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Side-Effect of the Apple v. Samsung Trial: Increased Sales for Samsung
New submitter jbernardo writes "There seems to be an interesting side-effect of the flawed jury verdict of last Friday — Samsung sales have surged. Even with the approach of the launch of Apple's new iPhone, the Galaxy SIII is sold out in many stores, and there is a measurable increase in sales, according to Trip Chowdhry, the managing director of equity research at Global Equities Research, cited in Forbes. Maybe Apple really managed to convince its customers that Samsung phones are equivalent or better, so they are being overcharged? Or is it a rush to buy the currently best smartphone in the market in case there is an injunction on its sale in the U.S. any time soon?"
At this scale? That'd be interesting.
Law of unexpected consequences: Perhaps people are worried that Samsung devices will become unavailable?
Excuse for why is your room always messy?
Cue Nelson Muntz laugh.
flawed jury verdict
Apple's new shinny
the currently best smartphone in the market
Whoever wrote this made it a touch too clear their loathing for Apple and preference for Samsung.
galaxy s 3 shouldn't be under the banhammer - however it's been on the news due to this a lot.
it's more likely it's something to do with start of school year though.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Maybe Apple really managed to convince its customers that Samsung phones are equivalent or better, so they are being overcharged? Or is it a rush to buy the currently best smartphone in the market in case there is an injunction on its sale in the US any time soon?"
It's the latter. Hell, I have been asked (as someone who is known for reading a tech blog or two) if one should worry about their *existing* handset being taken away or somehow immobilized, thanks to the verdict. People just don't get what is going on, and some of them who interpreted the news coverage as an ad for Samsung, saw the "banned sales" headlines and rushed out to buy devices. Hey, if they are worth banning, they must be good right? Just like (make-believe) gun bans threatened in the wake of certain political parties, or bans on the sale of incandescent light bulbs. People react strangely, and they almost NEVER react in favor of whatever it is that the government/courts/etc. threaten to, they do the opposite.
The trial was only one of the factors to consider here. The overall growth of the android ecosystem should be accounted for. Also keep in mind that smartphone sales are surging overall ( http://arstechnica.com/business/2012/08/more-than-half-of-all-handsets-will-be-smartphones-in-2013/ ) so it makes sense for Samsung's phones to sell more.
It would help to see the recent sales figures of other notable android manufacturers like HTC and LG to decide if the exposure from the trial had a noticeable effect
I may not know enough about patent law to argue one way about the quality of the jury verdict, but I can say that your statement regarding Samsung phones as "currently best smartphone in the market" is purely subjective (and in my opinion flat wrong).
...and the coverage in the news. Here is a nice story on how people react on the verdict.
Computer simulation made easy -- LibGeoDecomp
I went and bought a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 even though it wasn't a part of the lawsuit or a ruling against the Samsung Galaxy Tab line. I had been scouting it out for a few months now. Even though I disagree with the ruling, I wanted to buy it before an increase in price due to licensing fees, in case Samsung decides to license the technologies that were borderline borrowed from Apple.
Now that the trial has ended and everybody has had the chance to inform themselves what it was about, tech-savvy potential Apple customers looking to buy a high tech tablet flee to Samsung since they no longer want to be associated with the unethical behavior exhibited by Apple?
0x or or snor perron?!
Is it gonna be a tablet? A phone? A prosthetic limb? The iShinny, the new iProsthetic iLimb from Apple.
Title says it all. How many people did you know bought a Wii because they "saw it in stock somewhere" and figured they should get it while they had the chance?
Apple's trying to slam down the banhammer on Samsung so of course it drives up perceived scarcity (or scarcity-to-be). Same reason every single sale is 'limited time, act now or miss out' and so on.
Also keep in mind Apple gave Samsung tons of free publicity. I'm comfortable saying that anyone who uses a cell phone knows what an iPhone is, but until now not as many people knew Samsung sells such 'obviously similiar' products. They sure do now. Oh, and they're cheaper? Wait...maybe I should run out and get one while I still can. People who follow tech trials are also plenty fed up with patent nonsense so heck, let's support the underdog. They tend to innovate better anyhow.
So really, I'm not surprised at all.
You can get rich if you own a politician, but you have to be rich to buy one in the first place.
"Even with the approach of the launch of Apple's new shinny,..."
Is this some kind of iKnee replacement? It's a shin-bone that plays music and accesses Siri? I've never of this product.... Please advise.
If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
There is apparently some procedure whereby apple could ask for it to be added to the list. I assume there would be some sort of judgement required as to whether or not it is similar enough to any banned devices.
