Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. et al

Filing 973

Declaration of Cyndi Wheeler in Support of #930 Administrative Motion to File Under Seal Samsung's Motion for Summary Judgment filed byApple Inc.. (Attachments: #1 Exhibit 1, #2 Exhibit 2, #3 Exhibit 3, #4 Exhibit 4, #5 Exhibit 5, #6 Exhibit 6, #7 Exhibit 7, #8 Exhibit 8, #9 Exhibit 9, #10 Exhibit 10, #11 Exhibit 11, #12 Exhibit 12, #13 Exhibit 13, #14 Exhibit 14, #15 Exhibit 15, #16 Exhibit 16, #17 Exhibit 17, #18 Declaration Of Mark D. Selwyn In Support Of Samsungs Administrative Motion To File Documents Under Seal Re Samsungs Motion For Summary Judgment, #19 Proposed Order [Proposed] Order Granting Samsungs Administrative Motion To File Documents Under Seal Re Samsungs Motion For Summary Judgment)(Related document(s) #930 ) (Bartlett, Jason) (Filed on 5/24/2012)

Exhibit 9

Confidential Attorneys' Eyes Only

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SAN JOSE DIVISION

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APPLE, INC., a California
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corporation,

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Plaintiff,

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vs

No. 11 CV 01846 LHK

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SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.,
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a Korean business entity; et al.,

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Defendants.

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VIDEOTAPED DEPOSITION OF MICHAEL TCHAO
CONFIDENTIAL

ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY

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REDWOOD SHORES, CALIFORNIA

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2012

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Reported by: LOUISE MARIE SOUSOURES, CSR NO. 3575

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Certified LiveNote Reporter
Job # 46145

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Q.

Do you think the iPad 2 is comfortable to

hold?
A.

11:24
11:24

Yes, I believe the iPad 2 is comfortable to

hold.

11:24
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Q.

What do you attribute that to?

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A.

I believe both the physical design of the

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product, the weight of the product.
Q.

Anything else?

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A.

I think that would be -- those would

encompass it.
Q.

11:24

What about the physical design of the product

makes it comfortable to hold?
A.

11:24

11:24
11:24

The shape of the back housing, the area of

11:24

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the -- around the screen, the bezel around the screen,

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the weight of the product and the distribution of that

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weight, the balance of the product.

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Q.

Anything else?

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A.

The materials that the product is made of.

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Q.

Would your answer be the same if I asked you

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the same question about the original iPad?

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A.

Yes.

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Q.

What is it about the bezel -- first of all,

11:25

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when you say "bezel," what are you referring to?
A.

In this particular respect, the bezel I'm

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11:25

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referring to the black area or the -- around the

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screen, that is the -- the area around the screen, I

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guess is probably the best way to describe it.

11:25

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Q.

The black border that surrounds the active

area of the screen?

11:25
11:25

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A.

That's correct.

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Q.

What is it about that black border around the

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active area of the screen that in your view adds to

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the comfort to holding the iPad?

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A.

It provides an area for your hand to rest

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without activating the screen while you're holding the

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device.

11:26

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Q.

What is it about the what you refer to as the

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housing -- first of all, when you say the housing of

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the device, what are you referring to?

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I'm referring specifically to what also might

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be called the back case of the product, the -- in the

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case of iPad and iPad 2, the aluminum enclosure that

11:26

makes up the back of the product.

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A.

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Q.

What is it about the shape of the housing

that makes the iPad easy to hold, in your view?

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A.

The curve of the housing, so no sharp areas

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11:26
11:26

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contact your hand, the smooth contour of it, and

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texture of the material that makes it easy to hold on

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to.

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Q.

Does the rectangular shape of the iPad

contribute to the ease with which it can be held?

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MS. TAYLOR:

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THE WITNESS:

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the question again?

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Objection, it's vague.
Does the -- could you repeat

BY MR. KIDMAN:

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Q.

Sure.

I'm sorry.

11:27
11:27
11:27
11:27
11:27

Would you agree that the general shape

of the iPad is rectangular?
A.

11:27

11:27

The iPad and iPad 2 are rectangular in shape,

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yes.

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Q.

Do you think that rectangular shape

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contributes to the ease with which it can be held?

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MS. TAYLOR:

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THE WITNESS:

Objection, it's vague.
I believe the shape of the iPad

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does contribute to its being easy to hold.

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BY MR. KIDMAN:

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Q.

How about -- would you agree that both the

iPad and the iPad 2 have rounded corners?

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A.

By corners, what are you referring to?

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Q.

If you look at the iPad sort of from the top

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view, the corners appear rounded.

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Would you agree with that?
A.

11:28

Yes, both iPad and iPad 2 feature rounded

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corners if you look at it from the top down.

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Q.

As opposed to pointed corners?

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A.

Yes, as opposed to pointed corners.

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Q.

Do you think the rounded corners of the iPad

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and the iPad 2 contribute to the ease with which it

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can be held?

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MS. TAYLOR:

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THE WITNESS:

Objection, it's vague.
I'm not sure the rounded

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corners contribute to it being easy to hold.

