Friday’s $1.049 billion jury verdict against Samsung, sent shares of Samsung, the largest smart phone maker in the world, into a free fall, notes ComputerWorld.
Since the verdict Samsung’s lost $12 billion of its share value — the value of Google’s Motorola Mobility purchase. A senior Samsung executive walking into an emergency meeting concerning the case called the verdict “absolutely the worst scenario for us.”
Apple and Samsung quickly released statements to the press. Today, Google provided a response to the decision, stating that “The court of appeals will review both infringement and the validity of the patent claims.”
The court of appeals will review both infringement and the validity of the patent claims. Most of these don’t relate to the core Android operating system, and several are being re-examined by the US Patent Office. The mobile industry is moving fast and all players — including newcomers — are building upon ideas that have been around for decades. We work with our partners to give consumers innovative and affordable products, and we don’t want anything to limit that.
With a major victory against Samsung under its belt, Apple’s next step may be to take on Google and the open source Android OS.
According to research firm IDC, Android devices made up a whopping 68.1% of all smartphone shipments in Q2 2012. That amounts to 104.8 million of the 154 million smartphones that left manufacturers plants in the quarter. By comparison, Apple shipped 26 million iPhones in the quarter, a 16.9% share of the market.
The eight Samsung phones Apple wants banned include:
- Galaxy S 4G
- Galaxy S2 AT&T
- Galaxy S2 Skyrocket
- Galaxy S2 T-Mobile
- Galaxy S2 Epic 4G
- Galaxy S Showcase
- Droid Charge
- Galaxy Prevail
Apple’s stock price opened today at a record high of $680 per share. Tim Cook, whose shares are valued at more than US $600 million, is the world’s highest paid CEO.
