Toshiba sued for cloning Fujitsu's RakuRaku handset
By Darren Murph 
posted Mar 17th 2008 3:07PM
posted Mar 17th 2008 3:07PM
[Via GearFuse]
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I thought Toshiba and Fujitsu are somekind of joint venture.
That phone is so 1997. yeeech!
I'd like to see a phone from 1997 that looks like that thing.
Sans the color QVGA display, I think thats actualyl pretty dead on.
Wow. A real response from someone that has never used a phone with features that you could actually use.
I dislike flip phones, but aesthetically and usability-wise, the Fujitsu is right up my alley.
Am I stuck in the 1990s? God I hope so!
If it ain't gloss or shiny faux silver with excruciating buttons, it's not just not in 'fashion' today. How sad!
For those who doesn't know what on the earth DoCoMo and Softbank would release this 1990s phone, This Rakuraku phone is targeting SENIOR CITIZENS whose eyes are not as good as younger generations,
who doen't need fancy functions, and whose fingers / eyes coordination are not quite synchronized, and whose hearing ability is decreasing.
Hence it comes up with large button, double mic noise canceller, clear voice, transflective LCD for viewing outdoors, GPS, Voice Navigation, etc etc
View more before laughing at this 1990s phone.
Yes, but the Toshiba has a built-in HD-DVD player that makes it so much more useful.
[Poster's note: Please note sarcasm through tongue-in-cheek remark.]
Becides the 1 2 3 beneath the screen, they look like just about every other flip phone on the market.
I mean really how many ways are there to lay out the buttons.
the user interface is 'inspired' too, tho :)
Why would you copy such a butt ugly phone?
Because some people prefer functionality over flashy bullshit.
Tube... Dude, not so loud, the iPhone fans are fuckin' crazy...
Oh right, because the iPhone has zero functionality. It can't even make phone calls, right? I mean wow, what a piece of crap.
My Answer, if you had any brains you wouldn't copy such an ugly phone. Open your mind's eye people, creativity...sells...$$$
drinks a generic "BEER" LOL'ly
Faslane
The fact is that the engineer who created the DoCoMo phone left the company and joined Softbank, then created the phone which happened to look the exactly same as his previous one in conjunction with Toshiba.
Then they shouldn't be suing Toshiba, but should sue that engineer, and have Toshiba fire him for lack of creativity. >.>
This is like Charmin suing Quilted Northern.
Lmao I like the attempt Toshiba made a switching identical buttons around just so that they could avoid a lawsuit such as this one
Another example of Engadget's double standards. Nowhere in the article does the author talks about Toshiba like the spawn of the devil, hell bent on infringing on copyright. Or the comment on how pathetic Toshiba is for copying a handset? Could it be that this is not an Apple related article, I wonder?
I've said it before and I'll say it again: copying for copying sake's just wrong. Don't take me wrong. Is just that this entire blog / site should be more impartial.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/28/apple-sued-over-iphone-caller-id/
Reminded me of that. Note the use of "Apparently" and other phrases to try and make it seem like Apple aren't actually in the wrong, when they are. I mean, even after the update which shows other companies licenced the patent-infringing asset, Engadget STILL doesn't draw on any conclusions that Apple is in the wrong.
Precisely. I must confess that this is one of the reasons that I've kept away from Apple products largely. Not Engadget specifically, but the crazy cult of followers that Apple has. Ickk!
Fujitsu: "We patented 'Fugly' why are you copying it ? We are suing you.
Toshiba: ....
I'm should sue them too, for cloning such a lame phone.
It's like why sit next to a dunce during the math exam and copy his answers when they're going to be wrong anyway?
Well, it looks like erm... yer typical Japanese flip phone. Whooptie doo!
I Agree, No HD...come up with something. Are these phones from the 80's, FUGLY!!!
Faslane
Wait, Toshiba shouldn't be sued, THEIR phone has round buttons, not "rounded corner" buttons. Mistrial!!!!!!!
LOLOL, I'm amusing myself only huh?
Faslane
You guys are missing the point - Raku Raku is a 'simple' phone largely targetted at the elderly. It includes a number of features that supports that market segment and is supposed to look like something everyone else has, or had - inclusion in society being an abstract feature of sorts.
Oh yeah, in terms of sales volumes this has been beating most other phones - in part because its stretching the market.
They would have been better off cloning a turd! What a grim handset.
Is that another iPhone knockoff?
This comment made me laugh, thanks bro
I thought the Japanese were supposed to be decades ahead of us.
One has to seriously doubt that Toshiba is being sued because of cloning Fujitsu's RakuRaku III handset. If one has seen enough handset in Japan, they would realize that these handset are different enough.
After some research it seems more likely that [1][2][3] buttons found on the found the reason for the lawsuit, since they are unique features on the RakuRaku line of phones.
I'm still trying to tell them apart. How, in God's green earth, did Toshiba think they were going to get away with it? I think they're still dazed from the HD-DVD situation.
somwhere in china, knockoff artists must be laughing at this one !!!
RakuRaku is "easy" in Japanese.
it is for old man.
handset designs are actually quite streamlined in japan. the carriers have a large say in what designs are and are not allowed. the most stringent of standards being the keypad layout. also, since the vast majority of handsets on the market are broad fliphones, these two handsets have enough differences to be considered unique. the exception, may in fact, lie in the 1,2, 3 buttons directly below the screen.
FAIL!
No, this is a phone targeted for elderly people...
http://www.firststreetonline.com/expanded.jsp?image=01334