14 DAY TRIAL // It looks like Apple is going after Samsung wherever the South Korean company is trying to sell its products.
The latest Galaxy S III device is still available on the market and there are no injunctions against it for the moment, but Apple’s lawyers are trying to find the phone’s weak spots as we speak.
Any potential “infringement” may be a threat to Samsung’s Android flagship smartphone sales, especially that it's currently one of the most popular devices launched by the South Korean handset maker.
Unfortunately, Apple managed to temporarily ban the Galaxy Nexus in the US. It appears that a judge ruled in Apple’s favor as the company claimed Samsung copied some of the technology used in its iPhone.
Following these events, Samsung is trying to put its Galaxy S III to safety from Apple legal actions, which is why the company pushed a minor update to several US-based carriers.
Unfortunately, Apple claims that the Google Search app infringes on its “universal search” patent, so Samsung was forced to disable the ability to search within the phone’s content.
The update was already pushed a few weeks ago to Galaxy S III units from Verizon Wireless, Sprint and AT&T. The update simply downgrades the search ability integrated within the Samsung Galaxy S III software and limits users to Internet searches.
However, it looks like Samsung wants to make sure that Apple won’t have anything to go against the Galaxy S III, which is why it decided to deliver the same update to the international version of the smartphone.
Opposite to what we might think, the small 27MB OTA (over the air) update does not add any improvements.
Instead it cripples the search functionality of the Galaxy S III. Even if that will surely make the device a bit less smart, it looks like Samsung doesn’t want to take unnecessary risks for its Galaxy S III.