The world of technology is so full of innovations, borrowed ideas and repackaged functions that it is sometimes difficult to work out who did what, and when.
At least, that’s probably Motorola’s excuse.
On the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7, Motorola, in what looks like a fit of bitter jealousy, tweeted the following:
In what galaxy is it okay to steal competitor phones’ cool features? #TheOriginalAlwaysOnDisplay #motozdroid pic.twitter.com/T75byy5bIx
— Moto US (@Moto_USA) August 18, 2016
Motorola’s tweeted accusation is that Samsung stole its idea for notifications that are displayed on screen when the phone is in standby. Samsung calls the feature “always-on display” and has been using it since the launch of the Galaxy S7 this year.
LG has a similar always-on display system, which launched with the G5 this year and a separate always-on screen with the V10 2015, while Google built its so-called ambient display analogue directly into Android starting with version 6 Marshmallow.
But for Motorola, it seems Samsung’s always-on display is just a little too similar to the company’s Active Notifications, which debuted with the Motorola Moto X in 2013.
The trouble is, people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
Motorola wasn’t the first to come up with the idea of ambient notifications and information displayed on a locked phone’s screen.
The feature had been built into Symbian with a notable example being 2012’s Nokia 808 PureView, which had an AMOLED screen meaning only the pixels that were lit drew power - the same principle Samsung uses for its smartphones.
Nokia’s MeeGo-powered 2011 Nokia N9 also had the feature, displaying the time and various other bits of information when the phone was locked, pre-dating Motorola’s efforts by at least two years.
But you don’t hear Nokia whining about it, do you? Maybe a lawsuit or two is in order. We know how well they always work out.
