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Why Apple Is Suing Every Android Manufacturer In Sight
First time accepted submitter amiller2571 writes "The eyes of the technology world are focused on the epic patent struggle between Apple and Samsung — the latest iteration of Apple's frantic legal battle against everything Android. The iPhone maker has also brought suits against Android device manufacturers HTC and Motorola. Apple has faced criticism for its endless lawsuits designed to stunt competition from Google's Android, but a quick look at Android device shipments in the second quarter of 2012 reveals a key number that suggest Apple is right to worry." Spoiler alert: the number the article focuses on is 68 — as in, the 68 percent of the smart phone market in this year's second quarter that consisted of Android phones.
We need a repeat of SEA vs. PKZip, with Apple as SEA.
68% of the market is occupied by almost all the other smart phone companies put together. In other words, they're all tiny minorities. The iPhone rules.
Remember, Windows PC makers 'dominated' the market and Apple had only a 'small' share. Except, Apple had the largest single company share and the most growth and the greatest profits by far. How many units are sold by all X makers in aggregate isn't really all that important here.
Apple also has the iTunes store that makes money off the back end. The other makers don't have that. They're jealous but failed. Apple's making it.
(No, I don't have an iPhone, just observing.)
I'm strongly trying to go back to a dumbphone if only I can actually find something akin to my old Motorola Razr v3m (a descendant of my beloved Motorola StarTac).
I pine for the days these corporations self-destruct or go GTNW (global thermo-nuclear war) on each other. I look forward to the post-patent-apocalypse market place. I'm seriously you guys.
I'm a user of MS, Apple and Android based products. I'm getting tired of Apple's sue happy policy and I will take that into serious consideration during any future purchases.
Apple is making MS look less douchebaggish by comparison.
The important % is: "What % of the available profit in the smart phone ecosystem is Apple extracting?"
I would wager that Apple's percentage there is considerably higher.
Lawrence Person (lawrencepersonh@gmailh.com (remove all "h"s to mail)
http://www.lawrenceperson.com/
Didn't we go through this already?....oh yeah:
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20120807133033596
The eyes of the technology world are focused on the epic patent struggle between Apple and Samsung
No, but nice try.
Because they're assholes. They've always been assholes since the '90s. They've just never had the financial clout to follow through until several years ago.
The numbers are from IDC, so they might not be very accurate. According to IDC, Samsung sold 2,391,000 tablets worldwide in Q2 2012, but according to Samsung's court documents in the Apple case, it sold 37,000 tablets relevant to the court case. It could be that almost all of their sales were international and/or not-relevant (such as Windows tablets), but it is hard to reconcile those numbers nonetheless. The most likely explanation is that IDC really sucks at estimating tablet sales. Maybe they are dramatically better at phones?
Source: http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/08/10/apple-sold-5-7-million-tablets-in-the-u-s-last-quarter-court-documents-show-samsung-sold-37000/
This article is of the “Apple is doomed” variety. That does not match the fact that every new iOS product outsells all the previous years. There is no way to spin that as being bad for Apple.
Android is all propaganda. It's so tiresome. Most Android phones are generic feature phones with no data plan. Android went downmarket a few years ago. If a carrier has iPhone, it not only outsells all their Android, it outsells the BlackBerry and other phones combined. The fact that there is a worldwide feature phone market that ships a lot of burner phones that make almost no money does not predict the smartphone market.
Android is in the same place versus iPhone as Windows is versus the Mac. They had to go downmarket because at the high end it is all Apple. Now, iPad is crushing Windows at $400–$600, and when Apple ships their low-end/feature phone, Android is going to suffer also. Especially when the hardware makers have to pay Apple and Microsoft for the stuff Google just 1:1 copied.
Android is in trouble right now, not Apple. That is why the Android partners are switching to building their own hardware (like Apple) and Apple is not switching to OS licensing (like Android.)
I.e. Samsung alone shipped almost twice as many smartphones as Apple.
I am just obnoxious or trying to defend Apple here, but to say in comparison it is what is going to kill innovation. Apple is saying, right or wrong, design something different, follow the FRAND rules, and be innovative. Not everything has to be an iPad or iPhone. The Kindle Fire, for example, is not remotely an iPad, but is an extremely functional machine.
OTOH, MS is saying they own everything, and anyone who does anything owes them money. This is what they did with the naked PC fight. By focusing on Apple, and their effort to innovate, instead of MS and their effort to take a cut of anything that looks like technology, we are losing the war.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
I find this very interesting. If Apple had 68% of market sales, do you realize how much money they would be making compared to what they make now?! How much is Google making from this?
That said, I couldn't care less from either's point of view. As long as more 'screen's are being sold that don't allow ads all over the place I'm happy. Though I'm waiting for the day that they just give up on trying to layout ads in the middle of the apps, and just pause the app and make you click off a full-screen ad on the phone instead (like a full blown commercial)
I doubt they are that worried. I think they really feel that Samsung is copying their design wholesale (which they are). I would guess that the fact iPhone brings in more revenue than the entirety of Microsoft helps though.
Apple: Litigate and Legislate, not Innovate.
And they have the Chinese make it.
