Oh well ... to save Samsung millions in litigation, they've decided to drop the some of its search functions.

"Samsung has disabled an advanced search function in an update to the international version of its flagship Galaxy S3 smartphone, following a patent dispute with Apple.

Once the software is installed the phones no longer search contacts, apps and other on-device material using software developed by Google. Android Central, which revealed the news, noted that users were not told the update would disable the service.

It follows a similar move in the US. Apple claims the innovation infringes its patent to a single search interface which it uses in its Siri app to collate results from a range of sources.

The iPhone maker had already managed to enforce a brief sales ban on another Samsung handset - the Galaxy Nexus - in the US because of the patent.

That dispute will be considered again by a Washington-based court on 20 August - but whatever the ruling, it would not have applied to the GT-i9300 (S3) model sold in the UK and other places outside the US."

Source: BBC

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