“Palm doesn’t expect there to be any disputes with Apple over patents for multi-touch technology in webOS or the Pre smartphone, company chief Ed Colligan said today at the Thomas Weisel Technology & Telecom Conference. The executive believes there are ‘no issues with Apple’ iPhone patents and says that Palm is ‘very respectful’ of other companies’ intellectual property, preferring to dodge around conflicts altogether rather than setting itself up for a challenge. Palm has about 1,500 patents that Colligan is confident gives his company a safe foundation,” Electronista reports.
MacDailyNews Take: We ran this through our patented “Bullshit to English” translator and it returned: “We just need to dangle this ‘Pre’ buyout bait for a little longer…”
“Apple has provided mixed signals over its own actions, prompting fears that the company might sue Palm for alleged patent infringement and scuttle the Pre before it ships. Company operations chief Tim Cook has consciously avoided implying that Palm is violating patents but has also said Apple ‘will not stand’ for any perceived theft of its intellectual property,” Electronista reports.
“No clues are given about the price of the Pre, though Colligan appears to have partly backtracked from previous statements suggesting that the touchscreen slider would need to command a premium price,” Electronista reports. “Sprint’s exclusive deal for the Pre won’t preclude international launches, Colligan says, while ‘additional carrier partners’ are also due inside the country for early 2010.”
More info in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We’ve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone. PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in. – Ed Colligan, Palm CEO, November 16, 2006, laughing off the idea of Apple entering the smartphone market.
That one didn’t turn out to be true, either.