In summary: Fuck you, Apple.
Take the Red Pill.
I'm concerned that if Apple 'wins' too many of these patent lawsuits, we will all end up with expensive phones and few (if any) even reasonably cheap phones will be available. The costs of patents is pushing up the costs to the consumer too much in this case.
We need to make sure cell phones remain inexpensive for all consumers to afford.
A phone is an essential communications device. Land lines have begun to fade away. You can still buy land-line phones for under $20. An average smart phone is several hundred dollars to purchase outright (or will be factored into the monthly payment on contract). When a smartphone breaks, or gets stolen, the cost of replacement is now the average person's disposable income for a month or many months!
Cell phones aren't made to last. We need to keep the prices down or a lot of people will be left out. I'm hoping one dominant player doesn't take over the market for this very reason.
Apple "...is right to worry" about what? That there are marketplace competitors with serious products? I should hope so. Personally, I got heartily sick of the way Apple imprisons its customers in its "exclusive" product lines. I'll never buy another Apple product, if I can help it.
Off by 1
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
The problem with all these number comparisons is that Apple talks about sold and most Android manufacturers talk about Shipped. The recent documents in the Apple / Samsung case show that the numbers sold by Samsung are a lot lower than the shipped numbers.
Another thing to remember is that Apple and Samsng earn 107% of the profits. All the other manufacturers are losing money on smartphone sales. Samsung makes a bulk of its money on the high end (S3 type phones) and not the low end. Thats the market Apple is competing in. I would be interested to see what the sales % are for high end smartphones.
is drop the price of the iPhone by $150.
Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
Apple's business model has always revolved around making you pay at least twice what your hardware should cost and 'encouraging' you to upgrade/replace that hardware more often than you really should need to.
Apple ALWAYS wants to monopolize any market by hook or by crook. I can't wait for Apple to cease to exist.
Apple is also being sued by the companies it's sued, I don't remember who started in which instance and which is a retaliation lawsuit (probably in hope to settle both out of court or something). A table with the lawsuits: http://technologizer.com/2011/04/19/mobile-lawsuits/
But, why should we care? Lawsuits are part of the normal business practices these days. So if biig corporations want to sue each other, I don't think we should care. If they were suing small startups to stifle innovation, that would be more newsworthy.
What would be really nice if technology sites would stop flooding us with news about lawsuits and resumed covering cool techs and gadgets.
but android pretty much sucks, like all google's products it's only appeal is ease of piracy... let's face it the iphone is the superior experience except for the kids that wanna watch pirated pornos in the dorm bathroom. oh and maybe mexican housewives, they all seem to use android, maybe you can stream spanish soap operas easier on android?
Come back to me and show me who's making a profit off of these phones.... oh yeah AT&T, Verizon, and Google. Not developers. Not the phone makers, except perhaps samsung. Those numbers are so skewed because they include all android models. Look at Samsung's lineup. Shit, half those phones people got because they were cheap and could have facebook messenger.
Android, as great of an OS as it is, is being championed by companies that primarily don't give a shit about users ( the phone companies )
and by the largely silent partner who reaps all the passive income ( analytics ala Google )
I still carry an original droid incredible as my daily phone, but even I can see that 90% of everything I run or use is "me too/also ran" stuff.
I don't mind one bit that Apple is making a crap ton of money, and so are the developers in their marketplace. It's a healthy ecosystem.
People who get emotional about Apple as being some sort of bad guy need to sit back and think real hard about where they were in the phone/mobility world prior to iPhone. I have a feeling many of you didn't even have a smartphone back then.
And to those that don't think Apple is responsible for this revolution... watch the original iPhone keynote from 2007.
When Steve Jobs demos the iPhone, there are audible gasps when he does things like the rubber band scrolling.
I've been in IT for almost 20 years now, and the guys I work with every day ( *nix admins ) talked about the iPhone for weeks. We would share the coolest bits with people in the office who didn't even get it.
Apple is due its respect. They created this generation of phones. They shouldn't have a monopoly, damn straight. HOWEVER, just like Google themselves warned Samsung, don't copy off of Apple, there's plenty of other ways to make a great phone. Go out there any make it and stop aping apple.
Anyone who have looked at their sales figures.
Last time I checked, they were doing pretty well.
Apple hates... HATES competition. This has been known for years.
I.e. Samsung alone shipped almost twice as many smartphones as Apple.
Apple makes over 70% of industry profit. And Samsung is the only other phone maker making any significant profit at all in the smartphone. (HTC apparently makes a small operating profit) Pretty much every other phone maker including Research In Motion, Nokia, Motorola and Sony all posted losses. Because Samsung ships a lot more units (feature phones + smart phones) but still only has half the profit of Apple over the same period, that means that Samsung is competing with Apple primarily on price. Yes they are selling a lot of units but people (mostly) aren't buying them for the features - they are buying Samsung because of the price. It's unclear if Samsung will be able to continue its price leadership since there isn't all that much much to differentiate Samsung's Android phone from anyone else's.
Look, I know it's cool to hate Apple here, but some perspective is in order.
