Phone Wars: Episode....I've lost count...

So as I’m sure you've all heard, the late Steve Job's desired 'Thermonuclear' war against Google has taken another turn with Apple now setting their sights on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus in the U.S, a device which allegedly infringes upon 4 of Apple patents. I think even Apple must recognize that the actual patents in question are somewhat insignificant however this has little to do with the technology itself. This is about systematically annihilating the competition. This is what happens when business becomes almost personal.

I think I read something about how Apple and Samsung are currently engaged in around ten legal battles across something like twenty different countries around the world. This shows the sheer scope of what Apple are trying to do. For the folks at Cupertino this is about more than just winning the legal disputes and hampering their competitors progression. This is about undermining the credibility it's rivals.

If Apple were interested in financial gain from these lawsuits then they'd be going about it the wrong way. They could easily reach a settlement and licence their tech to companies like Samsung for a fee which would in turn also allow Apple a peek at the ways in which their rivals were evolving but this doesn't interest them. What interests them is smiting each and every company that they genuinely believed to have copied their ideas with furious vehemence and zero mercy.

However with Google easily able to circumvent Apple's restriction through simple alterations and modifications (which in turn may even lead them to innovate), all that this legal chest pounding and teeth baring succeeds in is stagnating progression within the industry with the only ones that really lose out being you and I, the consumer.

The Third Dimension

The LG Optimus 3D (Thrill 4G to our US cousins) was not a bad phone. Hell, I'll admit it. I actually got one. The tech world dismissed it's 3D capabilities as nothing more than a gimmick, which it undoubtedly was, however I've always felt that the feat of bringing dedicated 3D space to a mobile device had always been overlooked. I know that HTC also brought out their EVO 3D but on that device the 3D functionality always seemed a lot more tacked on than it did on the Optimus 3D, not to mention the 3D itslef was of poorer quality.

I've always felt LG have received pretty rough treatment from the mobile press. They may not be as flashy as Apple or Samsung but where others see 'Generic' I see 'Subtlety.' The company has never shied away from heavy hitting devices and has kept their high-end hardware consistently up to date and exciting (if not always perhaps aesthetically pleasing.) Perhaps this is why the Optimus 3D was overlooked. Perhaps people simply saw the name LG and never really got excited about the prospect. Or maybe it's the simple fact that with all the 3D films and 3D TV's being released, the world is suffering from overexposure to the third dimension.

The whole 3D movement has become synonymous with a tacky add-on and perhaps for people to see it as anything more on mobile devices it would take a company like Apple, instead of LG or even HTC to pioneer the idea. I say Apple because the media and consumer alike seem to genuinely believe it every time the folks down at Cupertino tell them that they're revolutionizing the entire technological infrastructure…again. If Apple had started the 3D bandwagon on mobile phones, the landscape of mobile 3D might be very different today.

Apple's 3D tech

That said, looky here. It seems Apple have filed a patent for their variant on mobile 3D technology and wouldn't you know it, they've invented 3D! Well apparently it's a new kind of 3D tech that is capable of gauging depth and displaying a 3D environment based on the user's eye movement. This apparently will also lend itself to the actual UI.

Now believe it or not I have nothing against Apple themselves and I applaud advancement and progression and feel they genuinely do innovate with the majority of their products. My gripe is with the public perception of Apple as saviors of techdom but I'll get into that another time. All I'm saying is that if when Apple do 3D, everybody starts raving about how it's the greatest thing since Natalie Portman I will be a very unhappy individual.

LG Optimus 3D 2

For those of you still interested in the good old fashioned parallax-barrier 3D display however, shots have indeed been leaked detailing the LG Optimus 3D 2. The chassis is reported to be a mere 9.8mm thin. I personally had no problem with the original Optimus 3D's size as I appreciate a bit of heft to my devices (It makes me feel like it wont snap in half if I look at it the wrong way) but I'm sure there are those of you that will adore this change. The display is also rumored to be a high-resolution IPS-LCD. My guess is the device will make it's official debut at MWC at the end of the month.