When Samsung released the Samsung Galaxy Nexus late last year to coincide with the unveiling of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the Google flagship device instantly shot up to the top of the leaderboards and was considered as the best Android-powered smartphone during its time only because it was already running the then latest version of the Google mobile operating system. Because of this, the handset was also targeted by Apple in a series of lawsuits claiming that the Google developer device infringed on a couple of patents of the company from Cupertino.
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Because of this, a US Court ruled and granted the motion along with imposing a ban on sales of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus in US shores. The reason for the decision is said to be the alleged infringement of Samsung on Apple’s patent number 8,086,604 which is basically the capability to search for information in multiple areas using only a single search interface – in this case Apple’s Siri.
Samsung immediately appealed for the potential sales ban on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus to be placed on hold but the US Court denied the motion saying that there was not enough evidence to put the ban on hold while the Korean electronics giant appeals its case. For the sales ban to take effect, Apple has been required by the US Court to post a $96 million bond and with the injunction still in play, Google has already pulled out the Samsung Galaxy Nexus from the Google Play Store where the handset is being sold.
The Samsung Galaxy Nexus may not be the biggest draw in the smartphone competition but the handset plays a strategic role in the plans of Google and Samsung because it was the first handset to come with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich as its default operating system. In addition to that, being a Google developer handset, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus will also be a reference point for testing Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the latest iteration of the Google mobile operating system.
There are reports however that Google and Samsung are already discussing a workaround that will get the injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Nexus taken out. As such, there are reports that the two companies are working on an OTA update to get around the supposed infringement of Apple’s patent number 8,086,604 and could get unleashed as early as Tuesday night.
Once applied to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the update will basically “dumb down” the handset’s search bar and search results will only be purely from the web from then on. Even the Voice Search feature on the handset will also become limited in the same way.
The OTA update will be rolled out to ALL Samsung Galaxy Nexus handsets regardless of carrier but users of the handset still have the option to ignore the said update and still make use of the Search Bar and Voice Search features of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus in their “full” functionality. Buy the Samsung Galaxy Nexus starting at one penny!
