Many sites have published articles and commentary on the Apple vs. Palm patent debate. Here's a quick summary of all the headlines, sorted by date:
TG Daily: Apple's A-bomb against Palm: A 358 page iPhone patent - This article gets into the nuts and bolts of Apple's patent application for the iPhone, with technical diagrams detailing the way gestures are implemented. It also goes into a bit of the history of multi-touch, and reiterates the conflict and back-and-forth between Palm and Apple over the Pre's technology. (Jan 27)
Engadget: Apple vs. Palm: the in-depth analysis - An excellent article with analysis of the patents assisted by a patent attorney. Reveals that that Apple's patents aren't as far-reaching as much of the media has made them out to be. Palm holds a number of patents that could be applied almost directly to the iPhone. Concludes that Apple is the most likely to fire first, but that neither company move due to the risk of losing their respective patents. (Jan 28)
Gizmodo: Dissecting Apple's "Multitouch" Patent: Can It Stop Palm? - A follow-up article in which a professor of patent law takes a deeper, more technical look at what exactly is required to violate a patent. Discusses how Palm could implement something very close to what has been covered in Apple's patents without actually violating the patents. Paints the picture of Palm as having its back to the wall and being the only one desperate enough (or having enough of a patent arsenal itself) to potentially risk a patent battle with Apple. (Jan 30)
Neowin: Apple's Multi-Touch patent not so strong to sue competitors - Although Apple interim CEO Tim Cook warned that they would "use any and all weapons" to defend their intellectual property, Jim Goldman of CNBC reported on how financially dangerous it would be to go after Palm. Also by trying to trademark multi-touch, they would also be squaring away with Microsoft and Windows 7, which already has multi-touch planned for their new OS. (Feb 3)
BNET: Can Apple’s Multi-Touch Patent Withstand Scrutiny — or Challenge? - An article that focuses on key elements that Apple included and excluded from the patent. Makes a very good observation that Wayne Westerman, now with Apple, did not include his prior work from his doctoral dissertation on Multi-Touch in the Apple patent. Because of this, Apple itself might be infringing on patents owned by the University of Delaware, where Westerman made his dissertation. (Feb 6)
VentureBeat: Apple Asked Google Not to Use Multi-Touch in Android - Not directly relating to Palm, but apparently Apple asked Google to NOT implement multi-touch in their device, and Google complied. The fact that Palm is using this technology has soured the relationship between the two companies. And because of Palm's new device, there could be mounting pressure for Google to implement this feature in the future. Worth a read. (Feb 9).
pocketnow: Success of the Pre May Define Multi-Touch for Windows Mobile - A short article suggesting that Microsoft may be waiting until the battle between Apple and Palm plays out before entering the fray. Perhaps HTC should dive into the multi-touch waters, since Palm is still scratch-free?. (Feb 10)
CNET Report: Apple nixed Android's multitouch - Elaborating on Google's bowing out of multi-touch, under the influence of Apple. The hardware capability in the Android is still present though, and "can be modified to support multitouch with a few well-placed lines of code." Palm is more well-positioned to implement multi-touch, in no small part due to so many ex-Apple employees working for them. (Feb 11)
Phonenews: Everyone has The Multi-Touch Story Wrong. Everyone. - An interesting editorial that speculates how companies have been "working in a concerted effort to undermine this [multi-touch] patent". Not just Palm, but the HTC Touch Pro and Google's G1 both have the hardware capabilities and have chosen to leave the multi-touch feature disabled. Technically, these devices could all have multi-touch at once, should Apple's patent fail. (Feb 11)
The iPhone blog: Palm Pre "Cards" Deja Viewed - An article drawing parallels between the Pre's unique card interface and the safari thumbnails found in the iPhone that allow you to zoom out of the Mobile Safari web browser "with an eerily similar thumbnail representation". Is this yet another weapon in Apple's arsenal against Palm? (Feb. 26)
Additional analyses will be added as they appear.
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