Omnipatent v. Impatent

The Samsung-Apple patent war saw Samsung claim a minor half victory in Korea and Apple a major win in the US. The difference in rulings between the USA and Korea rulings may be the difference between carrying a case and carrying a suitcase.

Samsung lawyers are used to rule the show at home: this army of Seoul University Law School alumnis and former judges know all the tricks of the trade. I don't think there was much jury vetting nor adequate preparation ahead of the US trial, but Apple might have won anyway.

This is not about innovation, but about Intellectual Property management, property meaning that you own the rights, not necessarily that you invented something. Particularly in a system where the date of the patent makes all the difference, regardless of market realities.

As everybody well knows, Apple was built on infrigements: from stealing the Beatles logo to stealing Xerox inventions (no need to remind this audience of Steve Job quoting Picasso about great artists). The iPhone's round square icons mentioned in the trial? We saw them more than ten years ago in early mobile internet portal prototypes. When the iPod, the iPad, and the iPhone hit the shelves, Job's genius was as always in selecting the right existing bricks at the right time more than about inventing something new.

I'm sad to see that what matters now is not anymore to have the best Research and Developpment center and the best inventors anymore, but to have the quickest vultures and to snatch the best patent portfolios. The best product? Look at nowaday's rush for Samsung Galaxy. And anyway, the commoditization of smartphones is already well advanced. Apple is only gaining time*.

I'm interested in innovation. The NTP-RIM farce was not about innovation. Interval Licensing suing Microsoft rivals** was not about innovation. Google purchasing Motorola was not about innovation. This Samsung-Apple war is certainly not about innovation.

mot-bile 2012

* see "Apple - the end of the affair"
** see "Paul Allen v. Rest Of The Web : NTP Redux ?"

Nokia Tablet Windows 8

Saying Nokia must not fail for its future tablet is an outrageous understatement. The 10.1 inch, Windows 8 device must at least close some of the brand's gaping gap with Samsung's Galaxy series, and if possible propose an alternative to the Android - Apple duet (a more sustainable alternative than BlackBerry, that is).

A disruptive design could help, preferably one that would not be too reminiscent of the Nokia Communicator, or of the Sony Tablet P (the Terminator version of a clamshell, if not the Transformers version of a scallop).

Considering how RIM and HP fared, surviving next Xmas season could already be a noticeable achievement within 1.0 techie communities.

Nok-nok would be also working on a 'revolutionary phone'... Whatever that means (a Nokia Windows smartphone that sells, maybe?).

mot-bile 2012

Paul Allen v. Rest Of The Web : NTP Redux ?

Paul Allen's Interval Licensing is suing a few Microsoft foes : AOL, Apple, eBay, Facebook, Google, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo, YouTube.

The charges : patent infringement regarding 4 patents owned by Interval Licensing - as the name suggests, an empty shell meant to make as many bucks as possible out of
Interval Research "creations".

In this case, the patents protect : a "Browser (...) With Particular Application to Browsing Information Represented By Audiovisual Data", an "Attention Manager", and a system to "Alert(...) Users to Items of Current Interest".

Now this episode definitely became an "item of current interest" in a sector still shaken by the NTP/RIM battle over patents.

What puzzles me is to see Paul Allen, who only left the board of Microsoft in 2000, claim a leadership in browsers : Microsoft copied all major user interface disruptions from Apple, starting with the "windows" concept, and the company didn't believe in the internet, joining the bandwagon very late, starting the Internet Explorer project two years after Mosaic was created. Why not sue Mosaic then ? And IE for exploiting it ?

You may win your lawsuit, just like NTP did. But do you want to go down in history for that last caricature of Microsoftian Evilness ?

You'd better stick to rock'n roll, Paulie.

mot-bile 2010

Cisco Cius ? Put it on my Samsung Galaxy Tab

With its Android based Galaxy series, Samsung seems to have packaged a nice alternative to the iPhone / iPad duet. Or is it the whole industry that's growing tired of the Cupertino arrogance ?

Anyway, the Galaxy S is already selling very well in Korea (over 200,000 units within days) and overseas (the top 5 MNOs went for it, 100 worldwide), and NTT DoCoMo already announced the launch of Galaxy Tab in October 2010 (LG's tablet is still expected in Q4).

