Palm responds to Apple's veiled threat: "we have the tools necessary to defend ourselves"
By Thomas Ricker 
posted January 23rd 2009 6:57AM
posted January 23rd 2009 6:57AM
We've been waiting for this. Ever since Tim Cook made his non-specific, veiled threats in response to a direct question about how the Palm Pre "almost directly emulates the kind of touch interface" found on the iPhone, the entire tech community has waited for the next move. Now Lynn Fox, a Palm spokesperson has stepped into the fray. In a response given to Digital Daily and presumably crafted by a team of lawyers over the 2 days since the Apple analyst call, Lynn says the following: Palm has a long history of innovation that is reflected in our products and robust patent portfolio, and we have long been recognized for our fundamental patents in the mobile space. If faced with legal action, we are confident that we have the tools necessary to defend ourselves.The gauntlet is thrown. Now, will Apple risk the ire of a million new and middle-aged fanboys and crush Palm's Cinderella comeback by forcing the Pre into some state of unreleased legal limbo? Or will Rubinstein and Jobs quietly sort it out over a yoghurt parfait in some strip mall in The Valley? Oh boy, this is going to be good.
"Palm has a long history of innovation..." Um...since when? Palm has been stuck with their so-1990's operating system for a long time. Many promises of new OS were made and missed. And the touch user-interface was in the industry for a long, long time, and no one did anything to improve it, and it was always hover-and-single-tap. Now after Apple released iPhone and iPod Touch, all the phones are adopting the similar icon layout, and now the swipe and two-finger zoom?
Don't get me wrong. I don't like companies that start frivolous lawsuits, or those that file insignificant general patents. But Apple does have a point in this particular case. Palm has indeed copied parts of the iPhone OS. And Palm's claim that they have a long history of innovation ... is just lame.
Um, one "throws /down/ the gauntlet."
@Bobby and Ian
Actually Mac OSX it's based on BSD and not Unix.
BSD is a Unix OS.
No it's not. It brahched out at an early state.
Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD, sometimes called Berkeley Unix) is the Unix operating system derivative developed and distributed by the Computer Systems Research Group of the University of California, Berkeley, from 1977 to 1995
@behe:
As you say: "Unix operating system derivative". Its not Unix.
apple couldn't even name their phone without stealing an already copywrited name from Cisco. They didn't ask if they could use it, license it or anything, they just used it. Then afterwards, ironed out some aggreement with Cisco so that they both could use the name iPhone in their respective arenas. apple SUCKS. "Don't bite the maggot!" but you have and will continue to do so if you purchase anything apple. Ha Ha :-P"""
*Grabs his torch and pitchfork*
Apple if you fuck up my ability to get the Pre in a timely manner I will shove this iPhone up your ass and stab you in the face with my pitchfork.
I'll be right behind ya!
So let me get this straight.
Apple posted "FIRST!!!11!11one!" on the forums we call the world, and apple supporters here upranking apple for their post? Forgive me if im wrong, but isn't that the opposite of what everyone does here on engadget, even apple fan boys?
Someone please patent shooting fireballs from your ... bum. That way in 100 years when apple creates the iAss you can sue them!
I love apple, but I love palm too. In fact, I loved palm since Pilot, in other words, before loving my first mac. This is the kind of issue that I hate. There's no problem apple, take it easy. Palm is not some new entrant into the market. Given how long they've been making an development their own OS, touchscreen devices and smartphones. Successful PDA's and with no success like Foleo ok, cheaper, aged if you like, but efficient. Ok palmOs is not the most beautiful interface in the world, but they worked so. It's like I will say "iPhone interface is basically a ripoff of the old PalmOS interface". Remember, you have inspired on xerox, windows are inspired on you. The good ideas floats in the air.
At the end of the road, all the gadgets and devices going to made in china... (and designed in California... or not apple?) Take it easy.
Hmm. Another person missing the Apple Newton's lineage within the Palm Pilot.
Apple's just a bunch of ass clowns!
I just filed a patent on "typing on a keyboard with multiple fingers". The computer industry better be ready to pay up!!
Apple's just got sand in its box.
It is not about being liked. It is about being a business and being responsible to your shareholders. A protracted legal battle with Apple with Palm in the financial shape that it is in, would be devastating unless their position was leveraged by Microsoft, RIM, or the less likely Google to force Apple to use resources. This is not unlike the Psytar battle going on now. Where are they getting the money to conduct this campaign that many feel is clouded when the EULA is clear?
The point is, if you don't protect your patents you lose them. Apple has to.
If Apple set out to destroy Palm, I would see RIM going in to help them - reason being is many Palm users use their device for business, having those now on RIM's side of the market would give them more fighting power. I have never seen the iPhone as a business tool. I see it as a fancy toy, and an apple toy at that.