I'd like to think that the reason Apple is suing them isn't to get rid of the competition, but to send a clear message that you can't ride on their coat-tails to the bank. Get back to the drawing board and figure out something else. Samsung's designs are just too close to Apple's, and Apple is standing up for itself. Otherwise, they'll have every other manufacturer out there copying their designs. Unless they defend themselves, there's constant precedent to copy their designs, which makes it really hard for them to differentiate their own product against a sea of copies.
If you look closely at the game Apple is playing, they're actually playing it as if they have nothing to lose. It may not look like that on the surface, but that's the game they always play. When the iPhone was introduced, Steve Jobs lowballed their forecast numbers, saying they'd be happy if they sold a million in the first year. That's the first clue. They never bet the company on a single product, and that gives them enough flexibility to do whatever they want with it. They have demonstrated no qualms about making radical changes to their products, or even killing them off, often at the expense of leaving a lot of users behind. They have enough money in the bank that they could stop selling the iPhone tomorrow, or even stop selling *everything* tomorrow, and still be able to go for years. It doesn't matter how much they invest into a product or a concept, they have shown no remorse about killing it or changing it if it suits them.
If Samsung beats them and they lose their trade dress suit, you know what? They will have something completely different out within a year, even more protected by patents. But the critical thing is that the next thing they bring out will make the current phones look dated. They will look old. And the new ones will be bought by millions of people, and Apple will laugh all the way to the bank. You can't beat them at this game, because as soon as you catch them they change the game.
But they can't really do that if they're going to be copied at every turn. So I don't think it's about "beating" Android as it is about making sure that whatever their next thing is, there isn't precedent in the industry to just churn out copies of whatever they do. That's why they're suing Samsung and not Google.
I love it! Apple has turned into the New Microsoft. I wonder what all the Apple Fans are saying now after years and years of complaining about Microsoft suing everyone and anti-competetive behavior!! LOL at Apple.
Apples numerous lawsuits aren't " 'blah blah emotional decision' posts", they are real.
Reactions to those lawsuits ARE emotional reactions. That's a judgement, just a fact. We have every right to have an emotional reaction to things and in fact a huge portion of our purchasing decisions are driven by factors other than pure reason.
I roll my eyes every time I see one of these posts positing that Apple is somehow more evil than the rest of them. Every one of these companies Apple is suing would do the exact same thing if they were in Apple's shoes and many of them have. There are no good guys here. Every one of them is as guilty as the next.
Because they did buy Motorola Mobility. I'm sure that there are a number of useful patents in that portfolio that they could use to stamp Apple out of existence in the smartphone market.
And I can't wait for Google to build their own Android phone. You know they're going to do it. I say this because I'm tired of the tampering with Android by OEM's, carriers, etc. In this house we have a Samsung Indulge and LG Optimus - both Android phones but almost completely different. My Samsung is a little more open than the LG. And it drives me nuts.
And then there's the freeze out on Android versioning. Makes developing for Andorid an adventure to say the least.
Yeah, mod me troll for stating the truth.
Flourescent (adj): smelling like ground wheat.
Apple seriously needs to relax the stranglehold on their devices.
-The app approval process needs to be less stringent so power users can get actual work done on the phone/tablet
-The iOS filesystem needs to be more accessible
-iTunes on a Mac/PC is still required to copy music and to update the device
It's great that Apple rebuilt their company and bought a nice spaceship with that revenue, but this is 2012. Requiring a synch to iTunes reminds me of the old and clunky PocketPC ActiveSync.
A herd of sheep can turn amazingly quickly.
Flourescent (adj): smelling like ground wheat.
The problem is that they could have 99% of the profit in the market, it doesn't matter if they keep on losing market share. Eventually, their profits will drop.
Or those loss making companies will go bankrupt or leave the market. With $100 billion in the bank and their current margins Apple can bankroll a pretty long fight. Apple only owns a relatively modest percentage of the PC market but they are easily the most profitable PC maker out there. They don't need much of the market share as long as they can continue to own the bits making all the profit. So far Apple has made all the right moves and their strategy looks good. Even Microsoft and Google cannot forever bankroll money losing ventures though Microsoft certainly has been willing to try.
That's not to say there is no risk to Apple. Apple depends heavily on just a few products. If they drop the ball on the next iPhone or the next iPad, their stock price will drop like a stone. The real risk to Apple is if someone comes out with software that they cannot compete with. Apple's products are differentiated primarily by their software. (yeah the design stuff matters too but much less) Google is a risk to them because Google has enough programming talent to potentially outperform Apple in some way. The devices themselves are important but actually somewhat secondary.
They set themselves up for this. The iPhone was the most friendly, advanced phone out there a long time ago. Now that something roughly equal in quality and features is out there, their pissed off customers are switching to it. It was so overtly obvious that you were stuck in all-encompassing, mega-overlord obsessed with getting every last penny out of you they can. Without competition, they could do whatever the hell they wanted and did. 1 price, 1 store, and they can delete anything they want at any time. Android is a small bit better so that's what people use. Also their outrageous device prices were a tipping point.
And then there was AT&T as a carrier lol.
