Apple vs Samsung verdict is a big win for Microsoft
Jeremy Hobson: Shares of Samsung are down more than 7 percent in overseas trading this morning. After Friday’s big legal loss for the company.
A jury in California decided that Samsung had copied key features of the Apple iPhone and iPad, and should pay Apple a billion dollars for patent infringement.
The ruling is a big win for Apple. But as Marketplace’s Queena Kim reports. It’s also a win for Microsoft.
Queena Kim: Microsoft has been trying to compete in the smartphone market for years. But one problem is Microsoft wants to charge smartphone makers to use its operating system. Google, on the other hand, gives Android away for free to manufacturers like Samsung.
Sarah Rotman Epps is an analyst at Forrester.
Sarah Rotman Epps: Microsoft has been for years trying to persuade manufacturers for years that there are hidden costs to Android.
The hidden costs in Samsung’s case is the $1 billion dollars the jury awarded Apple. Microsoft has already paid Apple to use its patents Rotman Epps said manufacturers might turn to Microsoft’s Windows in order to avoid lawsuits.
But she doesn’t see Windows toppling Android anytime soon.
Chris Silva: There’s a huge amount of momentum around Android.
That’s Chris Silva, an analyst for the Altimeter Group. Google’s Android runs on about 60 percent of the world’s smart phones.
And until Microsoft can turn the tide of consumer demand, Silva says smartphone makers will stay with Android. I’m Queena Kim for Marketplace.
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