketPC, anyone?
I don’t see the Samsung instinct on that chart. Nevermind the smartphones that didn’t support Android. Just shows that Apple is only after Android, and their jealousy of the success it has had. The only reason that Samsung phones have changed is because full touchscreens have become the norm. It’s not a trend that apple has set, but the industry as a whole. All those Apple a-holes need to get their heads out of their butts, as they are not the creators of the touchscreen smartphone.
You can play this the other way around too ;)
Why doesn’t this have more upvotes?
That’s pretty damming IMO. Besides the fact that the iPhone was slimmer and had a larger screen, you’re looking at the same damn phone (hardware wise).
And Chrysler can sue every car manufacturer releasing models after the AirFlo. And why does my Sony TV look like a Samsung TV looks like a…
You sure can do that with anything.
Why doesn’t this have more upvotes?
I agree Mr Chavez.
made this special for this article. enjoy.
“Not likely… Not even for Koreans and their tiny little hands.” Hahahahahaha
Everyone is talking about Apple, when clearly this was the most important comment of the post :) I literally laughed out loud.
That brick phone in the corner lower right, didn’t it used to have icon’s? Also, Samsung still makes phones with physical keyboards. APPLE FAIL.
It’s a shame the courts can’t just go… “winner take all.. this is your last shot Apple”
Also there was the original Samsung Omnia which I think predates the original I clone didn’t it?
So that new LG phone the Vu or whatever? Yeah. It’s never getting sued. They went with a square. They are not off the hook though. Apple will argue that a square is technically a rectangle.
Apple Corporation = Dishonest Scumbags. Nokia had a black rectangular touch screen phone with a single button at the bottom a full SEVEN YEARS BEFORE THE IPHONE. That is a fact.
As much as I disliked Windows Mobile 5, it did have screen with a grid of icons for running programs.
sony ericsson p800, september 2002
http://www.flickr.com/photos/takenbyhim/5154409907/
What people are forgetting is that Apple is suing Samsung because it hurt their profits. So Apple is saying that because the Samsung Galaxy and IPhone have such close similarities that it would confuse someone into buying Samsung OVER an IPhone?!? Bullshit, the “iPhone” name became the new name for smart phone. Even today, people ask.. “what kind of iPhone is that?”. There is no way that Samsung hurt Apple by resembling their products. They hurt Apple by making another “smart phone”.
Apple is pissed at Samsung for helping to make Android such a success. They feel that they own the playground and resent other teams competing.
Here is a link to a Mac site circa January 2007:
http://macdailynews.com/2007/01/16/lg_undecided_about_lawsuit_against_iphone_over_similarities/
A week after Apple announced the iPhone, a Mac site questioned whether LG would sue Apple over stealing its design. LG was contemplating it. The article even stated that Apple may have infringed on a CISCO copyright of the name iPhone.
LG released the design of its phone in September 2006 in order to compete in a design contest. Amazingly, the iPhone 4 and 4S are similar in appearance to a phone that was announced a month before the iPhone and
Bloomberg:
‘Tipping its hat to a fellow Korean manufacturer, Samsung notes that in 2006, nearly a year before the iPhone appeared, LG Electronics (066570)announced the round-cornered LG Chocolate, with “virtually all of the [design] features Apple claims” to have patented. In December 2006, before Apple released images of the iPhone, Samsung itself filed a design patent in Korea for a similar rectangular phone called the F700.’ http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/16106-apple-s-war-on-android
SAMSUNG DESERVES this for their custom Android skin that stole darn near everything including the spacings and icon colors and shapes from apple. Apple needs to NOT claim Vanilla Android has ever infringed. Vanilla Android is a much better experience than iPhone UI in general. But Sammy’s skins have definitely been a ripoff.
You do realize that Apple went after the Galaxy Nexus right?
The Prada and the one Samsung from Vodaphone above look nothing like iPHone. Afterwards though, LG refrained from theft and Samsung practically tried to get IOS running on Android phones.
You guys should probably remove the racist remark at the end it may be found to be deeply offensive to tiny quick little Koreans like my gf
The Prada phone is a blatant copy of the iPhone 4. Obviously they managed to get hold of internal Apple documentation more than three years before the iPhone 4 was released. It would have been impossible for anyone but Apple to design a rectangle with rounded corners.
On the other hand, perhaps they picked up a prototype left at a bar.
I’ll just say this… I believe Samsung went out of their way to copy the look and feel of the iPhone… the phone and photo album icons are practically the same. Why wrap the icons in rounded squares? I sold phones at VZW. When we started selling the Galaxy S (Fascinate) our reps starting saying that this is basically the Android iPhone (they said this A LOT). I mean, there was always that comparison before – android does pretty much all the same things… but it wasn’t said in the same way and they didn’t say it about the Droid 2 or Incredible or Droid X. Samsung was out to copy the look and feel of the iPhone. Can that be proven? I don’t know. Is it illegal? Maybe.
LG Prada announced December 2006 not January 2007
I think its all in peoples heads that steve jobs was this tec genius which he wasnt since most of his ideas were from companies like sony, lg and samsung. ..the iphone is great but it seems apple cant handle competition so they sue whoever scares the sh*t out of them android is boss so just let it be
It’s not about the slate aesthetics, its the interface stupid !