Comments on: HTC tweaks devices in response to Apple patent violation http://gigaom.com/2011/12/21/htc-tweaks-devices-in-response-to-apple-patent-violation/ Tue, 21 May 2013 08:39:55 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Gwalachmai http://gigaom.com/2011/12/21/htc-tweaks-devices-in-response-to-apple-patent-violation/#comment-782884 Sat, 24 Dec 2011 16:09:02 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=458455#comment-782884 Hasn’t my BlackBerry done that for ages? I’ve often been amused at it “Recognising” other random 9 or 10-digit numbers as phone numbers and offering to phone, say, a parcel tracking number.

]]> By: antodue http://gigaom.com/2011/12/21/htc-tweaks-devices-in-response-to-apple-patent-violation/#comment-781419 Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:12:36 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=458455#comment-781419 Apple is tech fascism.

]]> By: Seth Thomas http://gigaom.com/2011/12/21/htc-tweaks-devices-in-response-to-apple-patent-violation/#comment-781236 Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:34:19 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=458455#comment-781236 The intellectual property in question was the OS contextually recognizing a phone number or an address within a random string of text (in an email or a web page, for example) and then turning that plain text into a link that would open the phone app or the maps app. It’s an idea that is so simple that perhaps you would argue that it shouldn’t be patentable, but then again there’s a lot of simple ideas that no one thought of before that deserve patents. At least this one doesn’t make a mobile OS unusable if it isn’t implemented. It’s just a convenient feature that potentially helps to differentiate Apple’s phones.

]]> By: AppleFUD http://gigaom.com/2011/12/21/htc-tweaks-devices-in-response-to-apple-patent-violation/#comment-780660 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:33:33 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=458455#comment-780660 I don’t know, I’ve been able to click on “information” and have it open the appropriate application on my computer for decades. Seems to be that this is more about how apple is implementing it not that you won’t be able to click/tap on information and have it open the appropriate application. . . but we will see what Android & HTC come up with.

If it is in fact a patent that totally covers what is hinted at in this article then I’m shocked that there wasn’t enough prior art to invalidate it–I’m going with the former on this one though.

Nonetheless, as apple & MS take their shots at Android we are seeing about 90% of their patents being shot down. That’s actually pretty good in this day and age where apple, MS, and others have patented anything and everything they can think of software wise.

Lucky for those companies that software patents weren’t really awarded when they started, thus they were able to rip off other company’s software ideas left and right–bet Xerox is more than a little pissed right about now.

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