14 DAY TRIAL // This wouldn't be the first time two companies battle over the intellectual rights of some concept or piece of technology, but one thing is sure: a fight between Apple and Nokia is not a thing to miss if you consider yourself a true fan of either of them.
As you might remember, a video of a Nokia N95 with a very iPhone-like auto-rotation function has surfaced at the beginning of this month. The auto-rotation magic is credited to the rotateME 2.0 application, which brings to the Nokia N95 the ease of use while browsing the phone's menu and viewing images.
If we combine that with a touchscreen and a possible multitouch type interface that Nokia might be working on if they want to steal away a part of the iPhone customer base, we get the perfect recipe for a lawsuit filed by Apple.
According to marketwatch.com, Richard Windsor, who is a London Nomura analyst, has declared that "I think Apple will likely view Nokia as infringing on its user interface patents. But I don't see this being the same scale of (the) legal battle Nokia has with Qualcomm Inc."
He also predicted that Nokia will release their next iPhone competitor as a new model based on their S60 platform, a model that most probably will surface the mobile market sometime in the second half of 2008.
The thing that started all this commotion and made everyone think of a possible Nokia vs Apple war on the iPhone's touchscreen display technology is a declaration Steve Jobs made when describing this interface. Desiring to prove the extent to which Apple will go to protect its newly launched product, Jobs has declared in January 2007: "And boy, have we patented it."
Although solving a possible copyright infringement accusation in court is more than the logical thing to do in such situations, Windsor predicts that Apple and Nokia will get over this matter and solve the problem by signing an agreement. What type of an agreement that is and if Apple is ready to let Nokia use parts of its technology on one of their phones (or even the whole thing) nobody knows yet, but I'm pretty sure they will not give up their rights without a fight.. Or two for that matter! :)
Until Nokia brings to the market their phone that comes equipped with a touchscreen, an accelerometer, finger scrolling capabilities that is strikingly similar to what the iPhone has to offer and 8 GB of flash storage, we can only make suppositions on what the end result of the - hypothetical - war between Apple and Nokia will be.
There is one thing we can be sure about: if Nokia will have the guts to bring their iPhone clone in the stores next to Apple's phone, the Cupertino based company will not hesitate to protect their patents.
The way they will do it and if Nokia will go through all the "Sorry, I've been a bad Nokia? Let's make friends now and I'll give you some of my candy" agreement thing are yet mysteries to be solved.
For now, take a look of what Nokia might release in the stores and make your own opinion on the whole deal. Is this a reason for Apple to sue the Finnish mobile company or not?