There has been a lot of talk in the post-Apple victory of the drawn out infringement case against Samsung, where Samsung was ordered to pay Apple $1.05 billion in damages. Samsung has publicly stated that the loss for them is also a loss for potential patrons of their devices, since they will now have to be more cautious with how they utilize Android OS, which leads to depreciated innovation and probably an increase in price.
The talk about Samsung is plenty, but then again, it’s important not to forget what Samsung was using in their first place for their operational system – Android. Many have been saying that the Apple victory could mean increased usage of the currently limited release of Windows 8, which is scheduled for public release in October.
To answer the basic title question: No, there are few reasons why Android should have any longstanding worries. As was made clear in the jury’s finding, the loss for Samsung is a loss for Samsung alone, and they technically haven’t lost the battle yet since they will continue to appeal the ruling.
For Android, what might be the biggest worry is pointed out in an article by Associated Press tech writer Peter Svensson, who says that Apple might gain some of the share as long as Android OS phones have to be more careful.
Even so, it wouldn’t be much of a drastic change. He continues to say that Android developers will just have to take the lessons learned from Samsung, and put some extra time in to make sure that no other infringement happens. Keep in mind that besides iOS and Android, the other big player is Windows, which Nokia plans to debut their news phones with in September.
Samsung themselves have stood to have the biggest loss, but with their amount of products already in the market (which everyone will still be able to buy), even their presence should withhold.
As was reported by many sources yesterday, Android has another reason to celebrate anyway. NASA has decided to go with Android to launch off the PhoneSat project, in which two Android phones will be used to test cheaper satellites. Maybe the market for Android will be for users of digital satellite dish TV or other devices.