6 ms·

I'm getting pretty tired of these stories and tech companies in general. At the end of the day it's a touch screen that can connect to the Internet and run some

by davedx 15y ago

I'm getting pretty tired of these stories and tech companies in general. At the end of the day it's a touch screen that can connect to the Internet and run some software. When will the patent/IP madness end?

sjs 15y ago
I agree with you, but you have to admit Samsung is pretty clearly copying Apple's trade dress. It's the only tablet that could be confused with the iPad at a glance. Especially for non-geeks. If Apple weren't suing everyone else too they would have a lot more general credibility in my eyes. By suing everyone they just look scared of competition.
- jsight 15y ago
  > I agree with you, but you have to admit Samsung is pretty > clearly copying Apple's trade dress. It's the only tablet > that could be confused with the iPad at a glance. I don't think I have to admit that. Is it really any more iPad like (at a glance) than this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/759029-REG/Motorola_00001NARGNLX_Xoom_Wi_Fi_10_1_Tablet.html http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/759029-REG/Motorola_00...
  - fredoliveira 15y ago
    He was talking about admitting that Samsung was copying Apple - which they are. But yes, yes it is more iPad like if you look at it from more angles than a shot from the top. The back is similar too, whereas that on the Xoom is not so much.
  - watty 15y ago
    No, to many non-geeks all tablets appear to be "iPads" and all touch screen phones "iPhones". Apple has had superior marketing and sales but they certainly weren't the first to use a touchscreen display. How many ways can you make a device with a touchscreen display? Can you imagine if this happened to TVs or computer monitors?
  - glassx 15y ago
    Depends on your "at a glance" definition, but yeah, photos don't do it much justice. Both the Xoom and the 2.0 Galaxy look nothing like an iPad 'in real life'. It's like comparing a Vaio to a MacBook, only the form factor is the same. (I have no idea about the new Galaxy but I suspect it's the same - EDIT: by "the same" I mean different from an iPad)
    - sjs 15y ago
      You tell me: http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/samsung_galaxy_s_ii_tab_ii_official.jpg http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/samsung_...
  - mendocino 15y ago
    I don't think the design of Samsung's tablet, accessories and it's packaging is a coincidence. While you can't blame Samsung, or anyone, for the general shape of a tablet, I do think they crossed a line here. http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2011/08/10/article-1312983809188-0D5F969200000578-37536_636x386.jpg http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2011/08/10/article-131298380918...
    - recoiledsnake 15y ago
      http://img.tfd.com/cde/_PROGMN2.GIF http://img.tfd.com/cde/_PROGMN2.GIF with 32bit color and higher res icons. http://www.androidtabletfanatic.com/android-tablet-news/16-old-skool-tablets-rocking-it-before-the-ipad/ http://www.androidtabletfanatic.com/android-tablet-news/16-o...
      - recoiledsnake 15y ago
        Crunchpad http://www.crunchbase.com/assets/images/original/0004/6593/46593v1.jpg http://www.crunchbase.com/assets/images/original/0004/6593/4...
  - sjs 15y ago
    Yes, it is. http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/samsung_galaxy_s_ii_tab_ii_official.jpg http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/samsung_...
- eftpotrm 15y ago
  Not that I agree that other devices don't look quite like an iPad, but... Exactly how many possible styles are there for a handheld LCD device with a touchscreen as its primary / only input? That's what's so utterly ridiculous about this; even if Apple hadn't altered pictures to make the Galaxy tab look more like an iPad, what were Samsung going to do? Make a circular tablet with ridges all over the screen and a fold-out table in the back? Apple have tried to assert that a the look and feel of a device where about the only practical variations are how big it is and which way round it defaults to being held is somehow theirs and theirs alone to exploit.
  - GHFigs 15y ago
    Exactly how many possible styles are there for a handheld LCD device with a touchscreen as its primary / only input? Certainly more than one. Just as not every smartphone has to look like an iPhone, not every tablet has to look like an iPad. Even something as simple as rounding the corners differently[1][2] seems to have eluded or been intentionally ignored by the Galaxy Tab's designers. Just as there are limits on practical designs, there are limits of those limits, and we benefit when companies push those limits in a way that Samsung (it is argued) is not presently doing with the Tab. [1]:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Samsung_Omnia_7.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Samsung_Omnia_7.jpg [2]:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Windows_Phone_Marketplace.png http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Windows_Phone_Marketplace.... (a Samsung Focus)
monochromatic 15y ago
And yet somehow they're wildly more successful than tablets were a decade ago. Perhaps there actually is something more to them than a touch screen, an internet connection, and the ability to run software...
- noonespecial 15y ago
  Yep. A battery. A decade ago they ran for about 20 minutes.
  - jsight 15y ago
    Yes, the battery of the previous tablets were much smaller. But don't forget, the previous tablets also cost close to 2k at introduction, had similar speed processors (but running more complex operating systems, with lower responsiveness), had lower quality displays, were thicker, and weighed a lot more. I don't see any of those improvements as being particularly non-obvious.
    - fredoliveira 15y ago
      I remember a visit to Redmond back in 05 where I saw a large number of Microsoft employees using old "tablet" form laptop computers (those where you'd rotate the screen over the keyboard to use a pen-like pointer). It looked ridiculous, except for being a clever/good use for Microsoft OneNote at the time. There's no way those tablets can be compared to today's tablets, which are a fraction of cost, weight or thickness. I'll also say that while battery life did make a difference, the actual way you interact with the OS was one of the mian reasons for the tablet tipping point. The clunky mouse pointer (controlled via pen) of yesteryear pales in comparison to what we use today. The fact that the bar for interaction is so high now makes people crave a tablet experience, even if only for experiencing the novelty of touching interfaces they used to only be able to point to, with their full hands.
      - aristus 15y ago
        Yep. http://carlos.bueno.org/2010/05/wysiwyt.html http://carlos.bueno.org/2010/05/wysiwyt.html

by davedx 15y ago

sjs 15y ago

I agree with you, but you have to admit Samsung is pretty clearly copying Apple's trade dress. It's the only tablet that could be confused with the iPad at a glance. Especially for non-geeks. If Apple weren't suing everyone else too they would have a lot more general credibility in my eyes. By suing everyone they just look scared of competition.

