Galaxy S III dumps universal search, tries to dodge Apple's sueballs
OUCH... Last one hit Samsung in the wallet
Samsung has rolled out an Galaxy S III update that disables the universal search function on its handset – a result of the ongoing patent dispute with Apple.
The 27MB SGS3 update is said to remove the facility that allows users to search the web as well as the device from a single search bar, Android Central reports.
While some users say the update brings better performance and higher audio quality, it also changes the keypad back to the default Samsung version and provides a new default browser layout.
The South Korean firm started pushing the "stability update" towards the US last week, a pre-emptive move probably designed to prevent further disruption to its product lines in the face of court proceedings with Apple.
Surprisingly, those of us in Europe have access to the OTA update too as its an international update... The Korean firm must be anticipating a global smackdown by Cupertino over the local search feature.
Needless to say, these patent disputes are heating up this summer. Yesterday Apple is asking for $2.5bn (£1.6bn) from Samsung in damages over the patent infringements, after winning an EU-wide ban on 7in Galaxy Tabs. ®
COMMENTS
Re: Fuck you google!
"Universal search? Someone paid to create that."
Not really. In the programming world picking up a bunch of objects and doing a simultaneous query as opposed to a single query on one object is a trivial less-than-an-hour-to-implement problem. It's such an obvious idea as a step forward that the only thing this patent succeeds in doing is showcasing the skill & knowledge of the Patent Office involved.
This sort of patent litigation harms us all, Apple, Android users & others. Patents were never supposed to protect the bleeding obvious, they were never supposed to stop competition either. Patents are supposed to be a fair way for individuals and companies to be reasonably rewarded for genuinely new ideas and designs ahead of their time.
Apple is a patent rapist, but don't blame Apple, blame the patent system.
Re: Fuck you apple!
No, like most software patents it's not worth the paper it's written on.
Re: genuinely new ideas
Federated Search techniques predate Apple itself.
Fuck you apple!
FFS!
I cannot wait for the day R&D slowly stops thanks to culture of ridiculous patents and licensing
Surely this is worthy of FRAND licensing?
Universal search is lame anyway
Seriously. I can't remember ever wanting to search for something without knowing whether I was going to find it on the web or on my cell phone.
