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Apple Is Designing iPhones, iPads That Would Drop Qualcomm Components (wsj.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the cold-shoulder dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Wall Street Journal (Warning: source may be paywalled; alternative source): Apple, locked in an intensifying legal fight with Qualcomm, is designing iPhones and iPads for next year that would jettison the chipmaker's components, according to people familiar with the matter. Apple is considering building the devices only with modem chips from Intel and possibly MediaTek because San Diego, Calif.-based Qualcomm has withheld software critical to testing its chips in iPhone and iPad prototypes, according to one of the people. Apple's planned move for next year involve the modem chips that handle communications between wireless devices and cellular networks. Qualcomm is by far the biggest supplier of such chips for the current wireless standard. The Apple plans indicate the battle with Qualcomm could spill beyond the courtroom feud over patents into another important Qualcomm business where it has the potential to send ripples through the smartphone supply chain.

9 of 131 comments (clear)

  1. Supply-side problems... by mandark1967 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    cause company to consider alternatives...

    whoodathunkit?

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    Sig Follows: "Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself." -- Mark Twain
  2. Qualcomm deserve to die by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Apple will not make any business with Qualcomm, will fund or buy better product elsewhere, and will render Qualcomm useless for everyone else.

    THIS is what you deserve when you abuse your supplier position asking too much royalties and suing your client to piss them off.

    Qualcomm will go bankrupt because they disrespected apple (one of their biggest client) for way too long!

    1. Re:Qualcomm deserve to die by Luthair · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There is a reason Qualcomm is in the position they are - they did a lot of R&D and pushed cellular forward. On the other hand Apple has done what, "invent" round corners?

    2. Re:Qualcomm deserve to die by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yup that really helps create new technology.

    3. Re: Qualcomm deserve to die by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The boomer phone? Have you ever even met a boomer? If they have a cellphone at all, they probably have a cheap android and I'm not insulting Android here I'm just saying they don't care and go for whatever. Boomers want simple. They want texting, calls, and email.

      If any generation is the 'iPhone favorite', I'd say it was Gen-X. They are all working to the power positions in business and society right now and they want the status symbol. They were on the cutting edge in 2008 and they are riding the champion until it dies. That's one reason why Apple will stay on top for a very very long time. They are the 21st century's Microsoft. They will continue to dominate for at least another 10 years, possibly 20. Microsoft is slowly losing it's grip on computing... but it's been 30 years of dominance and they've got at least a decade more. Apple will dominate even longer. //I work in a Nursing home

    4. Re:Qualcomm deserve to die by mysidia · · Score: 3, Insightful

      they did a lot of R&D and pushed cellular forward.

      That was fine, until they got greedy. Now Qualcomm is shooting themselves in the foot.
      They were in a good position, BUT abuse it too much, and people will find alternatives to your products and penalize your business -- even if this hurts Apple as well because of extra costs --- piss off someone too much, and they'll cut off their own nose to spite their face, Or in other words, they'll take vengeance against you even at a net cost to themself.

    5. Re:Qualcomm deserve to die by UnknowingFool · · Score: 3, Insightful

      There is a reason Qualcomm is in the position they are - they did a lot of R&D and pushed cellular forward. On the other hand Apple has done what, "invent" round corners?

      That's two false dichotomies isn't it? It implies that Qualcomm didn't use anti competitive practices in addition to doing R&D work. Also it implies that Apple hasn't done any R&D work because Qualcomm has. Both have.

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      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    6. Re:Qualcomm deserve to die by Shatrat · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Which is exactly what Apple is trying not to do. They are trying to use their size to squeeze their suppliers and the people who contributed to the R&D behind all the current technology.

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  3. Product development by sjbe · · Score: 4, Insightful

    On the other hand Apple has done what, "invent" round corners?

    The iPhone basically defined and popularized what we consider the modern smartphone. The iPad did the same for tablets. They defined and popularized the graphical user interface on desktop PCs as well as quite a few other technologies. Any claim that Apple hasn't invented anything or done any R&D that has improved the industry is simply willful ignorance or foolish spite.

    Scoff if you want but someone has to turn those technologies that companies like Qualcomm develop into products that people actually buy. It's hard to argue anybody does a better job of that than Apple. There is a tremendous amount of invention in creating functional integrated products. Not bashing Qualcomm but without Apple they don't have nearly as big a market to sell into. Qualcomm and Apple have different strengths and are sell to different customers bases. Qualcomm sells to other companies and develops technology they can use to make products. Apple sells to individuals and integrates and adapts technology into a coherent product.