How Apple's courtroom win affects you
Apple hopes to ban Samsung phones after its courtroom win, the iPad Mini is reportedly coming in October, and Evernote reads handwriting with the Smart Notebook.
Monday's tech news roundup translates the Apple v. Samsung legalese:
Apple won the patent case against Samsung late Friday, but the battle between the two biggest smartphone makers is not over yet. The jury in San Jose, Cali. found Samsung products infringed on Apple's patents, such as rounded edges and pinch-to-zoom. The jury decided that Samsung should pay $1.05 billion to Apple in damages.
Next up: the judge has to decide if she wants to change the amount for damages, Samsung is expected to appeal, and Apple will ask for an injunction to ban selling Samsung products that violate its patents. (On Monday afternoon, Apple filed a request to ban eight smartphones from being sold in the U.S.) The hearing to discuss that will be Sept. 20. Samsung's current flagship phone, the Galaxy S III, was not part of the case, and neither was the new Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet. Consumers won't feel too much of an effect right now if the hottest products are still in stores.
But if Samsung has to pay those damages, that's a billion dollars it won't be spending on innovation. Or, Samsung could raise its prices over time to help pay off that fee. A victory gives Apple more ammunition to go after other companies, like HTC. And the competition will have to invest more to be different. But lets not forget about Microsoft with its Windows phones. Although it isn't as popular of a phone, it does prove that its possible to think different.
In other Samsung news, the next version of its oversized smartphone, the Galaxy Note 2, is expected to be revealed Wednesday. But a Korean newspaper is leaking specs, reporting that it will have a 5.5-inch display, a 1.4GHz quad-core processor, and will run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.
Amazon announced that more items are being sent for "free" with Prime's two-day shipping than with Super Saver shipping. A Prime subscription isn't really free, of course. The $80 yearly cost includes two-day shipping, plus other perks like access to a library of streaming videos and e-books. Super Saver shipping doesn't charge you for shipping for orders over $25.
The latest reports on Apple's 7-inch iPad are confirming it will be called the iPad Mini (as many have been calling it already), and that it will be sold in October. The October launch date has been reported by several outlets, but the latest comes from AllThingsD.
When it comes to recording hand-written notes, Livescribe is the gadget king. But now Evernote is getting in the game with a Smart Notebook. Here's how it works: Write in the notebook with any pen, then take a photo of the page using the Evernote app. The app saves the notes, scans handwriting and makes the text searchable. It uses a special Moleskine notebook that has paper printed with tiny dotted lines, which helps the app scan handwriting more accurately.
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