One of the things that will damn Apple is that all the carriers pretty much have iPhones for sale now. And I wonder whose phones they think the carriers will pimp when it costs them $400 in subsidies for an iPhone and $200 for a high end Android phone? Tough decision...do I make $1400 off this sucker paying $100 a month for a cell phone plan, or do I make $1600? I am guessing I know which the vendors will pick.
Used to be the carriers with the iPhone pushed it so hard because other carriers didn't have it. Not true anymore, so why would they push for customers to get an iPhone? In fact, they'll probably wonder why they subsidize it so much any more now that it's not a competitive advantage.
This is why I tell anyone who'll listen about the $30/month (period, no fees, taxes, etc...) plan from T-Mobile and the $45 plan from Straight Talk. The end of the subsidized phone model where they can hide the true cost of the iPhone will _fuck_ Apple.
I'm concerned that if Apple 'wins' too many of these patent lawsuits, we will all end up with expensive phones and few (if any) even reasonably cheap phones will be available. The costs of patents is pushing up the costs to the consumer too much in this case.
We need to make sure cell phones remain inexpensive for all consumers to afford.
A phone is an essential communications device. Land lines have begun to fade away. You can still buy land-line phones for under $20. An average smart phone is several hundred dollars to purchase outright (or will be factored into the monthly payment on contract). When a smartphone breaks, or gets stolen, the cost of replacement is now the average person's disposable income for a month or many months!
Cell phones aren't made to last. We need to keep the prices down or a lot of people will be left out. I'm hoping one dominant player doesn't take over the market for this very reason.
The manufactures, The distribution chain The telcos have ganged up against apple with stolen technology.
So now economics will be apples undoing. But it is not right but apple will loose to these thugs and lowballers.
Samsung actually turned on apple quite awhile ago but apple was in the situation of whether to disrupt their supply chain or to co-exist with samsung.
People used to free technology see no reason apple shouldn't give it to them for free.
The telcos googles and samsungs have successfully argued that stealing the iPhone is in the consumers best interest.
They have bribed ourselves with stolen technology!
They have the vote of the "third world" behind them and somehow apple isn't protected here at home either.
Apple's sue happy policy and I will take that into serious consideration during any future purchases.
If you are not buying based on lawsuits, you are out of luck regarding buying any smartphones or tablets.
Apple is not alone in suing lots of companies. Google (through Motorola) was trying to sue Apple over patents that were SUPPOSED to be able to be used by anyone implementing the 3G standard, at a standard cost - but Motorola was shaking down Apple for more. How is that fair or right?
Meanwhile Samsung is suing Apple.
The thing to attack is not the companies suing each other but the patent system that enables such behavior.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
You can't complain about those suits without noting that Google is also suing both companies, through Motorola and other Android vendors.
Why turn a blind eye to one company if you are REALLY so indignant about lawsuits?
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
A software platform vendor enableing a rich ecosystem of hardware vendors eating the lunch of Apple's combined OS+Hardware approach. Apple knows how it ended last time, and any possible chance it has to delay that process, no matter how desperate seeming, is worth it.
Have fun, you'll be back.
That's why Apple's second quarter earnings disappointed.
The iPhone is only available on a few carriers, whereas Android phones are available on nearly all, if not all, carriers. Additionally there should be consideration for the fact that the iPhone is only recently available on carriers other then AT&T, and during its exclusive deal with AT&T, the Android market was exploding.
Could it be that Apple stunted their own growth initially with the exclusive deal with AT&T, rather than suffering market loss due to alleged patent infringement?
sig sig sputnik?
It makes me wonder, what if we lived in a world where Apple won and had its own way...
The only smartphone in existence would be the iPhone, and they would hold so many patents that nobody but Apple could make smart devices that are usable. With a 100% market monopoly, the vast majority of cellphone owners would have dumb phones because they couldnt afford an iPhone. The iPhone would be one of the most visible separators of the rich vs the poor.
Any person caught without an iPhone would be ostracised and teased as "that person who is so poor they cant even afford an iPhone, what a loser...etc etc".
Innovation would drop to essentially zero in the mobile market, as any attempt at competition vs Apple would result in Apple Legal utterly destroying the offending company.
In all, it would be the equivalent of the Smartphone Apocalypse, a veritable wasteland where only the well-to-do are allowed to enjoy the fruits of mobile technology, and the rest of us shamble along, dejected, left out and downtrodden.
What an awful world that would be.
Fuck you Apple, you narcissistic greedy bastards.
