Patents: Apple wins over Motorola in 'slide-to-unlock' ruling

Patents: Apple wins over Motorola in 'slide-to-unlock' ruling

Apple has won a patent dispute against Motorola Mobility regarding a "slide-to-unlock" feature on smartphones.

The judgement marks Apple's first patent victory over Motorola in any part of the world.

Patent consultant Florian Mueller said the ruling could affect patent disputes involving Android device makers worldwide.

Motorola said it planned to appeal and the judgement would have "no impact" on supply or future sales.

A spokeswoman for the Motorola said: "Today's ruling in the patent litigation brought by Apple in Munich, Germany, concerns a software feature related to phone unlocking in select Motorola devices sold in Germany.

"Motorola has implemented a new design for the feature. Therefore, we expect no impact on current supply or future sales."

Apple said it would not be commenting on the decision.

'Global battle'
Motorola Mobility is in the process of being acquired by Google, and most of its handsets run on the search firm's mobile operating system, Android.

The Android system is Apple's closest rival in the mobile market.

Mr Mueller, a patent expert who has in the past consulted for Microsoft, described the ruling as a "very significant win for Apple against Android".

"After Google closes the acquisition of Motorola Mobility, the Apple-Motorola Mobility dispute will soon gain importance transcending that of the global battle with Samsung," he said.
While this decision relates solely to activity in the German market, the decision could potentially help Apple with other patent disputes in other parts of the world, Mr Mueller added.

"Apple is already asserting the slide-to-unlock patent in different jurisdictions against all three leading Android device makers and might use it against even more of them going forward."

The patent in question - EP1964022 - relates to the process of unlocking a smartphone by simply swiping a finger from one area of the screen to another.

A second patent ruling, which covers a method of scrolling through pictures in a photo gallery on mobile device, was also due on Thursday but was postponed by the court.

Sorce: BBC

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime vs Motorola Xoom 2 Media Edition

Paul Briden

We compare the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime to Motorola's 8.2-inch Xoom 2 Media Edition

Published on Dec 9, 2011

We take a look at the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime to see how it stacks up against Motorola’s new Xoom 2 Media Edition.

Form

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime - 263x180.8x8.3mm, 586g

Motorola Xoom 2 Media Edition - 216x139x9mm, 386g

The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime is one good-looking device. The chassis is made from spun aluminium, giving it an interesting texture and the build quality is second to none.

Other elements which are pleasing to the eye include the nicely sized and spaced bezel around the screen, elegantly shaped corners and a svelte 8.3mm thin profile.

Overall it’s very minimalist in style which goes well with the futuristic-looking metallic finish. The attachable keyboard dock is as thin as the main tablet and equally stylish.

Motorola’s new generation of Xoom tablets have had a complete redesign, which is quite striking to behold. Instead of the usual rectangular shape Motorola has echoed the design of its Razr smartphone handset with angular and tapered edges and corners.

Again the bezel space around the screen is a flattering size and aluminium has been used for the construction of the outer shell, though not quite as extensively as on the Asus.

The Xoom 2 Media Edition is extremely light and thin coming in at 386g and 9mm thick – that’s an 8.2-inch tablet which is lighter than many 7-inch tablets.

We think both devices, despite being very different, have fantastic design elements and are very appealing to look at.

However, the Xoom 2 Media Edition is just that bit more eye-catching with some very individual styling.

Winner – Motorola Xoom 2 Media Edition

Display 
The Xoom 2 Media Edition has an unusually sized display at 8.2-inches – the first of its kind. It’s a TFT capacitive touchscreen with multi-touch and made from toughened Gorilla Glass.

The resolution clocks in at 1280x800 pixels giving a pixel density of 184 pixels-per-inch (ppi).

The Transformer Prime has a larger screen at 10.1-inches and uses a Super IPS + LCD technology, which results in a much brighter display.

It’s a capacitive multi-touch screen, again made from reinforced Gorilla Glass, with the same 1280x800 pixel resolution at a lower pixel density than its rival at 149ppi.

The Motorola’s display may be smaller, though not by much, but it’s got a much sharper picture and higher pixel density making it our choice this round.

Winner - Motorola Xoom 2 Media Edition

Storage 
Motorola’s tablet is a little limited on storage space, especially with a name like 'Media Edition.' At 16GB and no card support there's not much to play with here.

So what's a user to do? Simple: use Motorola’s MOTOBLUR cloud service to stream content directly from your home computer, which supposedly works even if you’re miles away (we're talking a different country here), to the slate. 

We understand the logic: everyone needs to flock to the cloud. But what if you're not bothered about the cloud? Surely it'd be better to give consumers the best of both worlds, like Apple does with its iPad and iCloud? 

Apart from the internal storage, the Xoom 2 Media Edition is also packing 1GB of RAM to assist the processor in its duties.

Asus’ Transformer Prime is much more handsomely equipped on internal storage with options for 32GB or 64GB onboard. It also has 1GB of RAM like its opponent but unlike the Motorola it has a card slot with support for microSD up to 32GB.

We have to side with Asus on this one.

Winner - Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime