Monday
Aug132012
Apple vs. Samsung
Monday, August 13, 2012 at 2:40AM At the risk of setting off the usual debates about iOS vs. Android, this slide from Apple is quite compelling.
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All News Monday, August 13, 2012 at 2:40AM
Reader Comments (7)
Erm, no.
A grid of icons, a text box with a keyboard underneath, a calendar with upcoming appointments underneath. Apple invented those? I really despair of the "It's on the iPhone therefore Apple invented it" mindset that permeates much of the web.
Apple copied a lot of the iOS UI from others. Yes they refined it and marketed it to the masses but their actual innovation was pretty small. They didn't invent the grid of icons, they didn't invent what a calendar looks like, they didn't invent what a clock looks like, they didn't invent the Qwerty keyboard.
About the only innovation those images bring to mind is showing the letter above the key as you're typing. I don't know if Apple invented that but it's something others copied, until Swype made it unnecessary.
But copying is normal; everyone does it, Apple more than most. It's impossible to create a modern smartphone without impinging upon literally thousands of patents.
In the tech sector you can't expect to keep selling new product based on old innovations; you need to keep producing new innovations to stay ahead. Apple didn't and they fell behind. They're trying to sue their way back to the top; they've lost their way.
For me it's the 2010 PowerPoint presentation when Tim Cook and Steve Jobs went to Samsung with an offer to sell them their patents for approx £250m despite Samsung ripping off the iPhone.
Apple's design came from insipration from Xerox. Samsung's from Apple. But some of the software actions came from Apple, that Samsung copied too.
Apple didn't and they fell behind. They're trying to sue their way back to the top; they've lost their way.
I agree with what you say about copying, and about the harm of patents to innovation, but I'm not convinced that Apple has fallen behind or lost its way — if anything, I'd see it still being on the up.
Why does one image show samsung displaying a grid of icons? That's not what Android devices look like. One of the great things about Android and the widget is that you don't have to have a simple grid of icons.
Apart from that it looks like Samsung have been ripping off a paper notepad, a paper calendar and a bank of clocks you get behind the reception of large hotels. Go Apple!
This sort of crap from all the main players is holding back the industry.
While I like Apple products, I'm getting tired of these suits. If Apple wants to go after someone for copying a true innovation that they patented, that's fine. If swipe to unlock is a true innovation, then fine. But to go after another company because one product looks like another gets ridiculous. One could argue that one car looks like another in that they all have 4 wheels that are actually round. And one box of tissues looks exactly like another box of tissues. I wish they'd focus on products.
@Neil I'm not talking about sales. Rather than creating new innovations to stay on top they're trying to sue on the basis of what they've done to date (not that the majority of those patents hold any water).
They should be innovating and letting the competition copy their last generation; that's how to stay ahead. Their image has changed from innovator to litigator.
Who here is excited about iPhone 5 and iOS 6? How does that compare to the excitement may of us had for the S3? Yes there'll still be mega-hype, but I think there'll be far less substance than for, say, the iPhone 4.
What is crazy is when you look at earlier Samsung phones (which were excluded) plenty show similar designs to what they currently have. This whole case is really a big waste of everyones time and the US Patent office seriously needs to get their act together and to stop patenting everything and anything. I swear that I could probably patent paper at this stage and get a patent for it......