Seriously -
Cheung Kung University of Taiwan are suing Apple [Patent infringement]
The US Department of Justice are suing Apple [iBooks Price Fixing]
Antione Pontbriand are suing Apple [iBooks Price Fixing]
Noise Free Wireless are suing Apple [Patent]
Trans Video Electronics are suing Apple [Patent]
Scott, Koffman, SIlversmith and Monroe are suing Apple [In-app purchase baiting]
Apple is suing Motorola [Patent]
Motorola were suing Apple [Patent]
Apple is suing Samsung [Patent]
Samsung are suing Apple [Patent]
Samsung are suing Apple again [Patent]
Samsung were suing Apple yet again [Advertising]
Apple is suing Kodak [Patent]
Kodak is suing Apple [Patent, constructive litigation]
Kodak is suing Samsung [Patent]
Varia Holdings are suing Samsung [Patent]
Varia Holdings are suing RIM [Patent]
Samsung is suing the Australian Patent Commission [Patent]
Apple is suing HTC [Patent]
HTC are suing Apple [Patents bought from Google]
Symantec/STEC IP are suing Apple [Patent]
Nokia was suing Apple [Patent]
Nokia is suing Google [patent]
Nokia is suing HTC [Patent]
Nokia is suing RIM [Patent]
Nokia is suing Viewsonic [Patent]
IPCom is suing HTC [Patent]
Interdigital is suing Nokia [Patent]
British Telecom is suing Google [Patent]
ProView were suing Apple [Trademark]
EMG Technology is suing Google [Patent]
Microsoft are suing Motorola [Patent]
Motorola are suing Microsoft [Paten]
Oracle were suing Google [API Copyright]
PayPal is suing Google [Patent]
Mount Hamilton Partners is suing Google [Patent]
The Authors Guild are suing Google [Google Books transcriptions]
The state of Texas is suing Google [Antitrust]
CamUp is suing Google [Patent]
Intellectual Ventures is suing Motorola [Patent]
Tivo are suing Motorola [Patent]
Fujifilm are suing Motorola [Patent]
Viacom is STILL suing Google [YouTube Copyright]
MTEL is suing RIM [Patent]
Openwave is suing Apple [Patent]
Openwave is suing RIM [Patent]
WiLAN is suing RIM [Patent]
NXP Semiconductors are suing RIM [Patent]
Dolby Laboratories were suing RIM [Patent]
Evelyn Paswall is suing Apple [walking into a door]
At that point, complaining about any one company refusing to innovate is unreasonable and it simply shows a major problem with the entire system of patents, especially in their interaction with international companies.
Apple can engage in shenanigans around Android and patents for a while, but they really have nothing: right now, manufacturers may perhaps infringe on a few patents because Apple's patents are so vague and ill defined, but as part of the lawsuits, they have to put their cards on the table about which gimmicks they want to own. Once they do, it's easy enough to design around. And the damage that this b.s. is doing to Apple's reputation is immense: presumably, Apple is suing over their best innovations, and everybody now sees what they are: springy windows and black bezels.
"68% of the market is occupied by almost all the other smart phone companies put together. In other words, they're all tiny minorities. The iPhone rules."
Not really. it doesn't matter if the Android phones were made by 50000 different companies - they all use Android, and in spite of the whining about "fragmentation" its not that big a problem, its a huge market base, and the iphone is a tiny little runt.
"Remember, Windows PC makers 'dominated' the market and Apple had only a 'small' share. Except, Apple had the largest single company share and the most growth and the greatest profits by far. How many units are sold by all X makers in aggregate isn't really all that important here."
Except it is - because the PC market has made far more money in totalt -who cares what one greedy techphonbic company has done or earned - THAT is the datum which is irrelevant to everybody except their bosses.
If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
Because in capitalism you do whatever it takes to maximize profits, it's quite simple.
The adage is those "who could, innovate. Others litigate". May be Apple thinks differently and asks "why not both?" and it litigates innovatively ;-)
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
I am really happy with my Skyworth GT-7205s. Please Apple, do not sue them :(
When the Apple/Samsung lawsuit is over and even during it I wonder how much of the costs of the lawsuit to Samsung are being offset to the sales of the iPad. Doesn't Samsung make the retinia display for the iPad? So Apple will pay for this lawsuit in one way or the other... directly or indirectly.
Apple is not alone in suing lots of companies. Google (through Motorola) was trying to sue Apple over patents that were SUPPOSED to be able to be used by anyone implementing the 3G standard
I would be much more sypathetic if Apple hadn't initiated that lawsuit. And saying Google "sued" Apple is preposterous as Apple is according to public record the one that sued Motorola. And Google is not going to jump in the middle of Motorola's lawsuit and start forcing them to change legal strategy so it was Motorola's decision to go for the patent claim. Consider Posner dismissed the whole thing in part due to the 3G claim by Moto, it was a pretty successful gambit.
Meanwhile Samsung is suing Apple.
Only after Apple sued them.
The fact is if you try to bully everybody around don't be surprised when they stand up and fight back. Anything less would be fiduciary irresponsibility.
Apple are a bunch of cunts and deserve Android kicking the shit out of them.
Throwing lots of android handsets at lawyers with apple logos.
oh... make it html5, so it runs on iOS bypassing their safegarden, ($99 for a dev kit, forget about it)
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
If You Can't Innovate, Litigate. Android is dominating the market by about 2 to 1 margin over apple. SO they are doing only thing they can to block them, lock them up in court is complete load of shit lawsuits.
Here's the thing. Appearance designs are not copyrightable or patentable in ANY other industry. Apple has been fighting this since the original Mac OS. They loose pretty much every time. Since those early days, the USPTO, which has really gone down the drain (for various reasons, not least of which is the ass-holery of corporations) has granted Apple a lot of crap patents. Plain and simple.
