6 ms·

See, to me, Samsung does have an issue here, but it's not about the "rounded rectangle" shape or the "reasonably thick black bezel": it's the fact they have bot

by Xuzz 15y ago

See, to me, Samsung does have an issue here, but it's not about the "rounded rectangle" shape or the "reasonably thick black bezel": it's the fact they have both of those, like the iPad, but then also surround them with a marginal silver border. I own both the Galaxy Tab 10.1" and an iPad 2, and I actually do get confused between the two all the time, when looking at them from above. They're about the same thickness and reasonably similar shapes, and with the same "rounded rectangle with a black bezel surrounded by a silver frame" I honestly have grabbed the wrong tablet before. To contrast, I never get confused with my HP TouchPad or my Kindle Fire (although that one is smaller). I'd be perfectly happy if Samsung just switched to a matte black border instead, and Apple should be too: it would, at least from what I've seen, fix most of the confusion here between the two products.

X-Istence 15y ago
I just know from personal experience that I was having flashbacks to opening my iPad 2 compared to when I was opening my HP TouchPad. It seems almost all manufacturers have gone to the same sort of packaging that Apple has been doing for years.
cma 15y ago
Black bezel, marginal silver border, years before the iPad, made by Samsung: http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2006/1/SAMS.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2006/1/SAMS.jp...
- shinratdr 15y ago
  Damn. Probably would have been a good idea to patent that, eh?
  - guelo 15y ago
    Maybe a picture frame designer should have patented it 100 years ago.
- Apple-Guy 15y ago
  Samsung's picture frame is no iPad: http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2011/08/23/samsungs-digital-picture-frame-was-no-ipad/ http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2011/08/23/samsungs-digital-pi...
  - WayneDB 15y ago
    Without a lengthy article explaining why, by just looking at the picture frame - I would have never known the difference.
  - Natsu 15y ago
    Design patents cover design, not function. As this article points out, minimalist designs are highly constrained. They wouldn't be minimalist if there were lots of other ways to do it.
- indypb 15y ago
  "slate boards where disappearing gradually circa 1930": http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:Schiefertafelmitschwamm.jpg&filetimestamp=20050905152412 http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:Schiefertafe...
leoedin 15y ago
Perhaps this is somewhat off topic, but what do you actually use so many tablets for? I can definitely see the appeal of a tablet, but I can't really imagine a usage scenario that requires the specific features of one of four different tablets.
- tamm 15y ago
  I would guess he is a developer who writes for multiple platforms (i.e. tablets) and wants the hardware to test on.
- Terretta 15y ago
  Consider cross platform development, online services, or end user support. Our customers expect streaming video to work regardless of what bizarro device their end user walked out of a store with after getting shaken down by a spectacularly uninformed clerk. :-)
- Xuzz 15y ago
  Many of them were free. The Galaxy Tab 10.1" is from Google I/O, the TouchPad is from HP for development, although I bought the iPad and Kindle Fire myself. I do use them for development too, where it is useful to have a device for the platform you are developing for.
jessriedel 15y ago
My understanding is that this is a patent dispute, not a trademark dispute. Therefore, the fact that you confuse the two isn't really relevant.
- tedunangst 15y ago
  Design patent.
  - jessriedel 15y ago
    Doesn't matter. Design patents are about non-branded aesthetics. (A typeface can be design-patented because coming up with a beautiful typeface is hard. In many countries, including the US, typefaces can't be copyrighted.) But trademarks are about consumer confusion, i.e. consumers accidentally buy a Samsung tablet because they think they're buying an iPad, which has a reputation. Xuzz was commenting that he confused the tablets, which isn't relevant. It would have been relevant if he said "I really noticed how nice the Samsung looked and how little glare it had due to case design (just like Apple). Those details are subtle but non-obvious." Here more from wikipedia for anyone interested: > Trademarks and trade dress are used to protect consumers from confusion as to the source of a manufactured object. To get trademark protection, the trademark owner must show that the mark is not likely to be confused with other trademarks for items in the same general class. The trademarks can last indefinitely as long as they are used in commerce. Design patents are only granted if the design is novel and not obvious for all items,[7] even those of different utility than the patented object. An actual shield of a given shape, for example, can be cited as prior art against a design patent on a computer icon with a shield shape. The validity of design patents is not affected by whether or not the design is commercialized. I didn't know this stuff until I looked it up in response to your comment, so thanks. [Edited in response to nitrogen. Thanks.]
    - nitrogen 15y ago
      Design patents are about functionality. Design patents cannot cover function. That's what regular patents are for. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_patent#Comparison_to_utility_patents https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_patent#Comparison_to_ut...
zmmmmm 15y ago
Here's a nice google search you can do: http://www.google.com.au/search?q=samsung+laptop&tbm=isch http://www.google.com.au/search?q=samsung+laptop&tbm=isc... Notice the color, shape and style of the laptops you see, especially their displays. They nearly all have black bezel, are rectangular with rounded corners. It basically has all the features you mention. Samsung's Galaxy Tab looks as much like they ripped a display off one of their laptops as it does like an iPad. It is essentially their brand, the style of design they have applied for years across much of their range. That's one reason they happen to look more like the iPad than some of the other tablet makers.
- Samuel_Michon 15y ago
  "Notice the color, shape and style of the laptops you see, especially their displays. They nearly all have black bezel, are rectangular with rounded corners." Where do you think Samsung got their inspiration for those designs? What did Samsung's notebooks look like before Apple's MacBook Pro was around? Example: http://bit.ly/ufAt6y http://bit.ly/ufAt6y
  - zmmmmm 15y ago
    I'm not quite sure what your point is - certainly Samsung was making laptops with the same black design theme prior to the iPad's release. I very much doubt they changed their whole line of laptops to look like the iPad.
    - Samuel_Michon 15y ago
      "certainly Samsung was making laptops with the same black design theme prior to the iPad's release" As was Apple, hence my earlier comment. Samsung hasn't just ripped off Apple's iPad design, it's been ripping off Apple's designs for years. From the MacBook Air to the iPhone to the iPod Touch, Samsung has been making faithful copies.
      - zmmmmm 15y ago
        So let me understand, you think that, say, the laptops pictured here: http://www.google.com.au/search?q=samsung+laptop&tbm=isch http://www.google.com.au/search?q=samsung+laptop&tbm=isc... are faithful copies of these ones: http://www.google.com.au/search?q=macbook+pro&tbm=isch http://www.google.com.au/search?q=macbook+pro&tbm=isch I just don't see how you can remotely draw this conclusion.

