This is not the time for Palm to fight one of the best-capitalized companies in the sector.Ĭoincidentally, Apple’s fearsome reputation for innovation is the subject of a new documentary to be screened at the South by Southwest film festival in March.
As Reuters reported today, recession is finally hitting Silicon Valley hard, causing thousands of layoffs and waves of renewed caution. Sadly for Palm, it doesn’t have to lose a suit against Apple to be in deep trouble the Cupertino-based technology company could easily bleed the little company dry by attrition, dragging out legal action and costing both companies millions.
MULTITOUCH AMERICAS INC SOFTWARE
If software can be a write-around to shortcomings in hardware, shouldn’t those write-arounds take place on a level playing field? Toss a cool app like that on the growing pile of must-have iPhone software, and Apple doesn’t need to be litigious to be on top. And since the iPhone is constantly checking in with its towers, it liberally uses its data access and voice minutes without notifying the user. Since the iPhone is a locked device, users can’t pop in a prepaid overseas SIM card to save money. Until the rumored announcement of De-Fi, world travelers with iPhones were stuck with massive roaming bills. (Talking to users on Skype or GoogleTalk will be free.) The subscription-based service will also assign up to three international numbers to each iPhone or iPod, allowing business users to provide their overseas contacts with local numbers. The WiFi-enabled app, called De-Fi, will allow users to pay a flat fee to talk anywhere in the world over Wi-Fi, eschewing exorbitant global roaming charges. Take for example the new VOIP application that is rumored to be released for iPhone and iPod on the iTunes Store come February 1st. With new, promising software being developed by third parties all the time, the iPhone and iPod will retain an edge over Palm’s late-to-the-game Pre for quite some time. Of course, Apple could stand to lose the multitouch battle and do just fine. Since the actual touchscreen - the hardware itself - the iPhone and iPod use to enable multitouch is a commodity, salable to any smartphone maker, they’ll have a tough time proving they’re the only ones that should be able to write multitouch software for it. Such patents consist of any non-hardware-based intellectual property that rubric includes formulas, language, and yes, software.
Thanks to a recent federal circuit court case discrediting the patentability of financial products, all “ business method” patents have been rendered largely indefensible.
They probably know that Apple and its legal team will have dubious legal grounds for prosecution. So if Apple has a patent on this functionality, are Palm and the G1 hacker walking straight into a legal bear-trap? Actually, no.
MULTITOUCH AMERICAS INC ANDROID
He admits it needs optimizing, but the potential for fluid multi-touch on Android is clearly present.
MULTITOUCH AMERICAS INC CODE
After inserting a new string of code into the kernel of his G1, he was able to get two-fingered zooming up and running as a kind of proof-of-concept. A savvy Google Android user has hacked his G1 phone to use multi-touch too, albeit with a lot of tinkering. Cook then said he’d be willing to use Apple’s entire legal arsenal to pursue the charge, adding, “I don’t know that I can be any more clear than that!”īut Palm isn’t the only platform seeking to democratize multi-touch. While he didn’t name Palm as the specific aggressor, industry reporters connected the dots.
0 kommentar(er)