I'm sorry a lot of people on slashdot were born LONG after the internet became a commercial venture, and, like most tech people have only a dim understanding of tech history that begins after Java became a useful language.
It used to be that creative design had an intrinsic protection in the amount of time it would take to effectively copy and ramp up manufacture. With modern engineering and manufacturing, it can be done in days. Perhaps we need to look at this THIS change. I may favor an extremely limited "1 year" copyright on design to account for that shift. The cost of producing a good design is NOT inherently expensive or time consuming. If a company can't capitalize on it significantly within one year, then they need to make way for those that can.
If I were an Apple shareholder, I would be furious at this point. If Apple can't win by making something even better, they need to get comfortable in their corner the way with did with PCs or give up entirely. The Android cannot be stopped... not like this. With every claim and every suit, the markers on the "mine sweeper" game we call the patent system are becoming clearly identified and working around or simply invalidating Apple's claims is getting easier.
In the end, they are wasting their money of all parties and keeping the courts system needlessly busy. It's a problem for everyone who pays taxes as this is ultimately an enormous abuse of the courts system.
It all has to go. Most of us are pretty sick of watching all this. It's just not any fun any longer.
...the Big Mac is a superior product.
Linux fanboy here! Microsoft to me is still more evil than Apple because Microsoft's legal attacks tend to be sneaky. OEMs and IT companies are fearful of what IP they are infringing, if any. In short Microsoft generate Fear Uncertainty and Doubt. On the other Apple has been VERY CLEAR about what patents Samsung, HTC, and other Android device manufacturers are alleged to be infringing. So would you be rather stabbed in the back or assaulted full front by an attacker you can gun down because you know where he is coming from?
"Fair and Reasonable" does NOT mean "Free for picking", that's why they are patents, nor that you don't have to pay more than others do. It depends on what you have to bargain with. Johnny come late cheapskates pay more, it's as simple as that. Have a good day, appletard.
Apple does not want to see a repeat of the 1980's with Microsoft. They are suing because they believe that Google, Samsung, etc truly stole their ideas to make phones. The court will decide whether that's true or not. Apple makes tons more money than anyone else in mobile phones, so that's probably not the motivator.
Now now Apple, you wouldn't want Google to slap you about in court would you?
It's a copy of the SGS2. They started the "na na nana na copycat copycat" war as a diversion.
The old "Apple makes more money than Android so I win" argument appears again!
Covered perfectly, here: iOS fan: Apple makes more money per device so I am smarter than you.
What everyone fails to understand is the revenge culture inherent in Apple and many Apple user's I've known (not all - I'm not saying all Apple users are vengeful). Apple has been biding it's time for years until it has the resources to go out and get revenge for the supposed theft of their property when MSFT came out with their GUI/OS. Ever since, Apple has been seething for revenge. We are now seeing the fruits of that silent, persistent effort the past 20 years.
What they have failed to remember is that when you set out on revenge, you first dig two graves.
The true sales numbers were released in those court documents. I wish some of you spinners would get law degrees, the way things are going, patent attorney may become the number 1 job demand. And that is the saddest part of this situation.
Apple II.
Mac.
iPod.
iPhone.
iPad.
Each one basically created a market out of thin air. Argument over.
this is the year of Linux in the cellphones!!!
The bottom line is Apple and Samsung entered into a supplier agreement and patent cross-licensing negotiations. The supply agreement was implemented with its associated disclosures, then Samsung copied Apple liberally. Apple objected then Samsung released exact visual device and packaging copies in countries with no patent protection. Yes, that's right, full-on product copies.
When Apple made clear they were going to perfect their rights, Samsung said in effect, meh. Apple had to persue it to protect their R&D investment against all comers (hence thermonuclear).
Now Apple is about to get an award. But that is the only thing a court can award. Money. Samsung already got what they wanted by copying. Market share and Korean employment.
USA is expendable. 8.3% unemployment is acceptable in a world run by the rule of law where violations are instant and justice is slow, expensive, and better late than never, but only barely, and only if you have the patience and cash to persue it. A rich man's game.
JJ
For the record, I was not confused, I didn't think it was an Apple product.
Understand that in fact I thought it was BETTER than an Apple product because for one thing, buying it did not directly
contribute support to the suppression of competition being attempted by Apple and their army of asshole lawyers.
Kindly understand that I wouldn't buy an Apple iAnyFuckingThing if it were the last fucking thing on Earth.
And so if you find yourself being sued by Apple for "copying" them, you may use THIS message as a
positive defense against whatever law suit Apple tries to conduct, that there is at least one
person who has a hatred of Apple (because of their behavior and lack of corporate ethics, being a bunch of
liars and thieves,) so severe that any alleged copying of them you did DID NOT, in point of fact, cost Apple any sales.
Even a child could see that their own assholeishness did.
! Fuck Apple !
I always thought the reason was as simple as this: "I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this... Our lawsuit is saying, 'Google you f***ing ripped off the iPhone, wholesale ripped us off. I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong. I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product." -- Steve Jobs
Qu'on me donne six lignes écrites de la main du plus honnête homme, j'y trouverai de quoi le faire pendre.
And of course restarting the baseband. Airplane mode will also deregister the terminal from the base station and then make a location update, but will not restart the base band.