That Samsung doesn't get any bans in the U.S. As long as they can keep selling, honestly, that 1 billion may have been well spent. And lets not forget, that they are appealing. This will be in the courts for years, all the way to the supreme court, which I am sure will side with Apple as 5 out of 9 of them are probably on Apples payroll in some way.
In any event, Apple is unlikely to ever get any money, and if Samsung gets no ban, then Apple wasted time/money for nothing and in the process probably helped Samsung.
I feel no sorrow that Steve Jobs is turning over in his grave. Greed doesn't pay.
Apple CEO Tim Cook might be pleased with the verdict in his company's recent patent legislation against Samsung, but Samsung customers are definitely not, according to the market watchers at mobile phone trade-in firm Gazelle. "Consumers seem to be jumping ship," Anthony Scarsella, Gazelle's "chief gadget officer," told MarketWatch. "We expect this trend to continue, especially with this latest verdict." Scarsella says his company, which buys used mobile phones from consumers, has seen a 50 per cent increase in the number of customers looking to unload Samsung kit since Monday alone. The sudden upsurge in supply has led Gazelle to drop the prices it pays for Samsung mobiles by 10 per cent.
So which is it? Buying or dumping?
Chaos maximizes locally around me.
> Or is it a rush to buy the currently best smartphone in the market in case there is an injunction on its sale in the US any time soon?
No. The S3 is not listed as one of the phones and injunction is going against. It's the S, and S2 variants. The S3, Nexus. and others are in the clear.
"with the approach of the launch of Apple's new shinny"
This should help clear up this sentence: shinny. Apple is apparently coming out with an informal type of hockey.
Because the Samsung Galaxy S3 phone has been on the front-line news so much, people finally took a good look at it, and realized it's superiority over the iPhone-Toy.
-- By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.
Apple was right to sue, as people clearly have the impression they're getting equivalent Apple technology by buying Samsung. The publicity surrounding the legal verdict confirms this idea for even more customers. Then the threat that Samsung products will be removed from store shelves spurs even more purchases to be made.
Probably just playing the same game they play with tablet sales numbers over there at Samsung. They won't tell us how many phones actually sell (unlike Apple) but they claim increased shipments.
How much do you want to bet that Trip is quarterbacking for Samsung?
This is a classic example of the 'post-hoc' ergo 'propter-hoc' fallacy.
The fact that the trial was against Samsung really has very little to do with how many units they sold. People buy stuff mostly because it responds to a (perceived) need, not because some judge in California thinks they stole something from Apple.
If anything it only gave them free advertising, but that doesn't necessarily lead to sales, especially since the advertising is somewhat negative.
Anybody who was on the fence is being pushed off. They know that additional supply may not be coming onto the market.
According to Apple, this phenomenon is due to the fact that shoppers are actually trying to buy Apple products, but are mistaking Samsung products for them.
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Apple phones don't kill people, SAMSUNG PHONES DO.
They should care about public opinion, it really matters for the "premium" brand. Now Apple looks more like a greedy troll which sends hordes of lawyers against much smaller companies. Was that Steve's main invention? We know that was his idea. Personally I don't want to look like their supporter with iPhone or iPod in my hands. There are alternatives. Even Microsoft looks better now.
I had a choice to buy Android or iphone and bought iphone. If I had it to do over again I would buy Android and my next phone will more than likely be Android.
Marketwatch sees a completely different phenomenon :
"While many experts predict Apple Inc.’s court victory over Samsung could shake up the wireless industry over the long term, it’s already having an impact on one key area: the resale market.
Since the $1.05 billion verdict Friday — which found that Samsung infringed on six Apple AAPL -1.04% patents — customers of Samsung have been dumping their Android products on at least one major resale site. Gazelle.com reports a 50% increase in Samsung smartphones over the past three days, which has led to a 10% drop in prices for those devices"
If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
This side-effect should enter as an example in Wikipedia page for Schadenfreude
I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
I have made several Samsung-specific purchases over the past month, partly due to all the crap from the Apple lawsuits. Several of their products have received and continue to receive high reviews from several different users and, likewise, I've been quite happy with my purchases as well. I have just added 3 of their mobile phones (yes, the SIII is one of them!) and 2 of their TV's (a 40" model and a 60" model). The Samsung SIII is replacing my HTC Incredible (another excellent phone) but not due to a problem with my HTC Incredible but simply because I desired an upgrade of both hardware and software. And, the TV's are really nice as well. I am so tired of the continued tech lawsuits, it's gotten so out of hand anymore. It is going to get to the point that we won't being able to write reviews or comment on blog sites because some asshole patented all of the letters of every known alphabet, followed by another asshole that allowed it to be processed for approval. It has gotten absolutely ridiculous!