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BY MR. KIDMAN:

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Q.

In your view, is there any advantage from a

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user's point of view to having the rounded corners as

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opposed to, say, pointed corners?

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A.

I can certainly imagine that rounded corners

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would be preferable to certain other shapes of corners

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in a product like an iPad.

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Q.

Why is that?

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A.

Well, again, I have to compare it to

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something specific in order to answer that question,

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but as an example, if a corner of a product were made

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to be sharp, it could be painful to hold.

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Q.

Anything else that comes to mind?

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A.

That's just a specific example.

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Q.

Any other examples that come to mind?

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A.

Not readily.

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MR. KIDMAN:

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to change the tape.

Okay.

We need to take a break

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THE WITNESS:

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THE VIDEOGRAPHER:

Okay.

11:29
This marks the end of disk

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number 1 to the videotaped deposition of Michael

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Tchao.

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The time is 11:29 a.m., we are off the
record.

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(Recess taken.)

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THE VIDEOGRAPHER:

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11:29

11:29
This marks the beginning

of disk number 2 to the videotaped deposition of

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Michael Tchao, the time is 11:40 a.m., we are back on

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the record.

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BY MR. KIDMAN:

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consumers?

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A.

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Yes, we believe that it was for both iPad 1

and for iPad 2.
Q.

14:22

And why do you believe that to be an

important feature for consumers?
A.

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14:22

Because it speaks to its portability and

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because of its small size, it's able to be taken from

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place to place more easily.

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Q.

A thinner tablet's easier to transport or

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carry around, is that your understanding?

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consumers view it that way?

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A.

Do

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14:23

Our belief is -- well, prior to the iPad,

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tablet PCs were thick and heavy and so we wanted to

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contrast iPad to those tablets, PCs that came before.

14:23

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Q.

And what benefits are there to consumers from

the iPad being thinner than what came before it?

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MS. TAYLOR:

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THE WITNESS:

Calls for speculation.
Our belief was -- the reason

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why we wanted to distinguish ourselves from those

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tablet PCs was because we felt the thinner, lighter

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iPad would be more portable and therefore be used in

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more situations and -- more readily than previous

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tablet PCs which had not seen much success.

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BY MR. KIDMAN:

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Q.

Do you believe that the flat screen that

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covers the front face of the iPad is an important

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feature to consumers?

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MS. TAYLOR:

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THE WITNESS:

Objection, it's vague.
I'm not sure I understand the

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question.

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BY MR. KIDMAN:

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Q.

Would you describe the iPad as having a flat

front surface?

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A.

Yes.

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Q.

And would you describe that flat front

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surface as covering the front of the iPad?

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MS. TAYLOR:

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THE WITNESS:

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aspect of the front?

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specifically?

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referring to.

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BY MR. KIDMAN:

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Q.

Objection, it's vague.

14:24

Again, you're referring to what

14:24

The entire front or the screen

14:25

I'm not sure I understand what you're

14:25

How would you describe the front surface of

14:25

the iPad?

14:25

A.

14:25

So the front surface of the iPad is a -- is a

piece -- a flat piece of glass.
Q.

14:25

And would you describe that flat piece of

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glass that makes up the front surface of the iPad as

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an important feature to consumers?

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MS. TAYLOR:

Objection, it's vague.

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THE WITNESS:

I'm not sure I know whether

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it's an important feature to consumers.

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BY MR. KIDMAN:

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Q.

Would you agree that the design of the iPad

defers to the screen?

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MS. TAYLOR:

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THE WITNESS:

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14:26

Objection, vague.
I would say -- we have said and

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I would say that the iPad is primarily screen.

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BY MR. KIDMAN:

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Q.

And why is that?

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A.

Because in our design, we have stripped away

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those other attributes -- those aspects of design and

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function from the front of the device so that you just

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can focus on the screen.

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Q.

And why do you want users to focus on the

screen?
A.

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14:26

Because on the iPad, they interact with their

information through the screen.

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Q.

Through the multi-touch features?

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A.

That's correct.

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Q.

So for that reason is it important to have a

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large screen area?

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MS. TAYLOR:

Objection, it's vague.

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THE WITNESS:

There are multi-touch

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devices -- in fact, we ship multi-touch devices that

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have smaller screens.

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BY MR. KIDMAN:

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Q.

What would be an example of that?

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A.

The iPhone has a three and a half inch

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screen, it's multi-touch.

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multi-touch device.

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Q.

It was our first

14:27

Does Apple do any research of competitive

product?

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MS. TAYLOR:

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14:27

THE WITNESS:

Objection, it's vague.
We do study competitive

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products from time to time.

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BY MR. KIDMAN:

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Q.

For what purpose?

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A.

There are a range of purposes that we look at

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competitor products.

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Q.

And what would those reasons be?

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A.

One reason might be to answer questions that

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the press might ask about our product relative to the

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competition.

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Q.

Any others?

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A.

Another reason might be to determine what

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features should be in future products or to benchmark

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our product against other products.

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Q.

Any others?

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A.

Another reason might be to determine if a

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