Apple needs to move on to it's next "it" device. That is what will keep customers loyal.
Apples success in the late decade with it's irevolution has been it's ability to bring market appeal to devices we all knew one way or another would take off. Other companies were always first if not trying for years to make something cool yet apple appears to make it work and be cool overnight.
Did it again with it's retro iMacs
Transforming it into Trendy Fashionable Laptop
MP3 players
Smart phones with apps
Tablets
While I don't trust estores with DRM because they can go belly up, the Apple store has been around long enough you can trust it to be around at least another decade. And whatever content you have you can be sure that it will work well across all your Apple devices. If they can hold onto %20 of each market with loyal fans and they keep innovating...
What could it do next time? Maybe a deluxe textbook ereader for schools? Multiple ereaders on your desk system? Self publish it's own line of textbooks with the best authors and take over high school and college textbooks? All with the catchy phrase "Going back to school.."
Maybe this will get Samsung (and everyone) to just use regular Android without their crap add-ons.
Google knew well enough to avoid getting into the trouble Samsung is in (and really, it's not that hard) so hopefully more companies will just ship 'plain' Android and relegate their add-ons to optional apps for people to download.
Then they should have come up with something original on their own.
Like Apple did?
Da Blog
Outselling to a margin 20 to 1 , with 37K sold in total suggest me this is only the US market, as apple sold much more than 740K tablet globally. I am sure it looks bad now, but the same could be said years ago for smartphone / iPhone. Now a few years onward, it isn't true anymore, and android bases system sell many more than apple iOS based.
MA also had an incredible profit margin compared to PC, but PC were commodity and widespread. The end result was apple near bankruptcy until it was saved by MS. I don't expect a bankruptcy again, but I am pretty sure shareholder will not want a repeat, and will no be satisfied that they make more profit when the market share is obviously shrinking, just like it did for MACs.
C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409469/
visit randi.org
'waiting for their carrier to natively support the iPhone'
And Apple are still wondering why they are loosing out to Android phones. Oh wait. Rounded corners. Thats it!
So which is the number Apple supposedly is worried about: 68% or 34%?
Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
How many times have we seen this story for all kinds of products on Slashdot?
Why would these numbers worry Apple? Shipping a product does not mean money in the bank, selling it does.
Apple are trying to hit the GSM Alliance members so they have some platform to bargain from when they counter due to Apple's complete abuse of the GSM patents. They were offered them under FRAND terms but Apple decided they weren't reasonable enough for them and so refused.
Nokia sued and won $650million and a cost per unit about 18 months ago.
Samsung are currently suing them over the GSM patents Samsung owns which Apple are abusing - so Apple fought back with their design patent infringments.
Once, Apple was this little, insignificant computer maker waaaaay out in California. That was back when the Commodore 64, the Amiga, the Franklin and the PC Jr were the big names in computing. Then Apple created the Macintosh and set itself apart from the competition. For years it was the only GUI in town and it made hay while it could.
Then, Microsoft created Windows 3.1 and that was it for Apple. Oh, Apple tried to sue MS to stop Windows but it knew it could never truly win.
Apple fell into decline. There were no more good ideas. Apple for business was a flop and the only two areas it made headway in were education and design. It was doomed to never get more than 8% of the market.
Then Steve Jobs came back and ushered in a new round of development. OS X, iMacs, Intel Macs and finally the iPod and iPhone. It looked like the iOS would revolutionize the business and Apple made hay while it could.
Then the Android OS was released and that was it for Apple.
And so on and so on... except there isn't a Steve Jobs out there to save the company. This time the company dies. This time Apple becomes a footnote in the history of personal computing and Google and MS will drive the stake into Apple's heart, cut off its head and bury it in a lead-lined coffin in a deep and unmarked grave.
Was an idiot.
More specifically, they're still bullying pricks who are right to worry, and whose worry is a cause for celebration (if not the lashing out that the worry brings forth).
But are unable to compete in the market place of ideas.
losing to the competition you sue them.
Ignoring the fact that Samsung alone is shipping more Android smartphones than Apple is shipping iPhones (Samsung makes up nealy half of the Android handset sales, and total Android handset sales are around four times Apple's), even if Apple sold more handset than any other manufacturer that still wouldn't necessarily be a great sign for them with large number of competitors selling phones that are based on the same platform (just as their biggest-single-hardware-vendor position in the desktop market still leaves them a footnote beside the Windows ecosystem.)
The health and attractiveness of the software and content ecosystem (App Store, iBooks, etc.) where much of the real money is depends more on the relative deployment of iOS vs. Android as platforms than on the relative strength of Apple vs. HTC vs. Samsung vs. (etc.) as handset manufacturers.
Well, clearly, Google (corporate parent of Motorola, and also selling Nexus-branded phones) has a full phone, OS (Android), application/content store (Google Play) stack.
Arguably, given the Microsoft to Nokia payments relating to Windows Phone, the Microsoft-Nokia partnership has the same full stack, as well.
Android is failing in the mobile space against Apple the same way that Windows failed against Mac OS.
I do have an iPhone. But that doesn't get in the way of my "observing".