There are quite a number of people out there that would sooner die then choose Apple because of their shiny retarded walled garden approach to computing.
This is the first time I've ever heard of Apple being so good that even the deceased prefer Apple products. :-P
I think you meant than (comparative: "A is bigger than B") rather than then (adverbial: "Alice ate, then met Bob").
</pedantic>
"What in the name of Fats Waller is that?"
"A four-foot prune."
Could it be simply from increased exposure of the devices to the world.. Seems easy enough for all these different Android handsets to get lost in the crowd as there are so many of them.
Knowing something might suddenly become unavailable seems to make it more attractive to many people. Look at the dramatic rise in gun sales in 2008 after Obama was elected based on unfounded fears that he would push for stricter gun control laws.
Support Right To Repair Legislation.
I need a new phone.
A) Wait for new Apple iPhone 5
Don't want to wait.
B) Buy next best thing currently available, Samsung Galaxy IIIS
Done the actual calculation myself. Decided to wait and see. Currently have a iPhone 3GS, which is sometimes painful, but the new Facebook app has helped a bit.
The old craigslist posting I had for my GSII had gotten me a few e-mails after the verdict. The cheap bastards STILL tried to lowball me though.
1- Its start of new school. That means for high schoolers as well as college goers it means new books, new clothes, new book bags, new pencils and new electronic devices such as smart phones and tablets. The s3 is virtually a small tablet anyway so its a great choice for someone going to school considering its screen size, power and huge range of apps.
2- Fall is approaching rapidly and virtually here and that means people are already having christmas in the backs of their heads. Even Im guilty of it since last week I took my girlfriend to the verizon store and bought both of us new galaxy s3 phones and it was a early christmas present for her.
The biggest reason is probably the basic economics of the suit. Sure, the GS3 might not end up included in the suit eventually but if they have to pay out a billion+ and are restricted in sales of other models and in where they can sell, it will probably drive prices up on every other Samsung model. This may happen if for no other reason than people like Samsung phones and were just waiting for a good excuse to buy one (especially the most recent full-featured model).
You wrote " There are quite a number of people out there that would sooner die then choose Apple because of their shiny retarded walled garden approach to computing. I'll go back to a clamshell phone before I choose Apple for anything."
I respect that choice. I personally want that walled garden. Decades ago, before malware came around, I used to spend 5K a year on software. Anything that I thought had a chance of increasing my productivity, I bought it. Malware changed all that. I now have to consider the risk that some cool little utility will utterly screw up my system. Or install stupid tool bars that I have to spend way too much time to get rid of. The result of this is the amount of software I consume has declined by 75% compared to 25 years ago.
The Apple walled garden changed all that. I can install boatloads of things with a very high degree on confidence that they are safe.
My brother in law has a PC that got infected with hundreds of pieces of malware and is unusable. His Iphone and Ipad are going along just fine.
There are a large number of us that very much want a walled garden. Yes, it is not for everyone, but it most certainly is for some of us.
Five years from now, people will be calling this and subsequent phenomena "The Apple Effect". "Their stuff is just as good as ours and costs half as much!" Best billion dollars ever spent on advertising.
The Apple decision was Obama giving money to his liberal friends at the super liberal company Apple (even the USB ports for the mice are on the left) and trying to control our phone choices and take away our freedom to choose what kind of phone we want to use.
sent from Iphone.
Apple spend the whole trial saying how much the Samsung devices are "blatant copies" of the iDevices. So if they're effectively the same thing but are cheaper or have a bigger amoled screen, a faster processor or more memory, why would you buy an iPhone if the Samsung equivalent is more cost effective?
So unlike what the the Fandroid told us, the SIII doesn't sell well because its so great - but because Apple sued them.
Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
There have been other reports that sales have dropped too. Which one is correct?
Oh yeah, NOW is when they'd realize that. Not when every news organization on the planet reported 23 billion in liquid cash reserves for Apple or when every news organization in the universe reported on the conditions at Apple's Foxconn plants. I think people knew they were getting utterly price-screwed by Apple before the Samsung trial! You would think that Apple is only riding on dedicated Apple fanboys who are in denial and think it costs $450 to make an iPhone but apparently they're still getting other customers than that too...for now.
There's been a new comedic meme emerging, "Anything you do might get you sued by Apple." and people are starting to run with it. Maybe the 1 Billion dollar verdict sounds ridiculous to people who's assets are measured in thousands?
