Samsung making over half its cash from its mobes

Samsung won't be leaving the mobe sector in a hurry, as it's now making more than half its money on smartphones, according to its third quarter results. If Apple was hoping the ongoing patent litigation could help push the Korean chaebol out of the market, it can think again, since Samsung is extremely unlikely to turn its …

[Mage]

Apple should lose the Patent wars

Almost all Apple patents are really things that in UK would be covered by either copyright or registered design.

Samsung and other "real" Electronics and Technology companies have real patents.

Yes, Samsung and other products might look similar and be used in a similar way. This is like that cars have 4 round wheels rather than 3 or 5 octagonal wheels.

Yes, Samsung and others may infringe Apple patents. But those patents are invalid and should never have been awarded.

Back in 1986 I was designing Pocket Information systems. By 1989 the connectivity was Analogue Cell phone and 64Kbps DECT in the the office.

Guess what? The GUI used icons. The screen covered most of the front. No buttons. It was a rounded rectangle designed to fit a suit pocket (not very comfortably as about x2 to x3 thicker than a modern PDA/Phone. It did work also as phone using the stylus as a handset.

The stylus had three buttons and miniature optically read ball to work as a "mouse" on desk.

Capacitive touch screens existed. But like everyone else we wanted sketch and handwriting input as these very much two way devices.

PC compatibility was to be by a PC card emulating graphics card and connecting via DECT wireless to the Mono touch display (like a HW implementation of VNC so DOS or any OS etc would work in a sliding window over the virtual terminal).

Since Bluetooth didn't exist the "Pen/handset/stylus" used a two way ultrasonic link for voice and button/mouse data. I did have a now expired patent for that. If the company had not gone bust before production I'd be richer than Jobs was today but not be suing Apple when the iPhone first came out, because I believe in reasonable competition and think only the absolutely innovative, un-obvious and complex to invent things should be granted monopolies.

[Anonymous Coward]

In other news....

Samsung dethrones Apple as top smartphone maker.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15489523

[Anonymous Coward]

Erm.. sure

in a 3 month period before the 4S came out. Those numbers will probably look much in the current quarter.

You must be really sad to be celebrating such news.

[nichobe]

M.A.D

Mutually Assured Destruction

[Anonymous Coward]

Is that why Apple is involved in patent litigation

"If Apple was hoping the ongoing patent litigation could help push the Korean chaebol out of the market, it can think again..."

That's a huge if and not one that I can recall anyone seriously suggesting that is why Apple is involved in this patent spat with Samsung (and vice versa). So is there any substance to this remark?

[David Lawrence]

I think you'll find....

...that Apple first patented the idea of selling smartphones for profit, and that Steve Jobs (RIP) will continue turning in his grave (iGraveRotator (tm, pats pending)) until they have been made to pay for this blatant rip-off of their intellectual property. Ah yes - I can hear the patent trolls rubbing their grubby little hands with glee over this!

[Rex Alfie Lee]

What absolute rubbish...

Smartphones have been around for years. My Nokia E61 came long before any Apple phone. There is nothing in the Apple that gives it something particularly special, rather several mixes of old ideas & they've stolen everyone of them. Get a life & at least understand what you are talking about before you make a complete tool of yourself...

[Anonymous Coward]

They don't need to 'leave the mobile sector' to avoid serious patent disputes, they just need to do something a little more imaginative than cloning iPhones.

[JohnG]

Cloning?

Different aspect ratio, different icons, different OS, different apps, etc. If the Samsung devices are "clones" of Apple tablets, then the Apple tablets are clones of the Siemens SIMpad and the Apple patent is invalidated by prior art.

[Earl Jones Of Potatoes]

rubbish

It is untrue to claim that Apple wants Samsung out of the mobile business.

The current dispute concerns IPs on specific handsets only

The author is undermining his reputation by clearly making unsubstantiated remarks to please the usual "bashing know it all die hard android kids".

[Rob]

Too literal...

... I think every company wants their competitor out of their respective market, less competition means more sales for you business. So in essence yes Apple do want Samsung out of the market along with every other mobile manufacturer.

Don't be fooled the IP dispute is all about disrupting Samsung's business and revenues, it is the foremost reason for taking the action they have.

[Anonymous Coward]

So you, the "bashing know it all die hard iPhone kid" are privy to exactly what Apple wants now?

My guess is you're right... Apple doesn't want (only) Samsung out of the mobile business, Apple wants ALL Android/WinPho manufacturers out of the mobile business.

