A German court, yesterday, ruled in favor of Apple in its patent lawsuit against Motorola Mobility running Google’s Android operating system. At question was the patent for the ‘slide to unlock’ feature.
According to the Guardian: “The court decided that two of the devices made by Motorola Mobility (MMI) using Android software infringe the Apple’s patent because they are unlocked by sliding an icon (of a padlock) across the screen.”
If you ask Apple’s lawyers, this could be big – so big, in fact, it could shut down sales of all phones running Android in Germany (holy schnitzel!) Motorola was quick to counter that the ban would not apply to “current supply or future sales.” Instead of sliding your finger, from left to right, across the screen to open your phone, Android-based devices now feature a lock icon in the middle of a circle, and when you move the lock out of the circle, your phone opens.
It’s paying lawyers to fight lawsuits like this that make your device so expensive. I’m going to take the liberty to speak for most, if not all, smartphone users, when I say, “who cares!?!” Whether I swipe left to right or drag a lock thingy out of a circle doesn’t enter into my phone using experience. Just think of all the money wasted on this case. The same money that could have put towards, at least, developing cool, new apps, or better yet, some mind-blowing innovation that all those Silicon Valley smarties are capable of.
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