Meanwhile, Cisco gave a new shot at the business tablet concept : the Cisco Cius is expected H1 2011. Also based on Android, the Cius looks much smaller than the 7 Inch Galaxy Tab, and seems to focus on video calls : "HD video (720p) with Cisco TelePresence solution interoperability for lifelike video communication with the simplicity of a phone call"*... That, of course, is provided you're connected to a big pipe, say Wi-Fi for instance.

Funny how Wi-Fi coverage is getting popular again : MNOs are abandoning flat rates for data... and all hopes that LTE can support the boom in heavy mobile / nomadic usages.

Cisco also throws in EVO 4G, Bluetooth, USB, the last one a sure bet.

But I would rather bet on RIM than Cisco for a hit in business circles, even if the BlackBerry Tablet is supposed to rely on the Blackberry handset for connectivity. Actually, that major drawback for the enduser could prove an excellent argument for CIOs and CFOs.

Nevermind that geeky CEO.


mot-bile 2010

* other applications apabilities (see Cisco Cius website) :
• 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, 3G/4G data and Bluetooth 3.0 help employees stay connected on and off-campus
• Virtual desktop client enables highly secure access to cloud-based business applications
• Android operating system, with access Android marketplace applications
• Collaboration applications including Cisco Quad, Cisco Show and Share, WebEx, Presence, and IM
Tablet Highlights:
• 7” diagonal, high-resolution color screen with contact-based touch targets delivers an elegant, intuitive experience
• HD Soundstation supports Bluetooth and USB peripherals, 10/100/1000 wired connectivity and a handset option
• Detachable and serviceable 8-hour battery for a full day of work
• Highly secure remote connections with Cisco AnyConnect Security VPN Client
• HD audio with wideband support (tablet, HD Soundstation)

HP buys a Palm ? Big deal...

$1.2 billion for Palm Inc., the sale itself a non-event, 3Com and its spin-off reunited under the Hewlett-Packard umbrella... times have definitely changed over the past 10 years.

Even if the Palm + HP combo can propose a seamless handset-PDA-tablet-laptop-desktop platform, this episode is not likely to bring real disruption to the market. And to me, it doesn't mean that HP is becoming smart : it simply confirms that smartphones are becoming if not commodities at least more and more common things.

No change for Microsoft : WebOS won't kill Windows Mobile by itself. But the eventual emergence of a more consistant open / Linux-based alliance remains more than ever the base case scenario.

No change for Google : it still needs to succeed regardless of the OS, and Android / the Open Hanset Alliance are bound to merge with some rivals anyway.

No change for Apple : Cupertino still needs to change its strategy if it wants to become THE leader, which I doubt. And there's still a lot of money to make where it sits (and moves), including as an editor.

No change for Research In Motion : it still can stick to its profitable niche, or accept a nice offer.

And most of all, no change for Nokia : the leader in hardware and mobile OS has not been acting like one for too long.


mot-bile 2010

5 trends for 2009 ?

. more concerns about health with the rise of femtocells
. vertical concentration in the media
. more big names (Yahoo!, RIM...?) change hands, more manufacturers go bankrupt
. DoCoMo goes shopping to pave the way for an international launch of LTE - Japan Inc follows suit thanks to a strong Yen
. a 3.0 FCC chairman with a web pedigree

Redmond heart Waterloo

Microsoft is rumored to covet RIM's Blackberry.

.NET brewing some Java ? I guess speculators are more interested in the sugar that would come with the deal.

Microsoft doesn't only want a platform that works. Microsoft wants a popular platform. Heck : Microsoft wants to be loved. So why bail out a Canadian neighbor who's not even on the verge of foreclosure ?

I checked Steve Balmer's wish list on Amazon. Not under his real name (fancy a big Bezos smile ?), but after a couple of tries I found out his login ("ThatBaldOne") and password ("MSrules"). Then I took a cold shower and went to that list. You bet Yahoo! was there, but after Google and SAP. RIM was only ranked #1,595,290, between The New York Mets and The Brooklyn Bridge. Duh.

Super 3G trials

NTT DoCoMo announces the end of Super 3G / LTE development in 2009, starting these days with an indoor trial at 300 Mbps downlink between two gizmos. You don't want to stay in that room unless you need a perm. DoC also created CXD NEXT, a 40/60 JV with Casio Computer mating cash registers with mobile devices. iD, FeliCa, ToruCa, and others are rumored to attend the wedding as key witnesses.