I've been saying it for years: The mobile phone wars will play out just like the personal computer wars in the 80's. Ultimately the company with the business practices that are more conducive to building a healthy industry around it will win out (hint: not apple). This time it may even be better as we'll be abandoning a despotic closed system for a completely open one (instead for a slightly better despot like microsoft).
It's good to know apple is at last consistent with their exclusive, introverted, walled-garden approach to personal computing, but the free market will never accept it in the long run.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Apple would love to get these injunctions, but really they have never behaved as though market share is their primary motivation. From the earliest days of the company they have opted for high-profit sales to a smaller niche audience. For iOS Apple could have easily (a) gone to multiple carriers much earlier than they did, and (b) produced cheaper models for the global market. But they didn't. Historically the high-margin strategy has worked for them.
What I think worries Apple now is that the high-margin strategy only works so long as there is a perceived quality premium. This time the competitor isn't MS-DOS. The best Android phones and tablets with Jellybean are genuinely good products, and in certain areas (LTE adoption, screen size, customizability) Apple is looking like a follower rather than leader. I think what they get from these injunctions isn't so much a market share boost, as it is a boost to their reputation as innovators.
And soon, every consumer will be tied to their iDevice. The world will forget how to create new, more powerful and robust devices, simply scriptkiddying together the same old apps. And finally, after many years, the app store servers will fail, forcing every human to no longer have communication with the rest of the world as the security on the iDevices will no longer be able to authenticate the users. It won't be Atlas who shrugs, it'll be Apple.
#include <disclaimer.h>
Apple, the would-be monopoly, throughout its existance, has sued every clonemaker out of existance. At least this time, it's up against companies with enough money to fight back.
mark "no, I don't do Macs"
I have an iphone 4, and as I often work in the basement for hours at a time, occasionally (hasn't happened in the last few weeks) have my phone give up on finding a signal. I have found that when my phone gives up, a simple cycling of the cell radio does not resume normal operation. It only works after a full reboot. Still, this flaw isn't that bad compared to all the problems I see my android using friends having - like always dead batteries...
I don't know what you're talking about. My {InsertPhoneModelHere} works perfectly. I never have signal problems like {InsertCrappyPhoneModelHere} do. It has the automatic ass wiping feature unlike Symbian or BlackBerry. My signal strength is the Chuck Norris of cell phone signal. In fact when I'm in a low signal area, my {InsertPhoneModelHere} will kick closest {InsertCrappyPhoneModelHere} in the ass and steal all it's signal bars for me. It can generate chocolate pudding at will.
Now then..... I own a smartphone. I've owned many, and someday someone will come out with one that might make me want to get naked and cover myself with oil. I don't know for sure, cause I haven't seen it yet. that being said quit trying to justify your overpriced piece of technology, and accept the fact that we all spent too much for the coolest thing out there. No matter which brand it is.
Oddly, in many places GS2 has less signal bars than my wife's 4s (as a percentage of overall bars). That said, maybe it's just how my phone displays signal. I can have zilch for bars and still have clear calls, and the data doesn't seem overly slow when the bars are less than 50% either.
I have had some signal cutouts recently, but I'm more attributing those to my "unofficial" 4.0.4 upgrade than an android/hardware issue (I'll know better when they actually release the bloody firmware for unlock phones in my region).
Google needs to improve their customer-service before they even consider expanding into another market. It's getting better but it's still pretty bad (ask those in Canada who purchased an N7)
Apple stole ideas from Xerox to develop its early computers; Microsoft managed to get them from Apple, which they have whined about for years. Now Apple thinks that if a product looks like anything they have, it's an infringement. Stealing ideas from your competitors is just business as usual. If an idea can be protected, you have the option of getting a patent on it, providing the patent office will grant one. Based on Apple's logic I guess Ford ought to sue every manufacturer that puts 4 wheels on their car and has seats and a steering wheel. Apple is just using its huge treasury to intimidate its competitors. I'm sure they are worried about what Mr. Market is saying about the smartphone business.
Google/Motorola Mobility is asking the same rate of Apple that they ask of everyone else.
the 3 things that will always make me prefer Android over iPhone:
1. i can move stuff to and from the phone as if it were a drive. no special software needed.
2. i can expand the memory simply by buying a larger sd card. if the phone dies, i can take the sd card out, put it in a sd reader, plug it into a computer and get stuff off of it as if it were drive.
3. Android isn't a monopoly.
i really wish apple would beat MS out of the desktop/laptop market. why? see smartphones. apple is the only player that can make it happen. once they do, here comes linux.
The reasons are here.
http://www.londonlovesbusiness.com/business-news/business/james-max-apple-shares-will-fall-the-fruit-is-rotting/3080.article
Well maybe if Macintosh would make a good product and not just a turd in a shiny white case their profits would go up, I've yet to see an apple product beat its android powered equivalent in functionality or usability. If I Mod my android OS I still get to keep my warranty, if i so much as hit a settings button wrong on the Iphone I get hit with copyright infringement and to top it all off my phone bricks. Nope, I prefer a device i can do more than one or two things on, after all, once i pay for it its mine to use as i see fit.