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A newly revealed document from within Samsung reveals that the South Korean company went to great lengths to ensure its Galaxy S smart phone was a lot like the iPhone.
The translated 2010 internal report, which comes from Samsung’s product engineering team via AllthingsD, was admitted into evidence this week, giving it weight in the legal conflict between the two tech giants.
The 132-page report was uploaded to Scribd, but no longer seems to be working. Slashgear grabbed some screenshots while it was live, however, which show that Samsung evaluated its own smart phone’s features against the iPhone, with elements like icons, design of apps and even sound effects being analysed in terms of how they could be improved.
Areas where Apple was doing well are highlighted — the iPhone’s app-filled home screen is described as giving “a luxurious feel” while “curves are fluid to give a soft and comfortable feel”. Opposite the Galaxy S’ app icons are described as “not fluid” and “lacking in three-dimensional effect using light”.
Beneath the slides ‘Directions for improvement’ are detailed, which often amount to altering the phone’s interface to be more like Apple’s blower. In one section that looks at the iPhone’s animation when you attach an image to an email, the direction for improvement reads, “Need to develop dynamic effects to bring out fun factor to user.”
Elsewhere the distance between on-screen keys is investigated, with Samsung concluding that Apple’s on-screen keyboard has smaller individual buttons but a bigger gap between those keys. “Accordingly,” the slide notes, “additional horizontal/vertical space between keys requested.”
The document shows that Samsung was trying to emulate some of the successful design elements found in Apple’s phone, but one slide does note that Samsung needs to “remove a feeling that iPhone’s menu icons are copied by differentiating design.” Whether you think that means Samsung was trying to be different or just covering its tracks is up to you.
While the document is damning for Samsung, which is accused of ‘slavishly‘ copying its rival’s gadgets, AllthingsD notes that Apple will still need to prove to the court that Samsung has infringed upon specific design patent and utility patents, or that certain ‘trade dress’ design elements of the iPhone and iPad have been copied.
Do you side with Apple or Samsung in the titanic legal tussle? Or do you think both companies should put the courtroom squabbles aside? Tell me in the comments or on our Facebook wall.
Image credit: AllthingsD