.

[Anonymous Coward]

Plan B

Apple can just buy Samsung for cash and shut it down if it wants.

[JohnG]

Apple doesn't have that much cash (AFAIK, they have about $77bn). Samsung may be bigger than you think.

[Rob]

At lot bigger...

... when you consider the asset value of all their manufacturing facilities scattered across the planet.

Apple has some cash stashed, some patents, a flash new office and some retail outlets which don't really compare in scale to Samsungs operations.

[cloudgazer]

They'd need to borrow about $50BN to buy Samsung Electronics at current prices. But of course it's academic, because Samsung Electronics is controlled by the Chaebol holding company and it isn't for sale.

[Anonymous Coward]

Samsung Electronics, perhaps, if Samsung chose to sell the division (although with well over $100 billion of assets, Apple would need to borrow even with its considerable cash pile). Samsung itself however, not even close to being able to buy it...

[Anonymous Coward]

No need to buy

The solution is easy: destabilise North / South Korea further ( just pay someone to fire a few bullets engraved with N. Korea's flag)

Samsung's goals would shift then, I guarantee that smartphones would not top their agenda.

Mission done. Meanwhile US.gov could offer their "protection" services. High fives all around.

What do you mean they are doing this already?

[Anonymous Coward]

Samsung should cut off Apple's LCD supply.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sure..

So Apple would move 100% to LG, Samsung's enemy number one

Sounds like a plan.

[DEAD4EVER]

samsung yay

nice one samsung keep making profits and the best smartphones ever and best tablets to haha you go samsung destroy apple

[Ammaross Danan]

Even...

Agreed. Samsung has some nice products. Even though the Droid Charge is still running Android 2.2.1, it still looks nicer than an iPhone4, not to mention the feature set. The Galaxy Nexus easily stomps the 4S in RAM and screen resolution, but unfortunately has a 5MP camera instead of 8MP. :( Oh well, the joy of the Android ecosystem is that if a phone has some shortcoming you don't like, wait 3 months and buy the next device or pick a different handset from a different manufacturer. With the iPhone, you're stuck on the 4S specs for another year, waiting for the iPhone 5 to come out with it's woefully bog-standard feature set compared to other smartphones of the time. At least my phone comes with HDMI out and an SD card. :)

[cloudgazer]

Nexus vs 4S is far more mixed than you are portraying it

CPU: Nexus ahead slightly - rendered irrelevant by the difference between native and VM code

RAM: As above, Nexus is ahead, but it needs far more due to architectural differences.

GPU: iPhone ahead enormously. It's unlikely we'll see an equivalent GPU from Android before Kal-El hits, maybe not until Krait.

Resolution: Higher in logical pixels, about even in subpixels, worse in pixel density, much worse in sub-pixel density. So better for video, but worse for text.

[Justin Clements]

Missing the bigger picture

The real question is whether Samsung retain loyalty in phone users.

Apple are showing a close to 90% retention plus huge numbers of people wanting an iPhone next, but the real question is whether Samsung can follow that. Android retention (as apposed to Samsung) is a lot lot lower.

If they can't keep customers, they'll just be another Nokia or RIM.

[Anonymous Coward]

@Missing the bigger picture..

I'm afraid it's you that is missing the bigger picture, RIM and Nokia are mobile phone companies, Apple is a phone and fashion gadget company, Samsung however is an industrial conglomerate, it would take rather more than a few fickle phone users changing brand to have any effect. Maybe google Samsung Heavy Industries for a clue..... it's a big world out there, and there isn't an app for everything

[Anonymous Coward]

@Missing the bigger picture

I'm afraid it's you that is missing the bigger picture, RIM and Nokia are mobile phone companies, Apple is a phone and fashion gadget company, Samsung however is an industrial conglomerate, it would take rather more than a few fickle phone users changing brand to have any effect. Maybe google Samsung Heavy Industries for a clue..... it's a big world out there, and there isn't an app for everything

[Anonymous Coward]

Gotta

Love this recession:

[Samsung] operating profits of ... (£1.4 billion)

npower said its profits last year surged to £544million.

British Gas owner Centrica attacked over £1.3bn profits

Steve Jobs unveils $7bn profit in second-quarter results

BSkyB has announced its operating profits were up 24% to £790m ... to the end of March 2011

[Google] ... said net income in the third quarter surged 26% to $2.73bn (£1.74bn) (couldn't find profit result)