Non-technophile and iphone owning friends of mine are posting memegenerator images or making silly comments about the lawsuit on Facebook. I'm seeing the same stuff from random people on sites like imgur and tumblr. Samsung also just unveiled a new Galaxy mirrorless interchangeable lens (AKA 4/3s AKA 3rd gen) android powered digital camera that some people are excited about.
Personally, I'm not sure on what the reason is but I am surprised at how many people aren't cheering for Apple in this one.
Deltron 3030 - Virus (music video)
---quote---
That's ironic, because I actually like the walled garden. On the consumer side I don't have to worry about viruses or spyware or other garbage android has been known for, and on the developer side I rest easy knowing most people are not stealing my apps. It's a win-win.
---end quote---
Well, this would be great if it were true... But you have repeatedly application that manage to escape the Apple Filter. And I don't talk about the system bugs like the one that resulted in a "jailbreakme.com" web page to jailbreak the iPhone.
Have a look at the underhanded code contest and you'll see that it may be quie easy to sneak some malware in the Apple Walled Garden...
So, relying on a walled garder for system security is clearly insane and stupid... It's nothing but snake oil...
The free market is independent of the set of rules in which it operates.
Have you heard about black markets? They are entirely illegal but operate mostly as ideal free ones.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
The guy went to 16 stores, probably in one city and got some anecdotes from salespeople. Really? And we're supposed to conclude that lots of people who would not have otherwise bought a Samsung went out and bought one because of the trial? Okay, well I can play that game too. I had a lot of trouble finding a case in stock for my Galaxy S3, therefore I conclude that the S3 is a very popular phone that outsold what case makers predicted. It is a runaway hit! I don't need to bother with actual sales data because I have an anecdote. Facts are not needed when I have a good story.
Don't moderate flamebait as Troll. Know the difference or you will be Meta-moderated.
Pare down your legal department to a skeleton staff of just enough to handle the day-to-day needs of a company, and turn the budget over to the developers. You're in a hole. Stop digging. The way to win hearts and minds and customers is to stop being such an arrogant prick of a company and make stuff people want. The whole Mac vs Windows 95 thing is starting to unfold all over again. Have you learned nothing? I'm an Apple developer and have been for a long time (note to readers: this in no way equates with "fanboy". It's my living). Even I'm bored to the back teeth with this case and don't see it doing anything but harm. So, Samsung copied you. Boo hoo. Make something better and people will buy it.
Ever wanted to feel the feverish atmosphere surrounding the launch of a technology that has amassed 'cult' status? Check out the iPhone 3G Launch party in Singapore just minutes before the official buying frenzy!
What I find most disturbing in all of this is the rabid brand loyalty (brainwashing?) on display. I don't get the apple/iPhone fans with their "mine is still better" and "Samsung is just junk" responses - when Samsung supplies the hardware for the iPhone in the first place!
I don't own a smartphone nor any Samsung or Apple computers. I don't care about either of these companies. But I do care about the tech world and I'm very disturbed to see mega corps using patents as a cudgel to prevent competition. Apple's approach is antithetical to a free market and to technological innovation. I find it extremely distasteful and if I ever did want to get a smartphone, this recent episode would be enough to put me off Apple. I like companies that compete by being the best, not by having the most lawyers.
I like my Samsung (dumb...as in only makes/recieves calls and texts) phone. I have a 7 inch tablet to run apps and surf the web on. Smartphones are too large to cary in a shirt pocket, and the screens are too tiny to run apps or web surf. And I have a tiny Sandisk MP3 player that works just great. And a Kindle Touch for reading where an LCD screen picks up too much glare.
All of the above devices together cost less than an iphone or ipad. When one device tries to "do it all", it seldom does more than 1 thing well. (Cr)apple well never get any of my money because:
Poor hardware quality.
Vastly overpriced.
Dirtiest most underhanded business practices.
"walled garden".
Samsung is not perfect either, but compaired to (Cr)apple, they a knight in shiny armor
One of the things that Apple detractors tend to miss is that Apple may sell fewer units but they make a lot more profit per unit. So Samsung sells a lot of low end units, making next to no profit. Big deal. It's like the pork industry. The big pig players sell 10,000 pigs a month and lose $1/pig. The small operators sell 100 pigs a month and make $25 per pig. The small operators are the winners in that game. Likewise the electronics manufacturers trying to dump large numbers of units a razor thin or even negative margins are not making it. Samsung should stick with what it does well. Competing with Apple isn't one of those things.