jsight 15y ago
> I agree with you, but you have to admit Samsung is pretty > clearly copying Apple's trade dress. It's the only tablet > that could be confused with the iPad at a glance. I don't think I have to admit that. Is it really any more iPad like (at a glance) than this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/759029-REG/Motorola_00001NARGNLX_Xoom_Wi_Fi_10_1_Tablet.html http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/759029-REG/Motorola_00...
- fredoliveira 15y ago
  He was talking about admitting that Samsung was copying Apple - which they are. But yes, yes it is more iPad like if you look at it from more angles than a shot from the top. The back is similar too, whereas that on the Xoom is not so much.
- watty 15y ago
  No, to many non-geeks all tablets appear to be "iPads" and all touch screen phones "iPhones". Apple has had superior marketing and sales but they certainly weren't the first to use a touchscreen display. How many ways can you make a device with a touchscreen display? Can you imagine if this happened to TVs or computer monitors?
- glassx 15y ago
  Depends on your "at a glance" definition, but yeah, photos don't do it much justice. Both the Xoom and the 2.0 Galaxy look nothing like an iPad 'in real life'. It's like comparing a Vaio to a MacBook, only the form factor is the same. (I have no idea about the new Galaxy but I suspect it's the same - EDIT: by "the same" I mean different from an iPad)
  - sjs 15y ago
    You tell me: http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/samsung_galaxy_s_ii_tab_ii_official.jpg http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/samsung_...
- mendocino 15y ago
  I don't think the design of Samsung's tablet, accessories and it's packaging is a coincidence. While you can't blame Samsung, or anyone, for the general shape of a tablet, I do think they crossed a line here. http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2011/08/10/article-1312983809188-0D5F969200000578-37536_636x386.jpg http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2011/08/10/article-131298380918...
  - recoiledsnake 15y ago
    http://img.tfd.com/cde/_PROGMN2.GIF http://img.tfd.com/cde/_PROGMN2.GIF with 32bit color and higher res icons. http://www.androidtabletfanatic.com/android-tablet-news/16-old-skool-tablets-rocking-it-before-the-ipad/ http://www.androidtabletfanatic.com/android-tablet-news/16-o...
    - recoiledsnake 15y ago
      Crunchpad http://www.crunchbase.com/assets/images/original/0004/6593/46593v1.jpg http://www.crunchbase.com/assets/images/original/0004/6593/4...
- sjs 15y ago
  Yes, it is. http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/samsung_galaxy_s_ii_tab_ii_official.jpg http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/samsung_...
eftpotrm 15y ago
Not that I agree that other devices don't look quite like an iPad, but... Exactly how many possible styles are there for a handheld LCD device with a touchscreen as its primary / only input? That's what's so utterly ridiculous about this; even if Apple hadn't altered pictures to make the Galaxy tab look more like an iPad, what were Samsung going to do? Make a circular tablet with ridges all over the screen and a fold-out table in the back? Apple have tried to assert that a the look and feel of a device where about the only practical variations are how big it is and which way round it defaults to being held is somehow theirs and theirs alone to exploit.
- GHFigs 15y ago
  Exactly how many possible styles are there for a handheld LCD device with a touchscreen as its primary / only input? Certainly more than one. Just as not every smartphone has to look like an iPhone, not every tablet has to look like an iPad. Even something as simple as rounding the corners differently[1][2] seems to have eluded or been intentionally ignored by the Galaxy Tab's designers. Just as there are limits on practical designs, there are limits of those limits, and we benefit when companies push those limits in a way that Samsung (it is argued) is not presently doing with the Tab. [1]:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Samsung_Omnia_7.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Samsung_Omnia_7.jpg [2]:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Windows_Phone_Marketplace.png http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Windows_Phone_Marketplace.... (a Samsung Focus)

monochromatic 15y ago

And yet somehow they're wildly more successful than tablets were a decade ago. Perhaps there actually is something more to them than a touch screen, an internet connection, and the ability to run software...

noonespecial 15y ago
Yep. A battery. A decade ago they ran for about 20 minutes.
- jsight 15y ago
  Yes, the battery of the previous tablets were much smaller. But don't forget, the previous tablets also cost close to 2k at introduction, had similar speed processors (but running more complex operating systems, with lower responsiveness), had lower quality displays, were thicker, and weighed a lot more. I don't see any of those improvements as being particularly non-obvious.
  - fredoliveira 15y ago
    I remember a visit to Redmond back in 05 where I saw a large number of Microsoft employees using old "tablet" form laptop computers (those where you'd rotate the screen over the keyboard to use a pen-like pointer). It looked ridiculous, except for being a clever/good use for Microsoft OneNote at the time. There's no way those tablets can be compared to today's tablets, which are a fraction of cost, weight or thickness. I'll also say that while battery life did make a difference, the actual way you interact with the OS was one of the mian reasons for the tablet tipping point. The clunky mouse pointer (controlled via pen) of yesteryear pales in comparison to what we use today. The fact that the bar for interaction is so high now makes people crave a tablet experience, even if only for experiencing the novelty of touching interfaces they used to only be able to point to, with their full hands.
    - aristus 15y ago
      Yep. http://carlos.bueno.org/2010/05/wysiwyt.html http://carlos.bueno.org/2010/05/wysiwyt.html