For what could be regarded as the biggest clash of titans in the consumer electronics world, Apple has mistakenly battled with an argument that could cost them much more than they claimed from Samsung.
$ 1 billion to be precise.
While on business trips in the US I shopped at Best Buy, a giant chain of consumer electronics shopping stores. Their stores are very well partitioned with sections for games, movies, cameras, smartphones, TV, etc. But there is a specific Apple section for all things "i": iPhone, iPad, iShop, iPay - er, excuse my trying-to-get-creative sarcasm here. But it was easy to see that section never had lots of visitors. One could argue that stock always ran out, but other sections had not only ready-to-fulfill customers but also inquirers who are thinking of making a shift. And the multitude of confused buyers who could not differentiate Apple products from any other competing product, not Samsung only. I for one thing have always regarded Apple products as extremely well designed and extremely expensive too. And because of these two facts, each apple gem has to go through harsh selection checklist before making it to my wishlist. So, if I show you my wishlist for Apple products, you'd be surprised. Only the mac book pro made it!... oh, and I still have my iPod nano 3rd generation with me (that's the first Apple product I ever bought). And that's it!
Apple has forced me to be considerate of all these factors that make up a great product while weighing it on the "price balance". But at the same time, Apple competitors were forced to offer alternative products for half the price in some cases. And for almost a decade this has been going on, making Apple the leader that it is at the top of the most valuable companies in the world. But competition didn't relinquish either from making profit and trying to position itself against this giant. Apple is ambitious. No one company can be such a control freak with too much proprietary technology and make it this far. For some Apple products it makes it worthwhile to consider alternatives from competitors before buying; for some other products like the iPod line, it looks like competition gave up trying to match. But personally I believe iPod is on the decline because of yet another set of products that are kind of tying up loose ends into one crazy multi-featured box: I present to you iPhone and iPad... ¡Ay, caramba!
Now this is where I believe Samsung has played it clever. Rather than try competing on performance, they tried look and feel. In the world of product design copycats stand a chance. And I'm not trying to say Samsung is a copycat, because they used a feature that Apple patented. And by the way I find the intellectual property business a bit odd, and it kind of makes me want to invest in buying property rights and being on the watch to collect pennies off of ignorant copycats. You wouldn't believe the money Microsoft makes from the Android business. Oracle tried to claim a piece of it but lost; but eih! Microsoft is legit.
Back to Samsung; I will only agree that they designed some of their products with Apple products as a model to rely on. Just like anyone would believe they can make it if Magic made it! Whether loyal Apple customers got confused along the way or not, this is subject to argument but big Apple is worried because he doesn't look that big anymore. Not only did Samsung make it in the US, it made it everywhere! It may look like Samsung lost the lawsuit, but the god Apple mistakenly declared [in a court of justice] that Samsung is like them. If every Apple fan read this statement, they will definitely consider visiting Samsung stores (which are reminiscent of, hum...) and realize the big drop in pricing. And since it is only one patent that was at stake, they will be happy to discover there's more to Siri than meets the eye. Like NFC and true multi-tasking to name a few.
In the end, everyone asks the question: What is copying? I'll tell you what copying is. It is a set of calculated-risk procedures that, if performed in a progressive approach, can bring the entity being copied to declare your resemblance in a court of justice. Whether the court rules against you or not, you have just successfully paid your opponent to run the best campaign you could ever wish for. A $ 1 billion dollar campaign, to be precise.
$ 1 billion to be precise.
While on business trips in the US I shopped at Best Buy, a giant chain of consumer electronics shopping stores. Their stores are very well partitioned with sections for games, movies, cameras, smartphones, TV, etc. But there is a specific Apple section for all things "i": iPhone, iPad, iShop, iPay - er, excuse my trying-to-get-creative sarcasm here. But it was easy to see that section never had lots of visitors. One could argue that stock always ran out, but other sections had not only ready-to-fulfill customers but also inquirers who are thinking of making a shift. And the multitude of confused buyers who could not differentiate Apple products from any other competing product, not Samsung only. I for one thing have always regarded Apple products as extremely well designed and extremely expensive too. And because of these two facts, each apple gem has to go through harsh selection checklist before making it to my wishlist. So, if I show you my wishlist for Apple products, you'd be surprised. Only the mac book pro made it!... oh, and I still have my iPod nano 3rd generation with me (that's the first Apple product I ever bought). And that's it!
Apple has forced me to be considerate of all these factors that make up a great product while weighing it on the "price balance". But at the same time, Apple competitors were forced to offer alternative products for half the price in some cases. And for almost a decade this has been going on, making Apple the leader that it is at the top of the most valuable companies in the world. But competition didn't relinquish either from making profit and trying to position itself against this giant. Apple is ambitious. No one company can be such a control freak with too much proprietary technology and make it this far. For some Apple products it makes it worthwhile to consider alternatives from competitors before buying; for some other products like the iPod line, it looks like competition gave up trying to match. But personally I believe iPod is on the decline because of yet another set of products that are kind of tying up loose ends into one crazy multi-featured box: I present to you iPhone and iPad... ¡Ay, caramba!
Now this is where I believe Samsung has played it clever. Rather than try competing on performance, they tried look and feel. In the world of product design copycats stand a chance. And I'm not trying to say Samsung is a copycat, because they used a feature that Apple patented. And by the way I find the intellectual property business a bit odd, and it kind of makes me want to invest in buying property rights and being on the watch to collect pennies off of ignorant copycats. You wouldn't believe the money Microsoft makes from the Android business. Oracle tried to claim a piece of it but lost; but eih! Microsoft is legit.
Back to Samsung; I will only agree that they designed some of their products with Apple products as a model to rely on. Just like anyone would believe they can make it if Magic made it! Whether loyal Apple customers got confused along the way or not, this is subject to argument but big Apple is worried because he doesn't look that big anymore. Not only did Samsung make it in the US, it made it everywhere! It may look like Samsung lost the lawsuit, but the god Apple mistakenly declared [in a court of justice] that Samsung is like them. If every Apple fan read this statement, they will definitely consider visiting Samsung stores (which are reminiscent of, hum...) and realize the big drop in pricing. And since it is only one patent that was at stake, they will be happy to discover there's more to Siri than meets the eye. Like NFC and true multi-tasking to name a few.
In the end, everyone asks the question: What is copying? I'll tell you what copying is. It is a set of calculated-risk procedures that, if performed in a progressive approach, can bring the entity being copied to declare your resemblance in a court of justice. Whether the court rules against you or not, you have just successfully paid your opponent to run the best campaign you could ever wish for. A $ 1 billion dollar campaign, to be precise.
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