by Xuzz 15y ago

X-Istence 15y ago

I just know from personal experience that I was having flashbacks to opening my iPad 2 compared to when I was opening my HP TouchPad. It seems almost all manufacturers have gone to the same sort of packaging that Apple has been doing for years.

cma 15y ago

Black bezel, marginal silver border, years before the iPad, made by Samsung: http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2006/1/SAMS.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2006/1/SAMS.jp...

shinratdr 15y ago
Damn. Probably would have been a good idea to patent that, eh?
- guelo 15y ago
  Maybe a picture frame designer should have patented it 100 years ago.
Apple-Guy 15y ago
Samsung's picture frame is no iPad: http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2011/08/23/samsungs-digital-picture-frame-was-no-ipad/ http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2011/08/23/samsungs-digital-pi...
- WayneDB 15y ago
  Without a lengthy article explaining why, by just looking at the picture frame - I would have never known the difference.
- Natsu 15y ago
  Design patents cover design, not function. As this article points out, minimalist designs are highly constrained. They wouldn't be minimalist if there were lots of other ways to do it.
indypb 15y ago
"slate boards where disappearing gradually circa 1930": http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:Schiefertafelmitschwamm.jpg&filetimestamp=20050905152412 http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:Schiefertafe...

leoedin 15y ago

Perhaps this is somewhat off topic, but what do you actually use so many tablets for? I can definitely see the appeal of a tablet, but I can't really imagine a usage scenario that requires the specific features of one of four different tablets.