RIM announces the BlackBerry 8820, a dual mode 2GSM / WiFi smartphone. SMART enough to switch from one network to the other during a PHONE call. You wouldn't want to use WiFi for secured data sessions, would you ?

Orange UK and PC World announce the "free" laptop for £ 337 (£ 14.99 per month for 24 months, except the first 3 for half the price - and you get a 2MB connection with a monthly limit of 2 GB). You may prefer their £ 300 subsidy on a few other references, or another provider with a better and cheaper free package.

Informa informs us : 6.2% of all W-CDMA subs were HSPA at the end of Q1 2007 and 20.5% will be by EOY 2008. Oh BOY.

BlackBerry and Chinese 3G to live another day

RIM eventually found a deal with NTP, but millions of users have had time to sweat and to look for alternatives. Even among the most addicted CrackBerries, some could change dealers next time...
In the meanwhile, the world's first 3G TD-SCDMA videophone is out. It's a Samsung device with a combined Philips / T3G Technology Co. techno, T3G* being the JV founded three years ago between China's Datang Mobile Communications Co. and South Korea's Philips - Samsung JV (Royal Philips Electronics and Samsung Electronics Co.).

Philips are betting more than a few bucks on TD-SCDMA : according to their CEO, the techno will not only be an entry point for the Chinese market (which is anyway also open to W-CDMA, CDMA2000 & beyonds), but for other emerging markets where data isn't so important. Philips even expect some developped countries to add this feature in due time (which is supposed to be not so difficult but hey, that's a vendor talking...).

Samsung should try and sell volumes before Chinese manufacturers take over. After that, collecting royalties through T3G could prove a more profitable business : as it is, TD-SCDMA won't be for high end customers with demanding data needs.


* see T3G Technology Co. website (t3gt.com), Philips news release.

Blockberry ? RIM vs NTP, to be continued

Will Judge James Spencer order your BlackBerry service to be shut down ? Research In Motion want to go up to the Supreme Court for their patent trouble with NTP Inc. As if losing all previous trials and increasing at each step the fine didn't deter them.
Whatever the CrackBerry equipment rate within the Supreme Court, I guess Judge Roberts will be listening to RIM's main argument : "you cannot abort our kid, especially that late in the process".
To which NTP Inc. may answer "hey, this is my kid, and DNA tests proved it !" but RIM could then switch to another tender spot, such as "that's Darwinian rubbish - we're facing a miraculous case of immaculate conception ! We don't have a Chief Internet Evangelist on board but we just hired a Chief Creationist".

Bad Boys over the Finnish line

Who said the bubble and strass years are behind us ? CTIA Wireless 2005 welcomed a new kind of keynote speaker : Sean "P.Diddy" Combs, Chairman of Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group. At the very moment another bad boy, WorldCom's Bernard Ebbers, was waiting for his sentence (85 years ? now that would be long distance, chum).
Another show, another miracle : at CeBIT 2005, Symbian announced their agreement with Microsoft (a license for Exchange Server ActiveSync protocol). After a key entry point for consumers (Windows Media Player, remember "the times they are a-changin" ?), the main gateway to the business targets (i.e. e-mail, calendar, addresses, files...). G-RIM prospects for BlackBerry, already threatened by new competitors signing operators by the dozen with their no-logo solutions (ie Visto) : Rest In Misery (BlackBury) or Resell It to Microsoft ?
But don't think Redmond has crossed the Fin(n)ish line yet. The momentum is on the likes of Samsung Electronic rather than Nokia, so Bill Gates had to listen to what President Hwang Chang-Gyu said at the second Samsung Mobile Solution Forum. Fortunately, the Korean maverick learned from Olilla's bravado and decided to declare war to... intel : you led the PC era, we will dominate the mobile age, and with a strong customer focus. In which case I strongly advise Samsung to adapt their speech to endusers. The six disruptive innovations announced to over 700 IT enablers in Taipeh would sound like a Star Trek dialect to the ears of John and Jane Smith : "1Gigabit mobile DRAM; a System-in-Package (SiP) that carries a 300MHz mobile CPU; a 1Gigabit (Gb) NAND Flash memory, a 256Megabit (Mb) mobile DRAM for mobile phones; a qVGA resolution, one-chip display driver IC (DDI); a 260K color DDI for active matrix organic light emitting diodes (AM OLED); and a 2.5-inch qVGA TFT-LCD for MP3 players". At this pace, they'll dominate the whole hyperspace before this small broadband world.