I find it amusing and ironic that this battle is starting between the Apple and Palm. Both camps are heavy with fanboys, the main difference being most of the apple fanboys DNS about technology but think they do and the Palm fanboys are just a bunch of dweebs
Why can't we all be friends?
If people didn't get all pissy about infringments, we'd have some awesome products.
No we wouldn't, because there wouldn't be anyone inventing the devices in the first place, since there would be no protection against blatant rip-offs once they were done.
Go palm and lay the smackdown on the Iphone........
I pretty sure apple ripped off palm's ringer switch...just sayin'
just wait for 3.0 update.
sorry palm but i want my itunes, my app store and my 0.3 bigger screen that is useful and not only for fuking gestures.
It boggles my mind why some of you Iphone users (i have a Iphone/blackberry) do know you can send a MMS to someone with
the iphone.
just find out hte carrieres SMS gateway and send a email as a MMS to their phone. It's insanly easy.
5555555555@att.mobile.com 5555555555@vcast.verizon.com or whatever the carries mms gateway's are.
Lynn Fox is the incompetent ex-Apple PR woman who, while at Apple, was primarily responsible for the David Maynor debacle. Her ham-fisted handling of that situation made Apple look worse than the lying Maynor, and earned her a reprimand---probably the beginning of her exit from Apple.
Screw Palm and their alliance with Sprint. Sprint can have the best phone but their coverage and customer service is downright horrible.
They're not going to have a better phone.
I guess Palm copied the iphones hardware keyboard also....oh wait the iphone only has one button: Home
The main things on the Pre's IU that Apple may see as an infringement on their iPhone UI would be...
1. Scrolling (Flicking gesture through lists of, for example, Contacts, E-mails, Songs etc).
2. Pinching (Two fingered gesture to magnify parts of an image or web page).
3. Safari's multiple Pages. (Very, very similar to the way the Pre handles multiple applications)
I think its safe to say that before the iPhone none of these UI features existed on a mobile phone.
Now its up to Palm to prove otherwise, and should Apple decide to sue, that is something that Palm are going to find very difficult to do.
I will leave it to others to show whether other phones did these things before the iPhone, which would certainly directly knock out Apple's patents. But, Palm could also show that this type of action was previously available on touchscreens generally, and then show it was obvious to transfer that technology to a mobile phone. To be honest, I think this would be fairly easy for Palm to prove, particularly in light of recent changes in patent law relating to obviousness.
I think that this will be the FIRST device to seriously stand up and compete with the iPhone.
Whether Apple Fanboy's hate it or live it - listen here, this is the phone and you can go to sleep tonight knowing this.
I remember when the iPhone came out - revolution. Thanks, Steve.
I remember when the G1 came out - nothing special, it will evolve over time, but that's not what it's about here. The iPhone didn't "evolve over time", when it came out it rocked the world. That's a successful, innovative product.
I barely remember the Palm Treo's, HTC's, BlackBerry Storm, and etc. All failed attempts at Apple's genius.
Now, we have a phone coming out that has had a few years to LEARN from the iPhone. (YouTube was first, but there are many better video sites out there, they have all learned). It has had time to take the best from the iPhone, add more and apply all of this knowledge to build a great device.
The Palm Pre looks great and felt amazing at CES... I truly feel that it will compete with the iPhone and that users will love it.
Great responsive UI, ability to multi-task (yes!), copy + paste for all the insane people, great touch screen and high-res display --- and people --- a KEYBOARD! if you want it, of course...
I love the iPhone (I use an iPod touch for entertainment) but when it comes time to writing emails (over 40+ / day) I must must must use the BlackBerry. Why, because you cannot type on glass. It's not a typing machine and it will never be.
http://www.atomicsub.net
These are specific multitouch technology patents , that were duplicated. What's true so far is apple has a very valid case n what's even scarrier is this would be drawn out n set back release date .bigtime.if palm wins , this would allow all cell manufacturers to legally duplicate
Multitouch.,.
the PT&A pic cracks me up...Treo's like the annoying guy that wants to be iPhone's buddy
That is why software and high-tech patents in general should not exist. This limit product desenvolviment to big corporations, that will not fill any patent complaint against another big corporation because they all know that it is impossible to not infringe thousands of patents, and are inteligent enought to not engage in an all out nuclear war.
For example, remember Microsoft saying that linux infringe hundreds of their patents, but never said wich ones, and never tried to sue anyone with it, because they know that if they do it IBM, SUN and etc will annihilate them.
guys quit bashing on Palm for having the 'legal tools to defend itself'...
er..
wait..
who are we hating on here? The Legal system? Or the Anarchic one which never comes up with good ideas..?