tamm 15y ago
I would guess he is a developer who writes for multiple platforms (i.e. tablets) and wants the hardware to test on.
Terretta 15y ago
Consider cross platform development, online services, or end user support. Our customers expect streaming video to work regardless of what bizarro device their end user walked out of a store with after getting shaken down by a spectacularly uninformed clerk. :-)
Xuzz 15y ago
Many of them were free. The Galaxy Tab 10.1" is from Google I/O, the TouchPad is from HP for development, although I bought the iPad and Kindle Fire myself. I do use them for development too, where it is useful to have a device for the platform you are developing for.

jessriedel 15y ago

My understanding is that this is a patent dispute, not a trademark dispute. Therefore, the fact that you confuse the two isn't really relevant.

tedunangst 15y ago
Design patent.
- jessriedel 15y ago
  Doesn't matter. Design patents are about non-branded aesthetics. (A typeface can be design-patented because coming up with a beautiful typeface is hard. In many countries, including the US, typefaces can't be copyrighted.) But trademarks are about consumer confusion, i.e. consumers accidentally buy a Samsung tablet because they think they're buying an iPad, which has a reputation. Xuzz was commenting that he confused the tablets, which isn't relevant. It would have been relevant if he said "I really noticed how nice the Samsung looked and how little glare it had due to case design (just like Apple). Those details are subtle but non-obvious." Here more from wikipedia for anyone interested: > Trademarks and trade dress are used to protect consumers from confusion as to the source of a manufactured object. To get trademark protection, the trademark owner must show that the mark is not likely to be confused with other trademarks for items in the same general class. The trademarks can last indefinitely as long as they are used in commerce. Design patents are only granted if the design is novel and not obvious for all items,[7] even those of different utility than the patented object. An actual shield of a given shape, for example, can be cited as prior art against a design patent on a computer icon with a shield shape. The validity of design patents is not affected by whether or not the design is commercialized. I didn't know this stuff until I looked it up in response to your comment, so thanks. [Edited in response to nitrogen. Thanks.]
  - nitrogen 15y ago
    Design patents are about functionality. Design patents cannot cover function. That's what regular patents are for. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_patent#Comparison_to_utility_patents https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_patent#Comparison_to_ut...

zmmmmm 15y ago

Here's a nice google search you can do: http://www.google.com.au/search?q=samsung+laptop&tbm=isch http://www.google.com.au/search?q=samsung+laptop&tbm=isc... Notice the color, shape and style of the laptops you see, especially their displays. They nearly all have black bezel, are rectangular with rounded corners. It basically has all the features you mention. Samsung's Galaxy Tab looks as much like they ripped a display off one of their laptops as it does like an iPad. It is essentially their brand, the style of design they have applied for years across much of their range. That's one reason they happen to look more like the iPad than some of the other tablet makers.

Samuel_Michon 15y ago
"Notice the color, shape and style of the laptops you see, especially their displays. They nearly all have black bezel, are rectangular with rounded corners." Where do you think Samsung got their inspiration for those designs? What did Samsung's notebooks look like before Apple's MacBook Pro was around? Example: http://bit.ly/ufAt6y http://bit.ly/ufAt6y
- zmmmmm 15y ago
  I'm not quite sure what your point is - certainly Samsung was making laptops with the same black design theme prior to the iPad's release. I very much doubt they changed their whole line of laptops to look like the iPad.
  - Samuel_Michon 15y ago
    "certainly Samsung was making laptops with the same black design theme prior to the iPad's release" As was Apple, hence my earlier comment. Samsung hasn't just ripped off Apple's iPad design, it's been ripping off Apple's designs for years. From the MacBook Air to the iPhone to the iPod Touch, Samsung has been making faithful copies.
    - zmmmmm 15y ago
      So let me understand, you think that, say, the laptops pictured here: http://www.google.com.au/search?q=samsung+laptop&tbm=isch http://www.google.com.au/search?q=samsung+laptop&tbm=isc... are faithful copies of these ones: http://www.google.com.au/search?q=macbook+pro&tbm=isch http://www.google.com.au/search?q=macbook+pro&tbm=isch I just don't see how you can remotely draw this conclusion.