Samsung Surges on Patent, Jobs News, HP Rumors
Samsung Electronics is suddenly looking unbeatable as several pieces of news combined to give its shares a big boost Thursday.
The first was a Dutch court’s patent ruling that absolved its new tablets from any infringement of Apple patents. The court also ruled that its smartphones Galaxy S, S II and Ace had broken just one of three patents at issue.
Apple and Samsung are fighting a series of legal battles over patents in courtrooms across the U.S., Europe and Asia. Apple’s infringement suits are based mainly on design features and have prompted Samsung’s counter-suits on a variety of technology components. Besides being Apple’s primary rival in the smartphone and tablet segments, Samsung is one of Apple’s most important suppliers of monitors and other components that go into iPhones, iPads and notebooks.
One of Samsung’s legal defenses is that the Apple iPad’s features are modeled in part on equipment depicted in the Stanley Kubrick movie 2001: A Space Odyssey and not eligible for protection as original designs.
Apple was granted an injunction against sales of three Samsung smartphone models in some European countries. However, that won’t become effective until at least Oct 13, giving Samsung time to avoid it by making relatively small changes to the smartphones.
Samsung also received a boost from Wednesday evening’s resignation of Apple CEO Steve Jobs who has been suffering from health problems during the past several years. Jobs has been credited with Apple’s visionary turnaround after it nearly went out of business in the mid 1990s after he had left the company he had founded in 1979. In yesterday’s announcement he indiated that he would stay on as chairman of the board while relinquishing active management duties.
Some analysts believe that his departure will strand Apple again without a clear vision to keep it ahead of Samsung, which has been gaining market share in smartphones and tablets. Its shipments of those products in the second quarter were just 1 million units fewer than Apple’s 20.3 million unit sales.
Yet another reason for Samsung’s surge are rumors that it will be acquiring HP’s personal computer division. Such an acquisition would make Samsung the world’s leading PC maker. Combined with its commanding lead in LCD displays and strength in smartphones and tablets, the acquisition could increase allow Samsung to threaten PC maker Acer.
As of early Thursday reports were surfacing that Samsung had contacted Taiwan-based notebook makers to consider outsourcing notebook orders, further giving weight to rumors of an HP buyout. The companies approached include Taiwan’s Quanta Computer, Compal Electronics and Pegatron Technology. Representatives of the three firms had reportedly been invited to Samsung’s headquarters in Seoul earlier this month.